Sizing Agent Selection for Fine Spun Bast Yarns
Optimal fine bast yarn sizing requires balancing PVA and CMC polymers to achieve eleven percent dry add-on without causing warp brittleness.
Desizing Efficiency
Performance Metric
Evaluative parameters that calculate the percentage of sizing agent removed from textile fabric during wet processing ensure optimal preparation for subsequent dyeing and finishing. To evaluate this process, desizing efficiency is measured by comparing the weight of the starch or polymer remaining on the fabric to the amount originally applied. High efficiency is necessary because leftover sizing blocks the absorption of dyes, causing uneven colouration in the finished linen.
Analytical Evaluation
Chemical testing methods, including the Tegewa violet scale for starch or spectrophotometric analysis for synthetic polymers, quantify the residue left on the washed linen. A high desizing efficiency means that almost all the protective sizing film has been stripped away by enzymatic action or alkaline washing. When this metric falls below the acceptable threshold, the fabric often exhibits a stiff hand, patchy dye uptake and poor wetting properties.
Processing mills must therefore adjust the enzyme concentration, bath temperature, or wash duration to achieve the target level.
Finishing Consequence
Fabric absorbency rises dramatically when the raw yarns are freed from the hydrophobic barrier of the sizing agent. A desizing efficiency close to one hundred percent permits uniform penetration of bleaching agents and dye molecules. This ensures that the final linen fabric achieves a bright, consistent finish.