Abstract:

The pectin content of cotton fibers disrupts the uniform dyeing of cotton materials, decreasing their quality. The process of pectin elimination, known as scouring, may be realised by classic alkaline treatment or ecological enzymatic procedures. Pectins are galacturonic based polymers having as monomers: galacturonic acid (mainly as calcium salt) and methylgalacturonate. The efficiency of pectin elimination is usually evidenced by analyses of the hydrophilicity and weight loss of the scoured material. A solution for accurate evaluation of the scouring degree is measurement of the calcium content due to diminishing of calcium content proportional with pectin removal.