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Topic: Need reassurance in bio-scouring cotton!  (Read 3624 times)

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Offline EmpyrealKitten

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Need reassurance in bio-scouring cotton!
« on: April 20, 2016, 07:49:15 PM »
I have a project in which I plan on rinsing Pima cotton of all natural waxes, proteins, pectin etc. In plans to create a better alternative to common cotton readily available to vapers. The reason for the cotton needing to be rinsed and rid of waxy fibers and proteins is for the purpose of flavor enhancement.  i've done research and have some of the knowledge down but really need a helping hand.

Here is a brief overview of bio-scouring and the application process
http://www.textiletoday.com.bd/oldsite/magazine/54

Ingredients used would be
Wetting Agent- <a href="http://www.gemplers.com/product/214838/Water-Wetting-Agent?gclid=Cj0KEQjw0dy4BRCuuL_e5MeqmNABEiQAq8iNI1mpUpLVy1O50dJeqFlcccX0uhF27BALMFFHPUEDAbkaAiJp8P8HAQ&sku=214838&CID=25SEPLA&ef_id=VxXP3gAABbZDGAZY:20160420232040:s#TAB-INFO Gemplar Water wetting agent
PH buffer to get to 7.5-8.5 PH solution
Enzyme- Pectinase Alkaline Enzyme
Emulsifier- http://www.esteam.com/cms_files/1426869235Emulsifier15info2.pdf Esteam Greenline Emulsifier
For Rinse- http://www.esteam.com/cms_files/1351183458Rinsesm.pdf Esteam Greenline Rinse
Then a water rinse there after

I'm not experienced in chemistry whats so ever but I think i'm on the right track here. If any of you generous souls can pass some positive reassurance my way i'd be more than grateful! 

Offline Arkcon

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Re: Need reassurance in bio-scouring cotton!
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2016, 09:21:09 PM »
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

Offline EmpyrealKitten

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Re: Need reassurance in bio-scouring cotton!
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2016, 04:52:23 PM »
Thank you for replying Arkcon. Sorry for the new thread just didn't know where it was located.
Anyhow, how does this process/ product selection look from the perspective of somebody who has a background in chemistry? All information is appreciated!     

Offline Intanjir

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Re: Need reassurance in bio-scouring cotton!
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2016, 03:06:28 AM »
Cotton is very commonly processed to a very high purity, maybe 99% or so (ignoring water content) at least for textile applications.
I am sure this is somewhere available.
In the worst case couldn't you just buy white cotton fabric or yarn?

Anyways, it should be easy enough to attempt the traditional alkaline "scouring" process. However, I can see how maintaining an NaOH solution at near boiling for a few hours might be intimidating.

An enzymatic "bio-scour" process may work for you as well but it is no doubt intended for a very specific application that may not match your own. Specifically the normal problem is preparing the cotton to be suitable for dyeing. Any enzymatic process is inherently targeted at certain chemicals. In this case I doubt that it will be able to completely remove the pectin substrate.

If you think you really need purity I would initially go with the alkaline scour. If all you need is improved wettability then an enzymatic scour should be workable as well.

Or you could just go with silica ;D
I'm always answering silica questions on these forums.
If it were me I would toy around with coating the cellulose with silica in the manner of TimberSIL.
Unless someone does that already...

Offline billnotgatez

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Re: Need reassurance in bio-scouring cotton!
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2016, 08:36:31 AM »
As an aside to this post
We had a post
http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=85630.0
Where they use a traditional washing process for rugs
But they wanted to use a newer method which was unknown or trade secret.
Maybe answering this question of vice versa will help both posts

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