Low Temperature Bleaching of Jute Fabric Using a Peracetic Acid System

Bleaching of jute fabric with peracetic acid is investigated using two different stabilizing agents, sodium tetraborate (borax) and tetrasodium pyrophosphate (tspp). A buffered medium is essential during bleaching in order to improve fiber brightness; a phosphate buffer enhances the bleaching effect obtained with either borax or tspp as stabilizer. A superior bleaching effect is achieved by using tspp as a stabilizer under mildly alkaline conditions (pH 8.0–8.5), and excellent fiber brightness can occur at temperatures as low as 40–60°C. This optimized peracetic acid-tspp bleaching system offers a more energy efficient option for bleaching 100% jute fabric. A further advantage is that it may also be successfully extended to bleaching of jute/cotton blends.