Effect of hydrogen peroxide bleaching onto sulfonated jute fiber

Bleaching of raw and sulfonated jute fiber with hydrogen peroxide were carried out in an aqueous medium. To obtain the optimum condition for bleaching, the effects of hydrogen peroxide concentration, temperature, time, pH, and fiber-liquor ration were studied. Bleaching affected the whiteness and tenacity, and the optimum whiteness index (76) and tenacity (13.7 g/tex) for the bleached sulfonated jute fiber were obtained with 2.1% hydrogen peroxide at pH 11, temperature 95 degrees C, treatment time 110 min, and fiber-liquor ratio 1 : 7. The photo-oxidative degradation of bleached sulfonated jute fiber was characterized by UV light exposure and compared with that of bleached raw jute fiber. It has been observed that the photo-oxidative degradation as well as loss in tenacity and yellowness of the bleached sulfonated jute fiber was 63 and 40% lower than that of bleached raw jute fiber. Bleached sulfonated jute fiber had excellent impact on color fastness with reactive dyes. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.