Damage to Natural and Synthetic Fibers Treated in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide at 300 bar and Temperatures up to 160°C

This paper examines and discusses fiber damage in cotton, viscose, polyester, poly amide 6.6, silk, and wool in supercritical carbon dioxide at 100. 120. 140, and 160°C for I and 4 hours at a pressure of 300 bar. For comparison, experiments are conducted for 4 hours at 160°C in nitrogen and air under atmospheric conditions. Damage is determined by fiber-specific reactions, staining tests, shrinkage, stress-strain measurements. viscosi metric molecular weight, and amino acid analyses. Shrinkage occurs only in polyamide 6.6 and polyester, and is comparable to water dyeing. During all treatments above 120°C in carbon dioxide, the degree of polymerization of polyamide 6.6 decreases, which is also detectable by stress-strain measurements. Polyester is not damaged by any treatment. Damaging effects on cotton, viscose, silk, and wool are only revealed by stress-strain measurements after 4 hours at 160°C in carbon dioxide, but not in nitrogen and air. The degree of polymerization of cellulose fibers starts to decrease slightly after 4 hours at 120°C, while amino acid analyses of silk and wool indicate damage only after 4 hours at 160°C. Generally, the combination of heat, treatment time, and carbon dioxide seems to be responsible for the damaging effects. The results show that except for polyamide 6.6, where treatment conditions are limited to 120°C at 300 bar for 1 hour, supercritical carbon dioxide is a suitable solvent for dyeing or other treatments, even for the most sensitive textiles up to 140°C. The treatment time at 160°C should not be longer than 1 hour.