What is the process of scouring?
Also to know is, what is done during scouring?
Scouring is the first process carried out with or without chemicals, at room temperature or at suitable higher temperatures with the addition of suitable wetting agents, alkali and so on. Scouring removes all the waxes, pectins and makes the textile material hydrophilic or water absorbent. See also scouring wool.
Considering this, what is scouring in chemistry?
Scouring (the process of removing natural waxes, pectins, fats and other impurities from the surface of fibers), which gives a fabric a high and even wet ability so that it can be bleached and dyed successfully. Today, highly alkaline chemicals (such as caustic soda) are used for scouring.
Mercerization is a process in which textiles (typical- ly cotton) are treated with a caustic (NaOH) solution to improve properties such as fiber strength, shrink- age resistance, luster, and dye affinity. The caustic actually rearranges the cellulose molecules in the fiber to produce these changes.