Tariqul Islam

Lecturer, CTEC
----------------
Definition of Solvent

A solvent is the component of a solution that is present in the greatest amount. It is

the substance in which the solute is dissolved. Solvent is something that provides a
solution and usually liquid substance capable of dissolving or dispersing one or more
other substances.

Example:
• The solvent for seawater is water
• The solvent for air is nitrogen

Water is the universal solvent

Water, which not only dissolves many compounds but

also dissolves more substances than any other liquid,
is considered the universal solvent. A polar molecule
with partially-positive and negative charges, it readily
dissolves ions and polar molecules. The charges
associated with these molecules form hydrogen bonds
with water, surrounding the particle with water
molecules. When ionic compounds are added to
water, individual ions interact with the polar regions of
the water molecules.

When NaCl crystals are added to water, the molecules of NaCl dissociate into Na+
and Cl– ions, and spheres of hydration form around the ions. The Na+ is surrounded
by the partially O- and the Cl– is surrounded by the partially H+ ion in the water
molecule. Since many biomolecules are either polar or charged, water readily
dissolves these hydrophilic compounds.

Fig: Dissociation of NaCl in water

However, water is a poor solvent for hydrophobic molecules such as lipids. Nonpolar
molecules experience hydrophobic interactions in water: the water changes its
hydrogen bonding patterns around the hydrophobic molecules to produce a cage-
like structure called a clathrate.

Fig: Clathrate
 Tariqul Islam
Lecturer, CTEC
----------------
Definition of Solvent Scouring

Solvent scouring is the treatment of fabrics in organic solvent medium to remove

impurities such as lubricating oils and spin finishes. Certain organic solvents will
readily dissolve oils fats and waxes and these solvents can be used to purify textiles.
Removal of impurities by dissolution is called Extraction. Basically solvent scouring is
a refinement of dry-cleaning and is carried out either batch wise or continuously.

Solvent scouring appears to be alternative to aqueous scouring and particularly

suitable for polyester and woollen goods. This process not only permits scouring, but
also simultaneous scouring and desizing or even partial bleaching in one step. For
fabrics that do not have to be desized, solvent scouring is an effective way of
removing fiber producer finishes, coning and knitting oils.

Reasons of using solvent in wet processing

✓ Unacceptable environmental hazards due to more or less untreated waste

✓ Shortage of cheap and plentiful pure water
✓ Realization and concurrent pressure from lawmakers and public opinion to treat
waste to an acceptable pollutant levels
✓ To reduce cost through advanced technology
✓ Solvent can be recycled easily and inexpensively
✓ Energy efficient process

Characteristics of an effective solvent

• Non- toxic
• Non-flammable
• Non-corrosive
• Inert to textile materials
• Stable to repeated distillation
• Low Specific heat
• Low heat of evaporation
• Readily available
• Economic feasibility
• Capable of giving good result

Some suitable solvents

It is found that waxes can be removed by solvents like chloroform (CHCl3), Benzene
(C6H6), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) etc. But those are not used in industries due to:
o High cost
o Toxicity
o Fire hazards and
o Requirement of special machinery for application
 Tariqul Islam
Lecturer, CTEC
----------------
Recently some special grades chlorinated organic solvents like Trichloro Ethylene,
cheaper Petroleum products Perchloro Ethylene, Halogenated Hydrocarbons etc. are
used commercially. They are used as because of:
✓ Lower toxicity
✓ Minimum cost
✓ Good wetting properties
✓ Good solvency power
✓ Chemical inertness
✓ Less fire hazards

Definition of some of solvent properties

➢ Boiling Point: Temperature at which solvent is converted from liquid to a gas.

➢ Specific Heat: The amount of energy needed to raise one gram of solvent one
degree centigrade (Calories/gram/0C).

➢ Latent Heat of Evaporation: The amount of energy needed to vaporize one gram
of solvent (Calories/gram).

➢ Surface Tension: The tension caused by the attraction of the particles in the
surface layer by the bulk of the liquid (dynes/cm).

Comparison among the properties of some solvents

General Process Description of Solvent Scouring

There are commercial processes where textiles are cleaned with organic solvents.
Fabrics processed this way are said to be Dry Cleaned. Although not widely used as a
fabric preparation step, it is an important way of removing certain difficult to
remove impurities, where a small amount of residuals can cause downstream
problems. Garment dry-cleaning is more prevalent. There are 03 sections on the
solvent scouring machine:
01. Dewaxing Tank
02. Steam flash off
03. Water wash tank
 Tariqul Islam
Lecturer, CTEC
----------------

Figure: Solvent Scouring Machine

• Dewaxing Tank:
- The dry cloth first passes through trichloroethylene (TCE) in the Dewaxing
Tank which is divided into number of separate compartments.
- From the last compartment the cloth passes through a solvent seal and then
a heavy mangle, where much of the solvent is removed from the cloth.

• Steam flash off:

- The cloth then passes through a chamber into which steam is injected. Thus
rapid evaporation of solvent in the cloth is occurred.
- At the same time, the mixture of steam and TCE vapor is condensed and
returned to the solvent seal where the solvent and water are separated.
- In alternative method, the solvent is removed from the cloth by the use of an
enclosed hot water (95°C) bath instead of steam chamber.

• Water wash Tank:

- While passing through the water wash tank, the cloth leaves the scouring
machine saturated with water.

Advantages of Solvent Scouring

✓ Solvents dissolve almost all oils and waxes.

✓ They have low liquid surface tensions and quickly and easily wet out and
penetrate fabrics with waxes.
✓ They are much easier to evaporate than water, requiring less time and energy.
✓ Reduced water pollution.
✓ Reduced energy cost and consumption.
✓ Effective removal of impurities
✓ Solvent preparation gives excellent results in terms of uniformity, reproducibility
and high absorbency.
 Tariqul Islam
Lecturer, CTEC
----------------
Disadvantages of Solvent Scouring:

✓ Hydrocarbon solvents are flammable and present explosion hazards.

✓ Most chlorinated solvents are proven or suspected carcinogens and some are
known to contribute to atmospheric ozone depletion.
✓ Chlorinated hydrocarbons thermally decompose to form phosgene and
hydrochloric acids.
✓ These decomposition by-products are corrosive to metals and also damage
cellulosic fibers.
✓ Solvents are expensive so they must be recovered and purified by distillation
requiring special equipment.
✓ The distillation residue becomes a solid waste disposal problem.
✓ Solvents do not aid in the removal of motes, metal ions, starch and other solvent.

Difficulties in implementing Solvent Scouring

The growing problems associated with the increasing demand for raw water in some
countries and disposal of effluent in general have given an impetus to the solvent
scouring system. But there are some difficulties associated with the implementation
of solvent scouring.

• The main difficulty of solvent scouring is the need for systems to recover the
solvent from fabrics after processing.

• Apart from this, solvent can remove binders from bowl fillings.

• Solvent may remove adhesives from laminated bowl cover.

• It may rapidly attack conventional rubber coverings with expensive effect.

• At high temperature solvent absorption into the fiber web increases but decreases
with the action in subsequent steaming operation that can lead to embarrassing side
effects.