Degree of cotton fabric whiteness obtained by the fluorescent bleaching agent UVITEX BHT and H2O2

Abstract

In this paper, the influence of the fluorescent bleaching agent, UVITEX BHT optical bleach, on the degree of whiteness of cotton fabric was examined. In the first phase of the test, the bleaching of cotton with hydrogen peroxide, as the bleaching agent, was done. In the second phase, the effect of fluorescent bleaching agent on the whiteness of cotton wool bleached in the first phase was tested. Moreover, the color strength (K/S) and CIE L*a*b* were determined using Coloreye - 3000 spectrophotometer. The whiteness degree achieved with bleaching agent UVITEX BHT was almost twice larger than the one achieved with chemical bleaching compounds. The highest whiteness index (WI) of cotton fabrics was achieved when fluorescent UVITEX BHT bleach was used in the concentration of 0.1%.