The Liquid Ammonia Treatment of Cotton Fibers-The Structural Changes of Cotton Fibers under Different Methods of Liquid Ammonia Removal-

There are two major methods in liquid ammonia treatment, which are the ammonia dry process and the ammonia wet process. In the ammonia dry process, liquid ammonia is applied on the fabrics and is removed by heating, whereas in the ammonia wet process, the ammonia is removed by water. The differences of the effects between these two processes were investigated precisely using continuous practical units and a discontinuous laboratory unit. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the finished samples were quite different between the two processes: only the cellulose I type was found in the ammonia wet process samples, while both of cellulose I and III types were found in the ammonia dry process. Pore distribution analysis by liquid chromatography also showed different results between the two processes. Various other properties though were not substantially different. The slight differences found were as follows: the higher crease recovery angle in the ammonia dry process, and the harder hand and the higher dyeabillity in the ammonia wet process.