Use of modified corn starches as environmental and cost-friendly alternatives of PVA in sizing applications

Three modifications were made to native corn starch; crosslinking with POCl3, cationization with C6H15ClNOCl and carboxymethylation with C2H2ClNaO2. Sizing agents including different combinations of POCl3%, DS of cationic starch and DS of carboxymethyl starches were prepared and used in sizing process of 25 tex cotton yarn. It was observed that as the cationic starch and carboxymethyl starch DS values of the modified starches of the sizing solution increased the yarn quality increased and the yarns approached the quality of the yarns sized with PVA. The tensile strength, the elongation at break and the wear resistance results of the yarn sized with the solution comprising 0.048% POCl3, 0.023 (DS) cationic starch and 0.34 (DS) CCCMS, and with the solution including 0.032% POCl3, 0.03(DS) cationic starch and 0.35 (DS) measure CCCMS, were almost the same as those of PVA sized yarns, making these recipes potential substitutes for PVA in yarn sizing processes.