Potential Application of Natural Gums Suitable as Thickeners in Textile Printing

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 National Research Centre (NRC), Textile Research and Technology Institute (TRTI), Pre-treatment and Finishing of Cellulose based Textiles Department (PFCTD), El-Behouth St. (former El-Tahrir str.), Dokki, P.O. 12622, Giza, Egypt

2 Benha University, Faculty of Applied Arts, Printing, Dyeing and Finishing Department, Benha, Egypt

Abstract

Of all the methods used to adorn textile materials today, printing is the most important. It is a well-known method applied in the textile business to improve the fabric's visual appeal and satisfy consumer preferences. Printing is primarily a sort of colouring in which a specific region rather than the entire fabric is coloured. During the printing process, thickeners are employed to limit the amount of colouring material on the pattern. The usage of artificial thickeners in the printing industry has a number of negative environmental implications. Therefore, in this study, we focused on using several environmentally friendly natural gums as thickeners to minimise the effects on the environment. Experimental results demonstrated that native and natural thickeners such as neem, almond, and arabic gums may be utilised successfully in fabric printing.

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