Abstract
In order to enhance detergency of textiles by laundering, soiled fabrics were exposed to an atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) jet. Plain-woven polyester, nylon 6, acryl, acetate and cotton fabrics were soiled with carbon black, oleic acid and stearic acid as model contaminants. Each artificially soiled fabric was cleaned together with its original fabric in aqueous detergent solutions with applying mechanical actions. An increase in soil removal and a decrease in soil redeposition due to the APP exposure were observed for hydrophobic polyester fabric and stearic acid. A drastic sterilization effect of the APP was also confirmed. The APP impact damage to the fabrics was evaluated from the changes in the surface reflection spectrum and the tensile extension parameters, and was found to be small. Conclusively, it is shown that APP exposure can be utilized for the pre-treatment of commercial laundering and wet cleaning.
