Bleaching process for increasing whiteness and light fastness of kenaf and kenaf-jute blended fabrics

A chemical process with (a) calcium hypochlorite and (b) hydrogen peroxide is described for bleaching of 100% kenaf fabrics as well as kenfa-jute (60:40) blended fabrics. Some physico-chemical properties of the fabrics processed with this method were determined and compared with those of their mother fabrics to indicate improvement induced by the process. The process was found to increase whitteness and lightfastness of both experimental fabrics. The loss of strength properties was minor in comparison to the accompanying advantages. The blended fabrics contain higher percentage of alpha-cellulose (i.e. fibrous constituent) than the micellulose and lignin contents (i.e. non-fibrous constituents). The process was industrially experimented and found practicable; therefore, it has commercial significance for the production of value added and diversified products from kenaf fabrics and their blends with jute fabrics.