Effect of esterification by varying the volume of balanites aegyptiaca seed oil on some physicochemical properties of cellulosic fabric

This research investigated the effect of varying the volume of Balanites aegyptiaca seed oil via esterification on the physicochemical properties of cellulosic fabric. The oil was soxhlet extracted with hexane. The oil yield was 40% and the moisture content was 0.22%. The fabrics (10cm x 10cm and 21 cm × 2.5 cm) were pretreated by scouring, bleaching and mercerization then esterified with 10cm3 through 60cm3 of oil. The effects of these treatments gave improvement in the dry and wet crease recovery angles and yarn twist. The highest values of dry crease (127o warp and 118o weft), wet crease (71o warp and 61o weft) and yarn twist (24 TPI warp and 22 TPI weft) were obtained with 50cm3 of oil. The values of these properties for the control (Unesterified) fabric were; dry crease (50o warp 45o weft), wet crease (37o warp and 35o weft) and yarn twist (14TPI warp and 12TPI weft). These revealed that the improvements were generally better in war p direction than weft direction due to difference in fabric construction. The bending properties increased but did not optimize within the volume of oil used. There was reduction in air permeability and water imbibition due to the presence of a more hydrophobic ester bond. Hence this fabric will be comfortable for clothing during the spring season and for drape making. It will have better resistance to microbial attack during storage.