Identification of Textile Fiber | Identification of Thermoplastic Fiber

Last Updated on 12/04/2021

Name of the Experiment:
Identification of given textile fiber sample.

Introduction:
The properties of the yarn and fabric are directly influenced by the properties of fiber from which yarn and fabric are made. There are different methods of fibre identification for characterization of the structural, physical, and chemical properties of fibers. Various methods are used for identification of textile fiber like microscopic methods, solubility, heating and burning method, density, and staining etc. In this experiment I will discuss identification of thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic textile fiber.

Objectives:

To know about the physical properties of textile fiber sample.
To know about the chemical properties of textile fiber sample.
To identify the type of sample fiber.

Sample_01

Visual properties:

Color: White
Handle: Harsh

Physical test:

Preliminary sorting test by heating:

We took small tuft of fibers hold in forceps and brought it slowly up to but not into a small non-luminous flame. Then observe the condition:

Obs. no.	Behavior	Remark
1	Does not shrink from flame or melt	Non-thermoplastic

For non- thermoplastic fiber:
Bring a small tuft of fibers into a small non-luminous flame –

Obs. no.	Behavior	Remark
1	Burn with irregular spurting flame, leaving a black inflated, easily powdered residue & emits a smell of burnt hair.	Protein (Silk & Wool)

Chemical test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Remark
Obs. no.	Chemical	Cold	Hot	Remark
1.	Phenol	Unchanged	Unchanged
2.	Dimethyl formamide	Unchanged	Unchanged
3.	Sulphuric acid	Unchanged	Dissolve	May be silk
4.	Sodium hydroxide	Unchanged	Dissolve	May be wool

Confirmation test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Result
		Cold	Hot
1.	Sodium hydroxide	Unchanged	Dissolve	Wool

Sample_02

Visual properties:

Color: White
Handle: Soft handle

Physical test:

Preliminary sorting test by heating:

We took small tuft of fibers hold in forceps and brought it slowly up to but not into a small non-luminous flame. Then observe the condition:

Obs. no.	Behavior	Remark
1.	Does not shrink from flame or melt	Non-thermoplastic

For non- thermoplastic fiber:
Bring a small tuft of fibers into a small non-luminous flame –

Obs. no.	Behavior	Remark
1.	Burns readily and without melting, emitting a smell of burnt paper & leaving a small amount of ash.	Cellulose & Regenerated Cellulose

Chemical test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Remark
Obs. no.	Chemical	Cold	Hot	Remark
1.	Phenol	Unchanged	Unchanged
2.	Acetic acid	Unchanged	Unchanged
3.	Nitric acid	Unchanged	Dissolve
4.	Sulphuric acid	Unchanged	Dissolve	May be cotton

Confirmation test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Result
		Cold	Hot
1.	Sulphuric acid	Unchanged	Dissolve	Cotton

Sample_03

Visual properties:

Color: White
Handle: Soft.

Physical test:

Preliminary sorting test by heating:

We took small tuft of fibers hold in forceps and brought it slowly up to but not into a small non-luminous flame. Then observe the condition:

Obs. no.	Behavior	Remark
1.	Shrink from flame or melts with the formation of bead	Thermoplastic

For thermoplastic fiber:

Bring a small tuft of fibers into a small non-luminous flame –

Obs. no.	Behavior	Odor	Residue	Remark
1.	Melts then burns (smoky flame)	Aromatic	Glossy brown bead (not crushable)	May be Polyester

Chemical test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Remark
Obs. no.	Chemical	Cold	Hot	Remark
1.	Sulphuric acid	Unchange	Unchange
2.	Dimethyl formamide	Unchange	Unchange
3.	Phenol	Unchange	Dissolve	May be Polyester
4.	Sodium hydroxide	Unchange	Unchange

Confirmation test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Result
		Cold	Hot
1.	Phenol	Unchange	Dissolve	Polyester

Sample_04

Visual properties:

Color: Bluish white
Handle: Soft

Physical test:

Preliminary sorting test by heating:

We took small tuft of fibers hold in forceps and brought it slowly up to but not into a small non-luminous flame. Then observe the condition:

Obs. no.	Behavior	Remark
1	Shrink from flame or melts with the formation of bead	Thermoplastic

For non- thermoplastic fiber:
Bring a small tuft of fibers into a small non-luminous flame –

Obs. no.

Behavior

Odor

Residue

Remark

Fuses then burns (smoky flame)

Sweetish

Dark color

Hard bead but brittle

May be Acrylic

Chemical test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Remark
Obs. no.	Chemical	Cold	Hot	Remark
1.	Phenol	Unchanged	Color change
2.	Dimethyl formamide	Unchanged	Dissolve	May be acrylic
3.	Nitric acid	Unchanged	Unchanged
4.	Sulphuric acid	Unchanged	Dissolve	May be acrylic

Confirmation test:

Obs. no.	Chemical	Behavior		Result
		Cold	Hot
1.	Dimethyl formamide	Unchanged	Dissolve	Acrylic

Conclusion:
I would like to thank our respected teacher for the important instructions. I am also grateful to our lab assistants for their kind help. This experiment helps me to know about the physical and chemical properties of textile fiber that is very important for textile testing. I think this will be very helpful in my future life.

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Mazharul Islam Kiron

Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.