Eco-Friendly Ozone Process for Denim Garments as an Alternative to Conventional Bleaching

Abstract

In recent years, sustainability has become an important issue in production. The denim industry is environmentally problematic as an area where a wide variety of chemicals are used. Therefore, it is of great importance to replace various chemicals with clean technologies such as ozone. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of water content, treatment time and pH on both color fading and strength of the fabric during ozone treatment of denim textiles. Thus, optimum conditions of color fading with ozone in industrial applications have been revealed. It was found that it is most appropriate to work at 30% water content and the ozonation time should be changed according to the desired degree of color fading. Furthermore, it can be said that there is no significant difference between pH 4 and pH 7, but pH 11 is significantly different from them and the best color fading is obtained at pH 4. Since there is no significant difference between pH 4 and pH 7, it is thought that the pH 7 condition, which is simpler in practice and does not require the use of chemicals, would be optimal.