Optimization of Glycerol Treatment for Improved Flexibility of Dried Bacterial Cellulose Nonwoven Fabric

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drying of bacterial cellulose nonwoven alters its structural properties due to the collapse of its three-dimensional structure. The dried bacterial cellulose is stiffer, less flexible, brittle and cannot be used as a material for apparel. To improve these properties, this research is aimed to plasticize the bacterial cellulose nonwoven using glycerol. Statistical optimization with Box and Behnken design is performed using major influencing process parameters, such as percentage of glycerol concentration, immersion time, and drying temperature. The glycerol treatment process is optimized against textile properties like thickness, crease recovery, bending length, tensile strength, and elongation. results show that an increment in the glycerol concentration and treatment time reduces the tensile strength and increases the thickness and elongation. Bending length and crease recovery angle reduce with longer treatment time. Lower temperature drying showed positive effects of desirable properties. The statistical optimization process identified 1% of glycerol concentration, 30°C drying temperature, and 33 h of immersion time as an optimum parameter with 84% desirability. The moisture management results indicated that the glycerol treatment converted the waterproof fabric into a fast-absorbing fabric with slow drying. However, the fabrics showed a poor one-way moisture transport capacity.