Assessment of Some Physicochemical Properties of Cellulosic Fabric Esterified Using Varying Volume of Jatropha curcas Seed Oil

This paper presents the results of the assessment of some physicochemical properties of cellulosic fabric esterified using varying volume of Jatropha curcas seed oil. The oil was extracted using Soxhlet apparatus under reflux with hexane as solvent. The percentage yield and moisture content was 47.25% and 0.56% respectively. The fabric (10 cm x 10 cm and 21 cm x 2.5 cm) was identified to be cellulose; it was subjected to purification processes before esterification. The purification processes are scouring, bleaching and mercerization, after which the fabrics were esterified using 10 cm3 through 60 cm3 of oil. The results of esterification gave improvement in dry and wet crease recovery angles, and yarn twist. The highest values of dry crease (130º warp and 122º weft), wet crease (74º warp and 68º weft) and yarn twist (25 TPI warp and 23 TPI weft) were obtained with 50 cm3 of oil. The unesterified (control) fabric recorded lower values of dry crease recovery angles (50º warp and 45º weft), wet crease (37º warp and 35º weft) and yarn twist (14 TPI warp and 12 TPI weft). These revealed that esterification is the reason for the observed improvements and was generally better in warp direction than in weft direction. This may be attributed to the difference in the fabric construction. There was increase in bending properties but did not optimize within the volume of oil used. The air permeability and percentage water imbibition was reduced compared to the control fabric; revealing a structural modification and the formation of a hydrophobic ester bond. This may be an indication that the esterified fabric will be more resistant to the formation of mildew during storage. Hence the seed oil of Jatropha curcas is recommended for easy care finish in textile industries.