1.

Hydrogen Peroxide is most widely used Bleaching

Agent for more than 85% of Textile Substrate.
2. Process involves the the treatment of material with a
solution of H2O2 in alkaline media.
3. The active bleaching agent is HO2-
4. The colored substances in the material are oxidized.
5. It produces a stable white color, and bleached
fabrics are highly hydrophillic.
6. It produces Non Toxic reaction products.
It is process in which we examine the concentration of
caustic and silica in peroxide bleach bath at regular
intervals of time so as to make the the process more
efficient and decrease the degradation of material
under treatment.
 H2O2 ļ H+ + HO2-
The above reaction is activated in alkaline media and is
reversible. Alkali shifts the reaction to right hand by absorbing
the proton.
H+ + HO2- ĺ HO2- + H2O (in presence of OH- )
An increase in amount of alkali will increase the rate of
formation of HO2- , thereby leading to degradation of material
& a decrease will result in decreased bleaching efficiency.
The pH range preferred is 10.4 to 10.8 , because
1. It is Safe &
2. Rate of formation of HO2- is equal to rate of its consumption
for bleaching.
pH % decomposition of H2O2

10.4 7
11.1 13.5
11.8 19.0
12.2 25.0
12.6 59.2
The HO2- is very unstable & it can be stabilized by inserting a
cation with high charge density like Mg , but it suffers a problem
of precipitation in strongly alkaline media. Therefore silica is used
which makes chain structure for stabilization.

Note: Silica also

controls the
decomposition of
H2O2
Principle : Silica reacts with Sodium Fluoride
in the presence of water to form caustic soda as
under:

SiO2+ 6NaF + 2 H2O ĺ Na2SiF6+ 4NaOH

' H2SO4: 0.1 N Standardized with NaOH
' Sodium Fluoride
' Methyl Red
' Methylene Blue
' 0.1 gm of Methylene Blue is dissolved in 100
ml of Distilled Water.
' 0.2 gm of Methy Red is dissolved in 100 ml
of Ethyl Alcohol.
' The above two solutions are mixed and this
solution is used as Indicator.
' The end point is shown by change in color
from Green ĺ Purple
 Take 10 ml of the peroxide solution in 250 ml flask.
Ļ
Add 100 ml distilled water
Ļ
Add five drops of Indicator & titrate with N/5 Sulphuric Acid Solution
Ļ
Let the reading be ³A´
Ļ
Add 0.1 gm of Sodium Fluoride
Ļ
Shake for 1 Minute
Ļ
Titrate again
Ļ
Let reading be ³B´
 Ļ
Also find the volume of N/5 Sulphuric Acid required to neutralised 1 gm of
Sodium Fluoride.
Ļ
Let this reading be ³C´
' Percent NaOH : (A-X) x N x 0.040 x100
10
' Percent Silica: {B-(A+C)} x N x 0.060 x 100
4 x 10
' X : {B-(A+C)} x 60 x D
4 x 31
Where , N = Normality of acid
D = Ratio of Na2O : SiO2 of the sodium
silicate used in the bath.
This test method is very accurate in estimating the alkali in
peroxide bath except the case that Phosphates & Borates are
present which affect the test accuracy.
This test method determines the total alkali content
of bleach bath containing Hydrogen Peroxide.

Principle: A weighed specimen of the bleach bath

is titrated with a standardized solution of
Sulphuric Acid to a Phenol Red end-point . The
total alkali content is expressed as %NaOH.
' Phenol Red i.e. , Phenol- Sulphonphthalein.
' H2SO4 (0.1 N)

Caution : Water should not be added to acid.

Acid should be added to water for
dilution.
Weigh 10gm of specimen from bleach bath & add 20 ml of
water to it.
Ļ
Add 2-3 drops of Phenol Red solution.
Ļ
Titrate against 0.1N H2SO4 to a Greenish Yellow end-
point.
Ļ
Let this reading be ³Y´
Ļ
Repeat the experiment to get three concordant readings.
% Total Alkali, as NaOH: Y x N x 0.040 x 100
W
Where, N = normality of H2SO4,
0.040 = milliequivalent weight of NaOH ,
W = mass of specimen
Numerous attempts have been made to replace the manual
titration by an automatic titration where end point was not
determined by visual color change but via a potential
change at redoxelectrodes.
Such systems were based on :
' Calorimetric
' Potentiometric
' Conductometric methods of determination.
The main drawbacks in these systems were:
' High Investment Cost
' Long Response Time( of order of minutes)
The Flow Injection Analysis(FIA) was developed
which have a short response time (In seconds). This
system is based on spectrophotometric detection.
A constant flow of the bleaching solution(Flow) is
mixed with a constant flow of solution of known
Concentration of Caustic(Injection). This solution is
detected and a correct pH is adusted and liquor is fed
to machine. The process is continuous and adjust the
pH after regular intervals of time.
Therefore, I can say that the pH control is the most
important parameter in Peroxide Bleaching. We have to
control this parameter by checking the amount of alkali
present in bath at regular intervals. This can be done
either by titration method or by Automatic Sensing
Instruments. With FIA system , the concentration of
Hydrogen Peroxide as well as pH can be determined over
complete pH area , although the setup cost is very high
but we can compensate it for the Quality Control.
' Process & Quality Control by ATIRA
' AATCC Testing Manual
' Analytical Electrochemistry in Textiles by P. Westbroek