Absorbent cotton is a cotton material that is free from grease and other impurities. It is easily wetted by water and is able to absorb it easily.
Vata is intended for production and is used in medicine. The latter must be made in accordance with special requirements and standards.
Hygroscopic medical cotton wool (GOST 5556-81) is actively used in surgery.
Production
Absorbent cotton is obtained from cotton. It is using special machines cleaned of existing husks, dust and sand. Then oil and fats are removed from the fibers. This is done by boiling in liquor for 12 hours. When boiling under pressure in 3 atmospheres, just two hours is enough. After such degreasing, the cotton becomes brown.
After that, bleaching is required. First, the cotton wool is rinsed with water, passed through a centrifuge and left for several days. Then it is immersed in bleach for 6 hours. Then the cotton wool is transferred to sulfuric acid and left for 60 minutes. With incomplete bleaching, the procedure is repeated. Be sure to use bleach, from which the solution is prepared.
Treated and bleached cotton wool is washed with water and centrifuged again. In order to remove chlorine and eliminate inconsistent colorless compounds, you need to dip cotton in soapy water. It is required to process the material with water with the addition of sulfuric acid. After this, the acid is averaged, and the cotton wool is again washed with water.
Then the material is dried, and then comb well.
Under the influence of sulfuric acid and when washed with water, the soap decomposes. Deposition occurs in stearic acid fibers in a crushed form. Manages to get a beautiful white cotton. In the process of squeezing, she emits a pleasant crunch. After degreasing, it is again saturated with fatty acid. That's why only cotton wool is suitable for medicine, which at the last stage of production was not saponified and was not treated with sulfuric acid. There should not be any microorganisms in cotton wool, therefore, when processing the material, only boiled water is used.
Cotton flax
Also known is a method for producing flax wool. Initially, saping is performed. Then a chemical treatment is performed: it includes bleaching and hydrophilicity to the fibers. Rinse with water, cold and hot. Final pulping includes wet loosening, drying and scratching. The latter is performed on a special machine. In this case, flax fiber becomes cotton with a certain capillarity and level of whiteness. This method is very simple. The number of technological operations is less, and the resulting product is fully consistent with modern standards.
The second method of production of cotton wool from flax
There is a known method for the production of flax wool with the help of mechanical razvolennosti, cooking, acidification, bleaching, washing, pressing, loosening, drying and scratching. In this case, cooking is carried out in the presence of a reducing agent. As the latter, sulfur-containing, nitrogen-containing, anthrachine substances are used. After cooking, the fiber is acidified. Whitening is done in alkali using hydrogen peroxide. Loosening is carried out on a wet fiber cultivator.
The disadvantage of this method is that only flax fiber is used as raw material.
Chemical and mechanical processing of cotton wool
A popular method of producing cotton wool, which includes the chemical and mechanical treatment of cellulose fibers. This forms a mixture of fibers. A shabby mixed fiber is made. A cotton canvas is produced from it. This is done on special equipment. At the same time, bast crops: hemp and flax become cellulose fibers. In the process of forming the mixture, flax fiber is mixed in a certain ratio with hemp. Technological capabilities of the method are incredibly wide. The quality of the cotton wool improves significantly when the sedimentation rate of the fibers in the water increases.
The disadvantage of this method is that the composition of the cotton is limited to hemp and flax fibers.
There is also a method of manufacturing cotton wool, including the mechanical processing of flax and cotton fibers. After that, they are treated chemically in alkali. In this case, hypochlorite is necessarily present. Next, washing, mandatory bleaching. The next step is acidification. Then again there is a flushing. At the end, the emulsion is made. This method is simple and economical. It is possible to get medical cotton wool of excellent quality.
For this method, the purified fibers of bast and cotton crops become raw materials.
Wool production profitability
In the textile industry, especially in the production of cotton wool, there is an acute shortage of raw materials. The thing is that natural and synthetic fibers are absent or too expensive. Some components of cotton wool are not available in Russia. Cotton wool from imported raw materials is not entirely cost-effective. Even the use of artificial refined fibers in the production of cotton wool does not make production cost-effective.
It is very important to constantly expand the arsenal of materials for the production of absorbent cotton. At the same time, it will be possible to increase the rate of wetting, the ability of cotton wool to absorb moisture and its capillarity. In combination with fibers of natural origin, which have sufficient maturity, low content of fatty, pectin and waxy substances, it is possible to improve the quality of the produced cotton wool. It is possible to eliminate dependence on the deficit of one type of raw material, which is required for production.
Enriched cotton
Enriched medical absorbent cotton is available. The mixture includes cotton or bast fibers. This version of the material is more affordable. In the manufacture of absorbent cotton, not only bast and cotton fibers are used, but also the remains of textile production. These are scraps of thread, trimmed cloths, low-grade and substandard fiber. Sacking rags and waste is made on a special machine. This is done in stages. Initially there is a rough, and then more delicate tweaking. Those wastes that do not undergo pulping are returned for reprocessing.
In order to improve the quality of cotton wool and give it certain properties, when combing, fibers of textile, tow of flax, jute or kenaf are added. At the same time, they undergo preliminary bleaching, acidification, washing, pressing, loosening, drying and scratching. Made cotton canvas is pressed into bales. Then it is packaged in accordance with the requirements for medical cotton wool.
There is medical hygroscopic non-sterile and sterile cotton. The difference is that the last cotton wool is subjected to special treatment in an oven, where 100% of all bacteria are destroyed. This ensures the safety of cotton wool in contact with open wounds. Hygroscopic non-sterile cotton wool is not used in surgery.
Various fibers can be part of the textile waste rags. In order to adjust the properties of the wool, natural or artificial materials are added. For example, in order to get cotton wool with certain antiseptic properties, they take textile flax waste or rags from flax.
Rags in cotton
The use of rags and textile waste in the production of absorbent cotton wool solves several problems:
- Firstly, it is possible to significantly expand the range of fibers and their composition. This area of materials that has not been used before is covered.
- Secondly, it turns out to eliminate the dependence on the shortage of certain raw materials. Provides continuous loading of equipment.
- Thirdly, a variety of textile waste and rags are disposed of. The output is guaranteed to create a high quality product.
- Fourth, specialized raw fiber feed is saved. From it it is possible to make knitted or textile products.
Cotton wool release
Initially, only pharmacists produced cotton wool. But now this product is produced by factories and special whitewashing workshops. In the manufacture of cotton wool, high-quality cotton varieties are already taken as raw materials. In the process of mechanical cleaning with the help of strong jets of air all hairs of small length are removed. Excellent quality medical hygroscopic surgical cotton wool should not contain any dust or short fibers.
After processing on special cardan machines, the cotton strips are folded and pressed. It is also verified that the material is easily wetted by water.
Medical cotton wool, depending on the purpose, is divided into 3 types:
- Vata is hygroscopic ophthalmic.
- Hygienic cotton wool.
- Vata is surgical.
Features of absorbent cotton
The cleaned cotton under the microscope looks identically untreated. It consists of flat, tubular, unicellular hairs. They are all twisted into a spiral. Inside each is a flat channel that is filled with air. The width of the fiber is from 0.015 to 0.028 mm. Purified cotton wool has a white color. She doesn't smell. It contains fat. If you squeeze it between your fingers and throw it into the water, then it will sink very slowly. It can be easily moistened with water and other solutions based on it. Ordinary cotton wool does not possess such properties.
After burning the material, 0.3% of the ash from the initial weight remains. A water extract based on 10 g of cotton wool per 20 g of water should not form a precipitate. Pure cotton wool and its tissues are widely used in surgery. They are especially in demand in the treatment of ulcers, wounds, burns, fractures. They are also used for various skin lesions and rheumatism. From peeled cotton wool are produced: sherting, cambric, lint, kisei and fat-free threads. Cotton wool and fabrics from it are used in their pure form. They are also often saturated with medicinal substances. Collodion or colloxylin is obtained from purified cotton.