Textiles and methods and systems for producing textiles

摘要

Textiles are provided that include fibrous cellulosic materials having an α-cellulose content of less than about 93%, the fibrous materials being spun, woven, knitted, or entangled. The fibrous cellulosic materials can be irradiated with a dose of ionizing radiation that is sufficient to increase the molecular weight of the cellulosic materials without causing significant depolymerization of the cellulosic materials. Methods of treating textiles that include irradiating the textiles are also provided.

主权项

1. A method of treating a textile, the method comprising:
irradiating a textile to cross-link fibers of the textile, where the textile is in the form of a yarn or fabric comprising a fibrous cellulosic material having a first molecular weight and a moisture content of 2 to 6 weight percent, and where the textile is treated with a dose of ionizing electron beam radiation of about 0.10 up to about 2.5 MRad, and where the treatment cross-links the fibers to increase the molecular weight of the cellulosic material to provide an irradiated textile comprising a second fibrous cellulosic material having a second molecular weight higher than the first molecular weight; and cooling the irradiated textile by contacting the textile with nitrogen gas at a temperature lower than the irradiated textile, wherein the nitrogen gas is cooled to about 77° K.