| Cotton fiber is the purest source of cellulose and the most significant natural fiber. The economic significance of cotton in the global market is evident by its majority share (over 50%) among fibers for apparel and textile goods. Both the market value and the quality of cotton products are directly related to fiber quality. Competition with other fibers is affected by innovations and commercialization of other fibers including microdenier (polyesters and nylons), elastomeric (spandex), and lyocell fibers, among others. Fundamental understanding of the fibers (structural formation during development, chemistry, physics), significant improvement in fiber quality as well as in process innovation and product differentiation are critical to uphold the inter-fiber competitiveness of cotton fibers and the share of cotton fibers in the global apparel and other textile markets.
Part I of this book focuses on the chemical and physical properties of cotton fibers. The most essential cotton fiber qualities related to mechanical processing, i.e. traditionally yarn spinning, weaving, and knitting, are length, strength, fineness and their distributions. The ranking importance of these fiber qualities varies with the type of yarn spinning method, such as ring, rotor, and air-jet. These fiber qualities also determine the yarn strength, yarn regularity, handle and luster of fabrics. For chemical processing such as scouring, dyeing and finishing, fiber structure related to maturity, or the level of development, plays a major role. This is largely due to the impact of the noncellulosic cell wall components and the cellulose in the secondary cell wall on these chemical processes. |
