Rot steeping

Desizing of cotton fabric can be accomplished by physical, chemical or combination of physical and chemical mechanism, namely rot steeping, acid steeping, treatment with enzyme and oxidising agents. In desizing, the starches and polymers that are applied which are insoluble, are converted into water soluble com-... 

Rot steep To steep (cloth) In an alklUne lye in order to remove the oil, grease and dressing. 

The Sweet Process or Alkaline Process is an older method of steeping than the sulphurous acid method. The nature of this process is indicated by the name. This method was in use for many years and is in use to some extent to-day. By this process the com was placed in large tanks of lukewarm water to Which alkali had been added. The com in these tanks of alkali was allowed to rot for several days. The putrefaction became very foul and only the starch was used as a commercial product. The remainder of the constituents of com were made useless by the alkali or were destroyed by the putrefaction. A starch of high purity was made by this process but the process was too foul and wasteful to be practiced to any extent. It should be noted that this process utilized a combination of the actions of alkali and of bacteria. Little starch was lost in this form of steeping due to the fact that bacteria are practically helpless in their attack upon the starch granule so long as the starch cellulose wall remains intact. 

---