With the continuous advancement of textile production technology, more and more new fibers have become raw materials for textiles, which has brought about the problem of identifying fibers for textiles. Commonly used fiber identification methods include microscopic observation, combustion, reagent coloration, dyeing, and dissolution.

identify common fibers

With the continuous advancement of textile production technology, more and more new fibers have become raw materials for textiles, which has brought about the problem of identifying fibers for textiles. Commonly used fiber identification methods include microscopic observation, combustion, reagent coloration, dyeing, and dissolution.

As a textile company with more than 15 years of R&D and production experience, we will simply popularize the following knowledge to you:

Professional in the textile industry

1. Microscope observation method
Make longitudinal slices and cross-sectional slices of the fibers, observe longitudinal and transverse morphology of the fibers under a microscope, and identify the fibers base on the difference in morphological characteristics, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Morphological characteristics of various fibers:

Fiber type

Vertical form

Cross-sectional shape

Tencel fiber

Smooth

More regular round or oval, with a core layer

Modal fiber

1-2 grooves in the longitudinal direction

Irregular similar to round waist, smoother, with leather core

Soybean fiber

Irregular grooves and island-like bumps on the surface

Flat dumbbell-shaped and round waist

Bamboo fiber

Grooves on the surface

Zigzag type, with core layer

Chitin Fiber

Obvious grooves on the surface

Zigzag edge, with obvious small gaps in the core layer

Viscose fiber

Grooves on the surface

Zigzag type, with core layer

Cotton fiber

Natural twist Round waist with middle cavity

Silk

Smooth surface
Irregular triangle

Wool fiber

Scaly surface Round shape

Polyester fiber

Stick shape on the surface Smooth surface round

2. Combustion method

Different fibers have different flames, smoke, odors, residues, etc. during the combustion process. Therefore, the types of fibers can be distinguished according to the characteristics of the fibers during and after combustion, as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Characteristics of various fibers during and after combustion:

Fiber type

Close to the flame

In the flame

Leave the flame

Burning smell

Residue form

Tencel fiber

Does not melt or shrink

Burning quickly Keep burning Burnt paper flavor Gray-black residue

Modal fiber

Does not melt or shrink

Burning does not melt with black smoke Keep burning Burnt paper flavor Gray-black residue

Soybean fiber

Shrink

Burning quickly Not easy to fire spread Singeing flavor Crunchy black ash residue

Bamboo fiber

Does not melt or shrink

Burning quickly Keep burning Burnt paper flavor Gray-black residue

Chitin Fiber

Does not melt or shrink

Burning quickly Keep burning Burnt paper flavor Gray-black residue

Viscose fiber

Does not melt or shrink

Burning quickly Keep burning Burnt paper flavor A small amount of off-white ash

Cotton fiber

Does not melt or shrink Burning quickly Keep burning Burnt paper flavor A small amount of off-white ash

Silk

Shrink Burning quickly Not easy to fire spread Singeing flavor Crunchy black ash residue

Wool fiber

Shrink Burning quickly Not easy to fire spread Singeing flavor Crunchy black ash residue

Polyester fiber

Melt and shrink Melt then burn with solution dripping Easy to fire spread Special aroma Glassy dark brown hard ball

3. Reagent color method

Due to the different structures of various fibers, they have different coloring reactions to iodine and potassium iodide solutions. The fiber can be identified by observing the color and swelling of the fiber after the action of the reagent. This identification is only applicable to white fibers, and colored fibers can only be tested after fading. Reagent preparation: Dissolves 20g of iodine in 100ml of saturated potassium iodide solution, mixes thoroughly and then immerse the fiber for 1 minute,after washing then judge it by its color, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3 The coloring reaction of various fiber burning to iodine solution:

Fiber type

Tencel fiber

Modal fiber

Soybean fiber

Bamboo fiber

Chitin Fiber

Color development with iodine solution

Black blue cyan

Blue gray

Brownness

Blue gray

Black

Fiber type

Viscose fiber

Cotton fiber

Silk

Wool fiber

Polyester fiber

Color development with iodine solution

Black blue cyan

Not stained

Light yellow

Light yellow

Not stained

4. Dyeing method
For the dyeing method to identify fibers, which one is mainly based on the difference in color reaction of various fibers to dyes. Here are two dyeing methods, one is cold dyeing and the other is boiling dyeing. And the formula of the dyeing method, as shown in Table 4.

Table 4 Dyeing formula:

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