Optimización del blanqueo convencional con peróxido de hidrógeno.

The individual and combined influence on the bleaching of wool of the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, temperature and time of treatment have been studied, using a rotatable central design of experiments in which the values of the above variables covered the values used in industry. Mathematical treatment of the values of the optical, chemical and mechanical parameters has enabled equations to be derived, from which the value of any parameter can be computed when the values of the variables are within the range of the plan of experiments, resulting in a good agreement being obtained between experimental and calculated values. Use of these equations facilitates optimization of the process of wool bleaching, and bleaching conditions leading to the whitest 'wool have been suggested for an allowable chemical degradation (alkali solubilities of 25 % and 30 %). More severe conditions of bleaching do not necessarily produce a whiter wool, but cause greater chemical and mechanical degradation of the fibre. An excellent linear correlation has been found between thc chemical parameters modified by the bleaching operation ant between these wet tensile strenght of the fibre.