Insights into microwave-assisted stripping of reactive black 5: a comparative perspective

Sometimes, during the dyeing process of textile fabrics, some color variations and color spots occur, which considerably decrease the fabric quality. The problem of defective and uneven dyeing during textile processing generally involves a chemical stripping approach. The stripping efficiency of reactive dyes from cellulose fabric cannot be easily attained because of the formation of covalent bonds between dye molecules and fibers. This research examined the effects of oxidative and reductive color stripping on cotton fabrics dyed with reactive black 5 dye. A microwave-assisted technique was applied instead of conventional stripping methods, which involve chemicals and high energy consumption that adversely affect the strength and quality of the fabric. This strategy ensures efficient surface strength and fabric quality, which is favorable for redyeing. The efficiency of the stripped material was 97–97.56%, as measured via a Spectra-flash spectrophotometer, and the fabric strength was determined when the fabric was subjected to the primary method, i.e., 306 was the load at a maximum elongation percentage of 11.16% according to the tensile strength of the material. The data obtained from this study were evaluated via a standard deviation method.