Textile & Laundry

The use of hydrogen peroxide in textile and laundry bleaching allows a high degree of whiteness and brightness while helping to preserve the mechanical properties of textile fibers. Similar to pulp and cotton bleaching, this bleaching process takes place in an alkaline environment. The bleaching liquors must be stabilized to prevent decomposition reactions caused by trace metals such as copper, iron, and manganese, which may be present in textile fibers or in process water used for industrial laundry applications.

Practically all cotton produced today is bleached, and approximately 80–90% of all cotton fabrics are bleached with hydrogen peroxide. Typically, hydrogen peroxide bleaching is carried out using 0.3–0.6 wt% H₂O₂ solutions at a pH of 10.5–11.5, for 1–3 hours at temperatures of 90–95 °C, which represent commonly applied conditions in professional textile and laundry processing. In the past, sodium hypochlorite was used for cotton bleaching but was discontinued due to fiber damage and process‑related challenges.

Color‑safe laundry bleaches containing hydrogen peroxide have been widely accepted in various applications. One key advantage of hydrogen peroxide in laundry bleaching is that it does not adversely affect modern textile dyes.

Evonik’s hydrogen peroxide grades have demonstrated effective bleaching performance in hard surface cleaners, laundry prespot products, carpet cleaners, and other color‑safe bleaching formulations used in industrial, commercial, and professional cleaning applications.