DEVELOPING A CHEMICAL PLATFORM BASED ON COTTONSEED OIL TO DEVELOP FUNCTIONAL FINISHES FOR CELLULOSIC SUBSTRATES

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a chemical platform based on cottonseed oil to produce novel functional, non-allergenic, and sustainable products that can be used as finishing agents for cotton apparel and wet-strength agents for paper. In this way, we hope to create a new economic value for cottonseed oil that is sustainable and profitable within the current plant oil-based chemical industry. We will evaluate epoxidized cottonseed oil as a source for the development of bio-based finishes as an alternative to petroleum-derived products such as softeners, cross-linkers, and wet strength agents. The chemistry will be designed to maximize a strong affinity for a cotton (cellulose) substrate and not to hinder the fabric/paper properties such as colorfastness or strength. The potential to develop natural finishes/additives from cottonseed oil offers novel products to the textile and paper industries. This approach creates both new markets for cottonseed oil and generates a new natural finishing concept to replace petroleum-based products that will appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. This will generate a novel use for cottonseed oil and thus increase its value to the US cotton producer and the cotton industry, ultimately increasing the competitiveness of U.S. cotton. To achieve the goal, our project has the following specific objectives :Objective 1: Fully characterize the cottonseed oil chemical composition and determine the major chemical features. Research Question: Will the significant compositional differences that CSO possesses relative to soybean oil deliver different performance characteristics?Objective 2: Understand and improve the reaction of peroxide with unsaturated bonds to form epoxide on the alkyl chains of fatty acids using two different pathways. Research Question: Can the epoxidation extent of the peroxide reaction be controlled using time, temperature, and reactant concentrations? Can alumina catalysts or other solid Lewis acid catalystsbe used to replace acids for a more environmentally sustainable process to produce ECSO?Objective 3: Understand how the formulation and preparation steps impact the stability of an aqueous emulsion of the epoxidized cottonseed oil. Research Question: Can the stability of the emulsion be optimized by manipulating specific formulation variables? Objective 4: Determine the effect that application and reaction conditions of the ESCO have on its use as a durable wrinkle-resistant finish on cotton fabrics. Research Question: Can ECSO impart cotton fabrics with water and wrinkle resistance? Can we achieve a specific level of crosslinking that will balance increases in wrinkle resistance and decreases in tensile and softness properties of cotton fabric?Objective 5: Determine how the ECSO emulsion can be applied to paper substrates to produce effective wet strength properties. Research Question: Can treatment of paper with an ECSO emulsion provide dry and wet strength to the paper by covalent crosslinking of fiber surfaces?Objective 6: Develop fabric softeners based on ECSO modified with amines and investigate how the chemical composition and application methods impact the softening properties and durability of the developed softener. Hypotheses: Modification of ECSO with amines will yield a complex molecule with unique multifunctionality. Differing amounts of modification (amine/epoxide ratio) will yield finishes that lend different balances of properties.