This study examined the effects of household fabric softeners on the thermal comfort and flammability of 100% cotton and 100% polyester fabrics after repeated laundering. Two fabric properties related to thermal comfort, water vapor transmission and air permeability, were examined. A 3 X 2 X 3 experimental design (i.e., 18 experimental cells) was developed to conduct the research. Three independent variables were selected: fabric softener treatments (i.e., rinse cycle softener, dryer sheet softener, no softener), fabric types (i.e., 100% cotton, 100% polyester), and number of laundering cycles (i.e., 1, 15, 25 cycles). Three dependent variables were tested: water vapor transmission, air permeability, and flammability. The test fabrics were purchased from Testfabrics, Inc. To examine the influence of the independent variables and their interactions on each dependent variable, two-way or three-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests were used to analyze the data. Results in this study showed that both the rinse cycle softener and the dryer sheet softener significantly decreased the water vapor transmission of test specimens to a similar degree. The rinse cycle softener decreased the air permeability of test specimens most and was followed by the dryer sheet softener. The rinse cycle softener increased the flammability of both cotton and polyester fabrics, but the dryer sheet softener had no significant effect on the flammability of both fabric types. Statistical analysis also indicated that the interactions were significant among the independent variables on water vapor transmission, air permeability, and flammability of the test specimens. For example, the rinse cycle softener significantly decreased the water vapor transmission and air permeability of cotton fabric but had no effect on polyester fabric. The dryer sheet softener also decreased the water vapor transmission of cotton fabric but had no effect on polyester fabric, and it had no effect on the air permeability of both cotton and polyester fabrics. In addition, the air permeability of cotton specimens treated with the rinse cycle softener continuously reduced after repeated laundering, but that of polyester fabrics treated with the rinse cycle softener only reduced after 15 laundering cycles and showed no continuous decrease when laundering cycles increased. When the influence of fabric softener treatments on flammability was examined, the results showed that the more the specimens were laundered with the rinse cycle softener, the greater the flammability of the test specimens. However, the dryer sheet softener did not have a significant effect on the flammability of the test fabrics even after repeated laundering. For the polyester fabric, all specimens treated with the dryer sheet softener or no softener passed the standard of children's sleepwear even after 25 laundering cycles, but those treated with the rinse cycle softener did not pass the standard. In conclusion, fabric softener treatment had a significant influence on the thermal comfort (i.e., water vapor transmission and air permeability) and flammability of 100% cotton and 100% polyester fabrics after repeated laundering cycles and the effects were significantly different among the three independent variables (i.e., fabric softener treatments, fabric types, and number of laundering cycles). The applications of these results were also discussed. / Master of Science

<p>Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on earth, derived from a variety of living species. An attractive source to obtain cellulose is from agriculture wastes, for instance, potato peel. Potato is one of the most important crops for human consumption, but in recent years its consumption in raw form has decreased, especially in developed countries. Many potatoes are processed into value-added products to meet the demand of fast food industries. So far the main use of the potato peel is sold for animal feed at very low prices. In addition, there are significant quantities of rotten potatoes generated during the years of heavy rain fall, which represent a substantial financial loss to the farmers unless an alternative industrial use can be found for the biomass. Therefore, extracting cellulose from potato peel and processing them into a higher valuable product is not only an environment-friendly solution to the disposal issues but also creates a non-food based economy for potatoes.</p> <p>Cellulose nanocrystals (CN) are a promising material and have been widely studied over the past two decades. This material is interesting as nanofiller due to its nanoscale dimensions, high specific area, and highly rigid crystalline structure. In comparison to mineral or metal nanofillers that are industrially available, cellulose nanocrystals are prepared from renewable feedstocks, feature low density, are relatively low cost, and remain biodegradable.</p> <p>This study investigated the effectiveness of cellulose nanocrystal derived from potato peel waste to improve the mechanical and barrier properties of a polymer. The nanocrystals were chemically derived from the cellulosic material in potato peel waste by alkali treatment and subsequently acid hydrolysis with sulfuric acid. Infrared spectroscopy indicated sufficient removal of lignin and hemicellulose from the raw potato peel biomass whereas X-ray diffraction confirmed that the prepared nanocrystals maintained their original crystalline lattice structure as the extracted cellulose, with a crystallinity of 85%. TEM images showed that the average fiber length of the nanocrystals was 410 nm with a diameter of 10 nm (aspect ratio of 41). Cellulose nanocrystal-filled polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) were prepared by solution casting method to maintain uniform dispersion of the 1-2% (w/w) fibers. An increase of 19% and 38% (starch composite) and 32% and 54% (PVA composite) in Young’s modulus was observed for the 1% and 2% CN-reinforced composites, respectively. Water vapor transmission rate measurements showed a reduction of water permeability for the PVA nanocomposite, whereas no effect was observed for starch nanocomposite.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)