Question

Consider the following statements with respect to a cotton fabric which has been fully desized and bleached but not scoured:
P. It has residual seed coat fragments
Q. It has poor water absorbency
R. It has high whiteness index
S. It has high crease recovery
The combination of TRUE statements is:

• A. P, Q and R
• B. Q, R and S
• C. P, R and S
• D. P, Q and S

Hint:

Remember: Scouring improves absorbency, removes waxes and seed fragments, while bleaching improves whiteness but not absorbency.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

A cotton fabric that is desized and bleached but not scoured still contains natural impurities from the fibre. Scouring is the stage where waxes, pectins, seed-coat fragments, mineral matter, and residual fats are removed using alkaline treatment. Since the fabric in this question has not undergone scouring, it will definitely retain natural impurities. Therefore, statement P (residual seed coat fragments) is true. Scouring also improves the absorbency of cotton by removing hydrophobic substances such as waxes and pectins present on the fibre surface. Because scouring has not been done here, the fibre retains these hydrophobic impurities, leading to poor water absorbency. Hence statement Q is also true. Bleaching is performed to increase whiteness by removing natural colouring matter such as pigments. Even without scouring, bleaching still improves the whiteness index of cotton, although not to the fullest possible level. However, the question asks whether whiteness index is high—in comparison to an unbleached fabric, it is significantly higher. Thus statement R is also true. Statement S is false because crease recovery is related to the internal polymer structure of cotton and improves only with resin finishing (e.g., durable press treatments). Desizing and bleaching do not improve crease recovery. Therefore, the true statements are P, Q, and R.