describe about the fibers which we use in our daily life, Identification of fibers by burn test, solubility and microscopic.

1. TEXTILE ASSIGNMENT
NAME: Muhammad Usama Siddiqui
CLASS: TS-01
ASSIGNED BY: Sir Imran Raza Malik

2. “IDENTIFICATION OF
TEXTILE FIBERS BY BURN
TEST, MICROSCOPIC AND
SOLUBILITY”

3.  BURN TEST: The fabric will burn fast and the fire will
singe the fabric. The flame will have a yellow glow and after
the lighter is removed, the fabric will continue to burn
quickly with an afterglow. The smell will be neutral, like
burning paper, and the ashes left behind will be light and
gray in color.
 MICROSCOPIC TEST: It is a single elongated cell. Under
the microscope, it resembles a collapsed, spirally twisted
tube with a rough surface. The thin cell wall of the fiber has
from 200 to 400 convolutions per inch.
COTTON

4.  SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Insoluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Slightly Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 70%: soluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Insoluble
Formic acid 90%: Insoluble

5.  BURN TEST: Wool is a natural fiber that comes from an animal,
so it too curls away from the flame and lights on fire slowly. It too
will have trouble staying burning after the fire is pulled away and
the wool will smell like burning hair, as it is in fact, burning animal
fibers. The smell will be slightly more intense than silk. The ash left
behind will be dark, with some beads of burned fibers.
 MICROSCOPIC TEST: Under the microscope , wool’s cross section
shows three layers- epidermis, cortex and the medulla.
Wool

6.  SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Insoluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Slightly Insoluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Insoluble
Formic acid 90%: Insoluble

7.  BURN TEST: The fabric will burn quickly and the flame
will singe the fabric, just like with cotton. The main
difference is that the flame will burn slower than cotton and
will have less of an afterglow. The smell and ash will be just
like that of cotton.
 MICROSCOPIC TEST: Under the microscope, the hair
like flax fiber shows several sided cylindrical filaments with
fine pointed ends. The fiber somewhat resembles a straight,
smooth.
LINEN

8.  SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Insoluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Slightly Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 70%: soluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Insoluble
Formic acid 90%: Insoluble

9.  BURN TEST: When silk is held to a flame, the fabric
will curl away from the fire and will smolder instead
of igniting quickly. The fabric will burn slowly and will
have trouble staying lit, and once the flame is pulled
away, the fire will go out. The smell will be more like
burning hair, because it is part of an animal, and not
of a plant.
SILK

10. MICROSCOPIC TEST: It appears somewhat
elliptical and triangular in cross section when we
see under the microscope. It is composed of
fibroin, consisting of two filaments, called brin
which is held together by sericin.
 SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Insoluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Partially soluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Soluble
Sulfuric acid 70%: Soluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Soluble
Formic acid 90%: Partially soluble

11.  BURN TEST: Polyester will actually melt when hit with a
flame, burn slowly, and do its best to repel the fire. It won’t
actually stay burning once the fire is removed from the
fabric, and as you can image, the smell will be strong and
have a toxic chemical odor. The ash left behind won’t be ash
at all, rather it will be hard melted black beads of plastic that
won’t break easily.
 MICROSCOPIC TEST: Polyester fibers are smooth and
straight and the cross-section is round. This general
characteristics may be altered to achieve certain
characteristics.
Polyester

12.  SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Insoluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 70%: Insoluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Insoluble
Formic acid 90%: Insoluble

13.  BURN TEST: As rayon is a natural fiber made of
cellulose, it will burn fast and singe quickly like cotton
and linen. Due to its lightness, it will burn even faster
than cotton and the flame will be a brighter yellow.
Even once the fire is pulled away, the fabric will burn
very quickly; though unlike cotton and linen, there will
be no afterglow. Like linen and cotton, the smell will
be natural and the ash will be light and gray.
VISCOSE RAYON

14.  MICROSCOPIC TEST: Rayon fibers have a glasslike
luster under the microscope and appear to have a
uniform diameter when viewed longitudinally.
 SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Insoluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Soluble
Sulfuric acid 70%: Soluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Insoluble
Formic acid 90%: Insoluble

15.  BURN TEST: Similar to polyester, nylon will have
nearly all the same reactions, but it will melt more and
burn less. The smell will actually be less intense, and
like polyester the burning will leave behind hard black
melted beads instead of burned ash.
 MICROSCOPIC TEST: The basic microscopic appearance is
generally fine ,round, smooth, and translucent. It is also
produced in multilobal cross-sectional types.
NYLON

16.  SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Insoluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Soluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Soluble
Sulfuric acid 70%: Soluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Insoluble
Formic acid 90%: Soluble

17.  BURN TEST: The behavior of acetate will be similar to
the other synthetics above, but the main difference is
that it will melt and drip like a chemical liquid. The smell
will be pungent and after it cools, the ash left behind
will be like black melted beads of plastic.
 MIRCOSCOPIC TEST: The cross sectional view has a
bulbous or multilobal appearance with
indentations. These indentations appear as occasional
markings.
ACETATE

18.  SOLUBILITY TEST:
Acetone 100%: Soluble
Hydrochloric acid 60%: Insoluble
Sulfuric acid 60%: Soluble
Sulfuric acid 70%: Soluble
Chlorine bleach 5%: Insoluble
Formic acid 90%: Soluble