Comparison of free formaldehyde contents obtained by the cold sulfite and headspace gas chromatography methods at 25°C indicates surprisingly good agreement at low formaldehyde concentrations (<500 μg/g fabric). At higher concentrations, the agreement is less satisfactory, the cold sulfite method giving considerably lower values than headspace gas chromatography and the actual amount present. The agreement extends to durable press fabrics with considerable N-methylol content, suggesting that the low temperature and the short reaction time of the cold sulfite method eliminate contributions from N-methylol hydrolysis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
DeJong, J.I. , and DeJong, J., The Reaction of Urea with Formaldehyde , Recl. Trav. Chem. Pays-Bas71, 643-660 (1952).
2.
Floyd, W.C., and Yoon, S.H., Determination of Free Formaldehyde on Cloth at Low Concentrations , Textile Res. J.51, 277-281 (1981).
3.
Kamath, Y.K. , Weber, R.U., Hornby , S.B., and Weigmann , H.-D., Vapor Phase Sorption of Formaldehyde on Cotton and Its Role in Formaldehyde Release from Durable Press Cotton, Textile Res. J.55, 589-597 ( 1985).
4.
Kamath, Y.K., Weipnann, H.-D., and Hornby, S.B., Factors Controlling Formaldehyde Release from Durable Press Fabrics , in "Book of Papers, AATCC National Technical Conference," New Orleans, LA, 1983.
5.
Weber, R.U., Kamath, Y.K., and Weigmann, H.-D.Headspace Gas Chromatography Studies of Formaldehyde Release from Durable Press Fabrics, in "Book of Papers, AATCC National Technical Conference," Atlantic City, NJ, 1982 .
