A practical process for cutting cotton fiber without losing much of its degree of polymerization (DP) is demonstrated. When fibers were cut in the wet condition, they suffered less degradation that those cut in the dry state. The DP loss was 9.1% when cotton was cut in the presence of ≧35.5% moisture regain compared to the loss of 16.1 % for those cut below this critical moisture regain. Electron spin resonance studies revealed the lower free radical formation in cut fiber when it was cut in the wet con dition, i.e., ≧35.5% moisture regain.
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