Rapid Bleaching of Wool With Extremely Intense Visible Light

Unbleached 7-oz wool flannel was bleached in seconds by visible light of very high intensity, near 5 watts cm2, by close proximity to a 1000-watt, water-cooled mercury vapor lamp incorporating a glass filter in a novel arrangement. Bleaching was quite uniform throughout the thickness of the fabric. Results with three spectral distributions, which affect the hue of bleaching by spectral conformity, are compared with the results of peroxide bleaching. Stabilities are also compared. Practical application and the advantages over present methods of this dry, pollution-free procedure are discussed.