A process has been investigated to make absorbent cotton from short staple Egyptian cotton non-spinnable fibers resulting from spinning waste using conventional chemical preparation compared with the enzymatic processes. The physical, chemical and mechanical properties were measured and compared to Egyptian standards (2160/ 2014).

The efficiency of the bio-scoured and bio-bleached cotton fibers was compared with that of the conventionally chemically treated fibers. Prepared absorbent cotton could find its application in biomedicine as surgical cotton. It was revealed that the water absorbing characters of the bio-scoured and bio-bleached samples were considerably higher. Also, the mechanical properties of the cotton fibers were found to be higher for the sample treated using enzymes than the sample treated conventionally with chemicals.