ASSIGNMENT
Process flow of silk and wool
SUBMITTED BY,
AISWARYA AS
I MBA
SVPISTM
PROCESS FLOW OF SILK
Silk is protein fiber consisting of viscous fluid excreted from the glands of silk
worm. When the silk worm is matured it consists of large number of glands. The liquid
comes out from each gland in the form of fine stream. As soon as the excreted fluid
comes in contact with air it is solidified in the form of fine filament. The filaments are
wrapped in the oval shape due to spinning (circular movement) of the silk worm during
the excretion of the fluid. When the formation of cocoon is completed the silk worm gets
trapped into cocoon. The trapped silk worm is known as Pupa. There are four varieties
of silk, Mulberry silk, Tussar Silk, Erie silk and Muga Silk. The silk filament present on
silk cocoons is coated with a gummy substance known as silk gum. Amount of silk gum
present on silk filament depends on the silk variety. Among the four varieties of silk,
mulberry silk is most popular and most commonly used by block printers for printing.
Degumming Silk Cocoons:-
Degumming is the process of removing the sericin, a sticky substance produced
by the silkworm that holds the strands of silk together. It is also known as silk scouring.
Removing the gum improves the lusture, color, hand, and texture of the silk. As much
as one-third of the weight may be lost when the gum is removed. Raw silk with the gum
still on the filament is called ‘Hard silk’. Degummed silk is ‘soft silk’. Silk degumming can
also be accomplished by treated with different alkaline, neutral and acid proteases
(Enzymes).
Silk degumming process is scouring the sericin and some impurities from silk
fibre. As the major amino acids groups in sericin is hydrophilic, water and heat
treatment destroys the hydrogen bonding of the sericin so that sericin dissolves into the
water during the degumming process.
Scrooping:-
Scroop is a term used commonly as a finish with synthetic fibers and silk. In case
of silk scroop is the crunchy feel as well as rusty sound that is produced in the fiber on
use. Scroop is like the feeling of squeezing a big bag of corn starch or stepping down
into a very powdery snow. Scroop is not an inherent property of silk.
Scroop can be induced in silk in two ways:
One way is to leave the gum of the silk (sericin) behind and not remove it. Sericin
has a high coefficient of friction and hence resists the easy sliding of fibers one over the
other. Vibrations created by friction produce the sound.
The other way is by treating silk with organic acid such as formic, lactic, citric or
acetic acid in a concentration of 2-4 ml/l and drying without washing.
In case of synthetic fibers, cohesive agents are used to increase the fiber-to-fiber
friction. However, it will increase a property called scroop. The attribute is so named,
because of the sound that the staple bundle makes when it is squeezed. It is caused by
resistance to the fiber movement that results from the increase in friction between the
fibers. If a fabric is made from a yarn having high scroop level- a harsh handle is
produced.
Bleaching:-
Natural coloring matters present in silk are associated mainly with sericin and
hence are eliminated during degumming. The natural colouring matter of silk can be
roughly divided into yellow, green and brown pigments. However the residual pigments
are absorbed by fibroin and hence silk fabrics made from yellow raw silk after
degumming are not white but have a cream colour. The bleaching process may be
based on reducing agents or oxidizing agents.
Reductive Bleaching:-
Predominant reducing agents used are Sulphur dioxide, sodium hydrosulphite
and sodium or zinc sulphoxylate formaldehyde. The material bleached with reducing
agents tends to reoxidise and the original color may be restored. Hence oxidizing
bleaching is most preferred.
Oxidative Bleaching:-
The oxidative agents used are potassium permanganate, sodium percarborate,
sodium peroxide, Hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide is the most preferred
bleaching agent. A typical process/recipe would be 2 to 4 hours at 70°C or 1 to 2 hours
at 80 to 85°C, With 10 to 15 ml/l hydrogen peroxide (35% solution), and 1 g/l EDTA
(30% solution) and 3 g/l sodium pyrophosphate to pH 9, followed by thorough rinsing.
The Chlorine based bleaching agents such as bleaching powder, sodium
hypochlorite and sodium chlorite, are generally not used since these agents tend to
chlorinate the fibroin.
Colouration:-
Silk is dyed using various dyes such as Acid dyes, metal-complex, reactive dyes
etc. Silk can also be dyed with basic, metal-complex and reactive dyes. Acid dyes are
widely used for dyeing of silk. Using this class of dyestuff, a wide range of bright shades
can be obtained. These dyes are sodium salts of organic acids (mostly sulphonic acid)
and are applied from acidic medium.
The dyeing of silk for better dye uptake on the material or exhaustion of dye from
the bath requires proper dye containing less impurities (as per specified standards), well
maintained pH, quality of water (should not contain higher acidic or alkaline or
hardness) and needs proper duration of dyeing or drying. Most importantly as
technology is developed varieties of machines are available for dyeing such as Tub
dyeing, Arm dyeing, Jigger/Winch dyeing etc.
From technology point of view, it is important to choose proper dye containing
less impurities (as per specified standards), well maintained pH, quality of water (should
not contain higher acidic or alkaline or hardness) and needs proper duration of dyeing
or drying as well as standard dyeing machines/methods for which they can approach
textile testing lab.
Finishing:-
Silk fabrics have low wet and dry resiliency. Hence the fabrics wrinkle easily
during home laundering or when wet. To improve these performance properties, silk
fabrics are given chemical treatment known as durable press finishing. Durable press
chemical finishes applied to silk fabrics in the presence of appropriate catalyst impart
wrinkle resistance and smooth drying properties.
The release of formaldehyde vapors is another problem with those agents. The
most likely used cross linking agent’s increase resistant finishes have been N-Methylol
agents or N-Methyl amides because of their efficiency and low price. Formaldehyde free
cross linking agents for producing crease resistant properties are of interest to replace
N-methylol compounds for crease resistant finishes. Polycarboxylic acids which are non
formaldehyde reactants are possible replacement for conventional finishing reactants.
The main advantage of polycaboxylic acids is that they are formaldehyde free, do not
have bad odour, and produce very soft fabric hand. Based on the above premise, an
attempt has been made to try and assess the effect of polycarboxylic acids on silk with
respect to its crease resistance behavior.
PROCESS FLOW OF WOOL
Wool is a natural fibre composed of proteins, as it comes from the fleece of
sheep. Each sheep has various grades of fleece found in their coat with the highest
grade fibers being found on the sides, shoulders, and back, while the lowest grade are
found on the lower legs. Wool could be sourced from the fleece of sheep and other
animals. These include cashmere from goats, mohair from rabbits and other types of
wool from camellias, musk ox, Angora rabbit, vicuna, guanaco, pashmina and alpaca.
Wool has some special qualities which distinguish it from hair or fur. The best quality
wool comes from merino sheep, found in Australia.
Shearing/Cropping:-
Shearing/cropping is the process
from surface of fabric
Shearing/croppi
from surface of fabric
Shearing / cropping are the process of removing of protruding fibers from surface
of fabric or animals. Wool fiber is preferred for this process. There are several helical
blades are arranged in series, Fabric pass beneath these blades. Direction of blade
motion is opposite to the direction of fabric motion. There is another vertical blade called
ledger, place beneath the fabric which shear the other side.
Crabbing:-
Decatising or decatizing, also known as crabbing, blowing, and decating, is the
process of making permanent a textile finish on a cloth, so that it does not shrink during
garment making. The word comes from the French décatir, which means to remove
the cati or finish of the wool. Though used mainly for wool, the term is also applied to
processes performed on fabrics of other fibers, such as cotton, linen or polyester.
Crabbing and blowing are minor variations on the general process for wool, which is to
roll the cloth onto a roller and blow steam through it.
Decatized wool fabric is interleaved with a cotton, polyester/cotton or polyester
fabric and rolled up onto a perforated decatizing drum under controlled tension. The
fabric is steamed for up to ten minutes and then cooled down by drawing ambient air
through the fabric roll. The piece is then reversed and steamed again in order to ensure
that an even treatment is achieved.
There are several quite different types of wool decatizing machines including
batch decatizing machines, continuous decatizing machines, wet Decatising machines
and dry decatizing machines.
Potting:-
Potting is also called roll boiling. This treatment is given to the high quality
woolen fabrics to give soft handle & a higher degree of setting.
In this treatment the cloth is wound on perforated iron roller under uniform
tension & no crease is allowed during winding. Roller is wrapped with piece of cloth then
woolen fabric is wrapped then over woolen fabric one more cotton wrapped and tied this
system with cord to avoid slipping. Now place the roller vertically in tank filled with cold
water.
Then the temperature of tank is gradually raised to boil and roller is kept in
boiling tank for the 4-5 hr. it is then taken-out and water is drained out. After this
process cloth is unwound & wound on another cylinder to repeat this process for two
side potting. Now the cloth is cooled gradually
Milling/Felting:-
This process is also known as Felting. It is an essential process for woolen
material. This property of wool is used in many kinds of finishing process to alter the
appearance, body, elasticity, and the strength of the woolen fabric. Different types of
wool vary in their ability to felt and this depends on length, fineness, scaliness,
waviness, etc.
Matting and condensing (increased shrinkage in length and width) of wool piece
goods (possibly also with a proportion of extraneous fibres) in a hot damp state,
preferably of more open carded yarns. Controlled Shrinkage. It produces desired
shrinkage and provides additional thickness to the fabric and also give a firmer and
fuller texture. Milling is carried out in acid and/or in alkaline liquor.
Milling auxiliaries (milling soaps) are used as the support for felt formation in the
milling of wool. The action is based on an increase in wool suppleness and
improvement of the sliding action at the same time. Suitable milling auxiliaries are
milling soaps, triethanolamine soaps and further fatty acids’ condensation products and
alkyl naphthalene sulphonates, possibly with inorganic and organic swelling
compounds.
Scouring/double scouring:-
Fiber (especially wool) scouring involves the use of hot water and detergents to
remove soil, vegetable impurities, grease and other contaminants from fibers. Wool
scouring typically uses water and alkali, although scouring with an organic solvent is
also possible. Scouring with alkali breaks down natural oils and surfactants and
suspends impurities in the bath. The scouring effluent is strongly alkaline, and a
significant portion of BOD and COD loads from textile manufacturing arises from
scouring processes. The recommended pollution prevention and control techniques
include the following:
Design of scouring systems to remove heavy settleable solids continuously;
increase recovery of grease; recover heat from the final facility effluent; and
control water usage.
Use of readily biodegradable detergents / surfactants that do not give rise to toxic
metabolites. (e.g. APEO should be replaced with alcohol ethoxylates);
Optimization of mechanical removal of water prior to the drying process;
Adoption of low volatile organic compound (VOC) emitting solvent wash for
removal of water insoluble oils.
Bleaching:-
Wool exhibits by nature a pronounced yellow color and also on exposure to light,
alkali or by microbial degradation. Commercially, wool bleaching is carried out using
either an oxidative or a reductive system, or a combined oxidation/reduction process.
Oxidative bleaching in the dye bath is also possible. In general, oxidative bleaching with
hydrogen peroxide gives superior whiteness over reductive methods. Recent research
also revealed the use enzymes to enhance the whiteness of bleached wool. Wool
cannot be bleached with sodium hypochlorite solutions, as for cotton, since it is
extensively damaged to the point at which it even dissolves in the solution.
Oxidative Bleaching Method:-
A batch treatment with hydrogen peroxide is used for most bleaching
applications.An activator (eg an alkali) is normally added to increase the rate of
bleaching. Typically, wool is bleached at pH 8–9 for 1 h at 60◦C with a stabilized
solution of hydrogen peroxide (0.75% w/w). It is generally accepted that, under alkaline
conditions, the active bleaching species is the perhydroxy anion (OOH− ), the formation
of which is encouraged by higher pH .
Peroxide bleaching of wool under mild acidic conditions (pH 5–6) can also be
carried out using a peracid activator such as Prestogen W (BASF) or citric acid . As
wool sustains some damage in the presence of alkali, this method is useful for
bleaching delicate fabrics.
An undesirable side effect is the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to
water and oxygen, a reaction catalyzed by transition-metal ions. A stabilizer, which
sequesters these ions, is used to prevent this side reaction occurring. The most
common stabilizers for alkaline wool bleaching are phosphates, particularly tetrasodium
pyrophosphate. However, recent concerns over phosphates in effluents from textile
treatment have led to the development of alternative stabilizers based on silicates .
Heavily pigmented fibers, such as Karakul wools, require a more severe
approach known as mordant bleaching. In this method, the wool is treated with a metal
salt and then with hydrogen peroxide. In the first step, the melanin pigment in the wool
preferentially absorbs the metal cations; and in the second step, the cations catalytically
decompose the peroxide to produce highly aggressive hydroxyl free radicals, which
selectively attack and bleach the melanin.
Reductive bleaching:-
The two most popular chemicals used for reductive bleaching of wool are
stabilized sodium dithionite and thiourea dioxide. Most reductive bleaching of wool is
carried out using stabilized dithionite (2–5g/L) at pH 5.5–6 and 45–65◦C for 1 h.
Thiourea dioxide is more expensive than sodium dithionite, but is an effective bleach
when applied (1–3 g/L) at 80◦C and pH 7 for 1 h. Whiter fabrics are produced when
oxidative bleaching is followed by a reductive process—this is often referred to as “full
bleaching.”
Reductive bleaching with sulfur dioxide:-
In the early days sulfur dioxide was used to bleach wool , but disadvantage of
this method of bleaching wool was that the white was not permanent when exposed to
sun and air.
Dyeing:-
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers,
yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is
normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular chemical material.
Dye molecules are fixed to the fiber by absorption, diffusion, or bonding with
temperature and time being key controlling factors. The bond between dye molecule
and fiber may be strong or weak, depending on the dye used. Dyeing and printing are
different applications; in printing, color is applied to a localized area with desired
patterns. In dyeing, it is applied to the entire textile.
A process for the level dyeing of wool or of the wool portion of fiber blends by the
exhaust dyeing technique in a strongly acidic medium with aqueous liquors of reactive
dyes which have in their molecule at least one grouping which, under fixing conditions,
reacts with the fiber via the vinylsulfonyl form by nucleophilic addition, which comprises
heating the exhaust liquor which contains such dyes of the vinylsulfonyl type, but no
acid or acid‐donating agents required for fixing the dyes, together with the material to be
dyed to the dyeing temperature within the range from 95 to 106.degree Celcius. as
rapidly as possible and in one step, then, on reaching the dyeing temperature and while
maintaining appropriate isothermal conditions for dye fixation, adding sulfuric acid to the
hot dye bath incrementally within a period of 10 to 45 minutes, and dyeing the wool at
pH values between 2 and 3.
