TAMILNADU VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY VETERINARY COLLEGE AND

RESEARCHINSTITUTE NAMAKKAL

DEPARTMENT OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGY

(MEATSCIENCE)

UNIT-2 (WOOL SCIENCE)

BY

Dr.R.RAJKUMAR, Ph.D.,

&

Dr.M.MUTHULAKHSMI,Ph.D.,

2023
 Chapter- 1. Introduction to wool, fur, pelt and specialty fibers with
respect to processing industry.

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals,
including cashmere from goats, mohair from
goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, and camel from animals in the camel
family, and angora from rabbits.

Wool has several qualities that distinguish it from hair or fur: it is crimped, it
is elastic, and it grows in staples (clusters). The term wool is usually restricted to
describing the fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells
called follicles in sheep. Hair, by contrast, has little if any scale and no crimp and little
ability to bind into yarn. On sheep, the hair part of the fleece is called kemp. The relative
amounts of kemp to wool vary from breed to breed, and make some fleeces more
desirable for spinning, felting or carding into batts for quilts or other insulating products.

STRUCTURE OF WOOL AND ITS DIFFERENTIATATION FROM HAIR

Wool is the thick, wavy and fibrous protective covering of sheep. It mainly
consists of the insoluble protein, keratin. The wool fibre grows from the follicle situated
in the dermis (the middle layer of skin). It consists of three morphological components :
the cuticle or skin, the cortex, and medulla in the centre. True wool fibre (fine wool) does
not contain the medulla (central core of hard cells) and has a hollow centre.

Fleece obtained from sheep is called grease wool or raw wool. Though wool
fibres are more or less cylindrical, the surface consists of overlapping and interlocking
scales of the cuticle. The serrated wool fibres tend to interlock and cling together
imparting felting qualities to the wool. Wool fibre is elastic, hygroscopic, warmth
retaining, durable, non-inflammable and transmits ultra-violet light.
Wool versus Hair

Sl. Parameter Hair Wool

No.
1. Medulla Present and Almost absent
pronounced
2. Cuticle Regular and smooth Irregular
3. Sides Smooth Scaly projections
4. Diameter More Less
5. Growth Reaches a maximum Continuous if not
and then ―shed‖
sheared
6. Softness Less More
7. Elasticity Less More
8. Heat retention Less More
9. Moisture Less (7-12%) More (12-17%)
retention
10. Dye retention Temporary Permanent
11. Lustre Less More
12. Inflammability More Less

Wool is a unique fibre. Some of its properties like scales on the fibre, wettability,
ability to extend before break, warmth etc. make it un-parallel to other fibres. No other
fibre, whether natural or synthetic, has got scaly structure. Wool has got the ability to
retain moisture equal to its own weight without feeling wet. Moreover, its moisture
content may be up to 16 % whereas in cotton it does not exceed 8%. Wool is having
the unique ability to extent up to 40% before break, no other natural or synthetic fibre
can extent to this extent. However, the fibre has got certain drawbacks like lack of
lustre, coarseness etc. as compared to other fibres. To overcome these drawbacks or
to improve upon these drawbacks, blended products with wool are being preferred.
Thus wool has to face a lot of competition in this competitive world, both with natural as
well as synthetic fibres.

Wool production
Indian wool industry
The woollen industry in India is small in size and widely scattered. It is basically
located in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, U.P., Maharashtra and Gujarat.
40%, of the woollen units are located in Punjab, 27% in Haryana, 10% in Rajasthan,
while the rest of the States account for the remaining 23 % of the units. A. few of the
larger units are located in Maharashtra, Punjab, U.P.,Gujarat and West Bengal.
India is the seventh largest producer of wool and contributes 1.8% to total world
production. In sheep population, India ranks among the leading five countries in the
world. However, at 0.8 kg/sheep/year, wool productivity in India is much lower than the
world average of 2.4 kg/sheep/year. Bulk of the wool produced in India is of coarse
quality and used mainly in the manufacture of hand knitted carpets.
India has been famous for shawls and carpets which were exported in large numbers to
European countries during the medieval period. These were greatly appreciated and
highly prized for their fine texture and excellent workmanship. Apart form costly luxury
articles, a variety of other woollen goods such as blankets, lohis, patties, tweeds etc.
also used to be prepared from indigenous wool for everyday use.
INDIAN WOOL
In the Indian subcontinent each geographical region has a distinct type of sheep.
 In the northwestern India, the Bikaneri type breeds are small and coarse woolen.

 Sheep belonging to peninsular India are either coarse woolen (e.g. Deccani) or
hair type (e.g. Mandya), whereas those of the Himalayan region are woolen.
  Most of the Indian breeds have a low fleece yield, annual total yield of greasy
wool remains in the range of 1-1.5 Kg.

 Wool produced from the tropical breeds of sheep is coarse and highly suitable for
carpet manufacture.

 Thus, India is of the chief carpet wool producing and exporting countries of the
world.

 A large quantity of carpet wool is exported to the developed countries.

Production of Raw Wool in India (2008)

Year Quantity (in Million
Kg.)
2001-2002 49.5
2002-2003 50.5
2003-2004 48.5
2004-2005 44.6
2005-2006 44.9
2006-2007 45.2
= 0.045 million tons

International Scenario
World production of greasy wool has been on a decline since the past several years,
with production having fallen from 3.39 million tonnes in 1990 to 2.11 million tonnes by
2008. Australia, China and New Zealand are the world‘s leading producers of wool.
Australia, the largest producer of wool in the world, has been witnessing falling
production over the years, mainly on account of fall in sheep population. On the other
hand, production of wool in China, the second largest wool producer, is on an upward
trend. Organic wool is becoming more and more popular. This wool is very limited in
supply and much of it comes from New Zealand and Australia. Wool fibre has a
marginal share of 1.6% (2008) in world fibre production. In 2008, world production of
greasy wool recorded a decline of 3%. Australia, China and New Zealand are the
world‘s leading producers of wool.

Fur /pelt
Fur is a synonym for hair . Fur is also used to refer to animal pelts which have been
processed into leather with the hair still attached

Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur.
Fur is produced from mink, rabbits, fox, dog and cats.An animal with commercially
valuable fur is known within the fur industry as a furbearer. The use of fur as
clothing and/or decoration is considered controversial by some people: most animal
rightsadvocates object to the trapping and killing of wildlife, and to the confinement and
killing of animals on fur farms.

Most of the world‘s farmed fur is produced by European farmers. The EU accounts for
67% of global mink production and 70% of fox production. Denmark is the leading mink-
producing country, accounting for nearly 40% of world production. Other major
producers included the Netherlands, Russia, Finland, China, Sweden, and Canada.
Finland is the largest United States supplier of fox pelts. The United States is a major
exporter of furskins. Major export markets include Canada, the EU, and Asia.
 Chapter – 2 Glossary of terms of wool processing

1. Apparel Wool - Wool suitable for manufacture into apparel fabrics.

2. Bale – a wool pack containing a specified weight of pressed wool as regulated by
industry authorities
3. Bellies - Short and often times defective wool from belly of sheep.
4. Black Wool - Fleeces from sheep containing grey, brown or black wool.
5. Blood - Denotes fineness: "more blood" means finer wool.
6. Braid - Long, coarse, lustrous wool.
7. Break -The fibers are weak at a certain point, but strong above and below the weak
spot; opposed to " tender" , which signifies a general I y weak fiber.
8. Breech (or Britch) Wool - Coarse hair fibers on lower hind legs; generally the lowest
quality wool of the entire fleece.
9. Bright - Light colored wool relatively free of dirt and sand.
10. Brittle - Harsh, dry, "wire - like".
11. Buck Wool - Wool shorn from rams or wethers.
12. Bulk Grade - The largest percentage of grade in a lot of original - bagged wool .
13. Burry Wool - Wools heavy in burrs which require special and expensive processing
in their removal.
14. Canary Stained Wool - A yellowish coloration which cannot be removed by ordinary
scouring methods. Certain types of bacteria] growth are believed to be a contributing
factor.
15. Carbonizing - Removal of burrs from wool by immersion in sulfuric acid.
16. Carpet - Wools too heavy and coarse to be made into apparel; suitable for carpets
and rugs.
17. Character - A general term describing the total of all characteristics that make wool
attractive to the eye such as color, crimp, brightness, and sound tip.
18. Clothing - The shorter length wools within a grade; used chiefly in the manufacture
of woolens and felts.
19. Color - The actual color of the wool; a bright white to cream is most desirable;
canary stains, brown or black stains are undesirable.
20. Combing - Manufacturing process in which the short fibers (noils) are separated
from the longer fibers which are combed into a continuous strand of parallel fibers
called top.
21. Combing Wool - wool that is strong and long enough to be combed.
22. Condition - Refers to the amount of grease and dirt in a fleece 'heavy condition"
means heavy shrinkage.
23. Core-testing - The coring of bales or bags of wool to determine the clean content
and yield.
24. Cotted - Fibers that are matted together.
25. Crimp - The natural waviness in fibers: distinct crimp - crimps are sharp and clear -
fine wools have more crimps per inch; bold crimp - larger crimp spaces widely apart
- coarser wools have fewer crimps per inch.
26. Crossbred Wool - Wool from sheep produced by crossing Merino with English long
wool breeds: Columbia, Corriedales, etc. with wool grades from 1/2 to 1 /4 blood
fineness; usuaIIy has plenty of length , luster and softness.
27. Dingy - wool that is dark greyish and lacks luster.
28. Doggy - Short, harsh, coarser than type should be; lacks crimp and elasticity.
29. Down Wool - Wool from breeds that originated in the Downs of England; the wool is
medium in grade, short, wiry, lacking crimp and often contains black fibers.
30. Felting - The process of locking wool fibers together to make felt t .
31. Fleece Wool - Usually all fleeces grown in the states east of the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers.
32. French Combing - Wool of medium staple length, suitable for combing on the French
comb but too short for the English Noble comb.
33. Frowzy - wool that is dry and lifeless without distinct crimp due to weather and or
poor quality.
34. Grading - Separating fleeces into groups according to fineness and length.
35. Grease Wool - Wool as it is shorn from the sheep, before any processing. Gummy -
Grease wool that has excessive amounts of yolk which has set and is stiff and
sticky.
36. Handle - Refers to the actual feel of the wool; a good "handle" has great resilience
and softness, fineness, length, and is pleasing to the touch.
37. Hank - A 560-yard unit of wool yarn wound on a spool or reel.
38. Kemp - Chalky white, brittle, weak fiber which may be mixed with normal fibers in a
fleece; kemp will not take dye and is objectionable.
39. Lanolin - Refined yolk or wool grease.
40. Lock - A tuft or group of wool fibers that cling naturally together in the fleece; also
known as a "staple".
41. Lofty - "Full of life", springs back to normal position, very elastic, and bulky
compared to its weight.
42. Luster - Natural gloss or sheen in a fleece; very desirable .
43. MeduIIated Fibers - Fibers having more meduIIa (center cell area); such, fibers are
coarse and uneven in diameter, harsh, low in elasticity.
44. Noils - Short wool fibers removed in the combing process; the noils are used in
woolens and felts, usually blended with longer-stapled wools.
45. Off-sorts - Fleeces or parts of fleeces that are rejected because of being badly
stained, undesirable in color, or carrying excessive vegetable matter; same as
rejects.
46. Open Fleece - Fewer fibers per square inch; opposite of dense.
47. Pelt - The skin of the sheep with wool still attached to the skin.
48. Pencil Locked - A fleece with narrow staples or lock formation: indicates an open
fleece that has less density and probably more vegetable matter. This type of lock
formation is genetic and is passed on to offspring.
49. Pulled Wool - Wool removed from the skins of slaughtered sheep.
50. Purity - Refers to the absence of dark fibers, kemp or hair.
51. Quality - Refers to the degree of fineness.
52. Raw Wool - Grease wool in natural state before scouring.
53. Scouring - The actual separation of dirt, grease, and vegetable matter from grease
wool; usually this is done in a hot, mildly alkaline solution followed by a rinse.
54. Second Cuts - Short pieces of wool that result from the shearer clipping off the wool
left from a previous stroke; increases the noilage
55. Shrinkage - The weight raw wool loses when scoured, expressed as a percentage of
the original weight.
56. Sorting - Most fleeces contain more than one grade of wool; as grading is the
classification by fleece, sorting is the classification of wool within a fleece.
57. Soundness - freedom of the fiber from breaks and tenderness; relates to strength.
58. Staple - (has two meanings) 1. The length of a lock of shorn wool. 2. The longest
length wools within a grade.
59. Tender - Wool that is weak and breaks anywhere along the length of the fiber due to
poor nutrition or sickness.
60. Tippy Wool - The tip or weather end of the fibers are encrusted making the wool
wasty in processing (increasing the noilage).
61. Top - A continuous strand of partially manufactured wool, which previously has been
scoured, carded, and combed; an intermediate stage in the process of worsted yarn.
62. Top knot – wool from the forehead or poll of a sheep.
63. Virgin Wool - Wool that is used to make fabric for the first time; not reprocessed
64. Wastiness - The loss of fiber in carding and combing due to vegetable matter,
weakness, or tenderness or shortness of fiber.
65. Woolen - Large amounts of shorter wools, such as noils, wool wastes and reworked
wools are used in addition to virgin wool; woolen yarn is not combed, hence fibers lie
in an uneven fashion.
66. Worsted - Longer length wool fibers that have not been processed before are made
parallel during combing into a product called top, then spun into a worsted yarn.
67. Yield - Opposite of shrinkage; the percentage of clean wool fibers after scouring.
68. Yolk - The combined secretion of sebaceous (oil) and sudoriferous (sweat) glands in
the skin.
 Chapter 3. Basic structure and development of wool follicle

Structure
Wool consists principally one member of a group of proteins called Keratin. Wool
is produced in the fibre follicle in the skin of the sheep. The cells of the wool fibre begin
growing at the base of the follicles which is bulbous in shape and complete their
growth immediately above the bulb where the process of keratinization occurs.
Morphological Structure
Wool fibres are composed of two layers of cells, namely the cuticle and cortical .
The cuticle cells form an outer sheath encasing the inner cortical cells. Together, these
two types of cells constitute the major part of the mass of clean wool. The coarse wool
fibres may contain a third type cell, the medulla, which is a central core of cells,
arranged either continuously or intermittently along the fibre axis, often in ladder- like
manner. Air filled spaces lie between the medullary cells.
The Cuticle
The cuticle cells comprise about 10% of the mass of the whole fiber and overlap
each other with the exposed edges pointing towards the tips of the fibres. The cuticle,
in textile use, is responsible for the surface properties of the fibres and also the barrier
diffusion of chemical reagents into the cortex of the fibres The structure of cuticle cells
can be subdivided into four regions, viz: exo-cuticle, epi-cuticle, endo cuticle and cell
membrane complex (CMC) .
Exo-cuticle
The exocuticle is the layer of Keratinous protein immediately below the epicuticle.
In the merino wool the exocuticle, which is approximately 0.3 mm thick, represents
around 60% of the total cuticle cells . The major part of cystine content of the cuticle is
exocuticle. The exocuticle comprises three possible layers . The `a‘ layer of the
exocuticle is estimated to contain 35% cystine whereas mesocuticle contains less
cystine (15%). The exocuticle‘s resistance to digestion by enzymes is attributed to a
high proportion of cystine linkage and isopeptide links.
Endo Cuticle
The endocuticle is well defined layer lying below the exocuticle. It is bound on
the underside by the cell membrane complex which separate it from other cuticle cells
or from the cells of the cortex. The low cystine content also makes the endocuticle
more susceptible than exocuticle for chemical attack. The endo cuticle is,
mechanically, a relatively weak region of the fibre.
Epicuticle
Epicuticle is a thin membrane about 3 mm thick that surrounds individual cuticle
cells and generally associated with the hydrophobic nature of the fibre surface . The
epicuticle is a continuous membrane that surrounds each fibre. The hydrophobic
nature of the surface of the wool fibre can explain of these lipid substance covalently
bound to the surface of the cuticle cells.
Cortex
The cortex represents 80% of the mass of the wool fibre and it has major
influences on the mechanical properties of the fibres. The cortex of fine wool consists
of closely packed overlapping cortical cells, arranged parallel to the fibre axis. The
cortical cells are approximately 100 mm long and 3-6 mm wide. The cortical cells are
made of microfibril (10 mm x 7.2 mm diameter) which are packed together in bundles
called macrofibrils. Between each macro fibril a variable amount of inter microfibrillar
material is packed which is composed of cytoplasm. The microfibril are formed within
the follicles. The microfibrils can be packed into the cortical cells in different ways.
A third type, meso cortical, is sometimes present at the boundary between the
ortho cortex and para cortex. Meso cortex usually accounts for less than 4% of the
fibre.
Cell Membrane Complex (CMC)
The cell membrane complex is originated from the two plasma membranes of
adjacent living cells. The CMC contributes about 4.0% of the mass of the wool fibre.
The CMC consists of three major components: an easily swollen ‗inter cellular cement‘
consisting of tightly cross linked non-keratinous protein (a layer), a lipid component
which is associated with b) layer. A chemically resistant proteinous membrane that
surrounds each cortical and cuticle cell.
Wool Lipid
Wool contains a small amount of (0.8-1.0% by mass) lipid material. This is
concentrated in the intercellular regions of the fibre. The cell membrane lipids of wool
consists mainly cholesterol sulfate.
Medulla
Coarse wool fibres usually of diameter greater than 35 mm have a third type of
cell, those of medulla. This is central core of cells arranged either continuously or
intermittently along the fibre axis and wedged between the cortical cells, often in ladder
like manner, air filled spaces between the medullary cells. Medulla may occupy upto
90% of the cross sectional area of guard hair. The presence of medulla in wool fibre is
usually a disadvantage, in wools used to make carpet & certain type of tweed. The
presence of medulla decreases the weight of the fibre. The air space in medulla
contributes to thermal insulation provided by the fleece. The bundle strength of
medullated fibre may be only slightly less than that of unmedullated fibre of the same
diameter. The presence of medulla increases light scattering properties of fibre.
 Chapter - 4 Post shearing operations of wool

The major steps necessary to process wool from the sheep to the fabric are: shearing,
cleaning and scouring, grading and sorting, carding, spinning, weaving, and finishing.

Shearing

Sheep are sheared once a year— usually in the January – March. A veteran
shearer can shear up to two hundred sheep per day. The fleece recovered from a
sheep can weigh between 2.5 and 8.0 kg; as much as possible, the fleece is kept in one
piece. While most sheep are still sheared by hand, new technologies have been
developed that use computers and sensitive, robot-controlled arms to do the clipping.

Grading and sorting

Grading is the breaking up of the fleece based on overall quality. In sorting, the
wool is broken up into sections of different quality fibers, from different parts of the body.
The best quality of wool comes from the shoulders and sides of the sheep and is used
for clothing; the lesser quality comes from the lower legs and is used to make rugs. In
wool grading, high quality does not always mean high durability.

Cleaning and scouring

Wool taken directly from the sheep is called "raw" or "grease wool." It contains
sand, dirt, grease, and dried sweat (called suint); the weight of contaminants accounts
for about 30 to 70 percent of the fleece's total weight. To remove these contaminants,
the wool is scoured in a series of alkaline baths containing water, soap, and soda ash or
a similar alkali. The by-products from this process (such as lanolin) are saved and used
in a variety of household products. Rollers in the scouring machines squeeze excess
water from the fleece, but the fleece is not allowed to dry completely. Following this
process, the wool is often treated with oil to give it increased manageability.

Carding
 Next, the fibers are passed through a series of metal teeth that straighten and
blend them into slivers. Carding also removes residual dirt and other matter left in the
fibers. Carded wool intended for worsted yarn is put through gilling and combing, two
procedures that remove short fibers and place the longer fibers parallel to each other.
From there, the sleeker slivers are compacted and thinned through a process
called drawing. Carded wool to be used for woollen yarn is sent directly for spinning.

Spinning

Thread is formed by spinning the fibers together to form one strand of yarn; the
strand is spun with two, three, or four other strands. Since the fibers cling and stick to
one another, it is fairly easy to join, extend, and spin wool into yarn. Spinning for woolen
yarns is typically done on a mule spinning machine, while worsted yarns can be spun on
any number of spinning machines. After the yarn is spun, it is wrapped around bobbins,
cones, or commercial drums.

Weaving

Next, the wool yarn is woven into fabric. Wool manufacturers use two basic
weaves: the plain weave and the twill. Woollen yarns are made into fabric using a plain
weave (rarely a twill), which produces a fabric of a somewhat looser weave and a soft
surface (due to napping) with little or no luster. The napping often conceals flaws in
construction.

Worsted yarns can create fine fabrics with exquisite patterns using a twill weave.
The result is a more tightly woven, smooth fabric. Better constructed, worsteds are more
durable than woolens and therefore more costly.

Finishing

After weaving, both worsteds and woollens undergo a series of finishing

procedures including: fulling (immersing the fabric in water to make the fibers interlock);
crabbing (permanently setting the interlock); decating (shrink-proofing); and,
occasionally, dyeing. Although wool fibers can be dyed before the carding process,
dyeing can also be done after the wool has been woven into fabric.

By-products

The use of waste is very important to the wool industry. Attention to this aspect of
the business has a direct impact on profits. These wastes are grouped into four classes:

 Noils. These are the short fibers that are separated from the long wool in the
combing process. They constitute one of the major sources of waste in the
industry and are reused in high-quality products.
 Soft waste. This is also high-quality material that falls out during the spinning and
carding stages of production. This material is usually reintroduced into the
process from which it came.
 Hard waste. These wastes are generated by spinning, twisting, winding, and
warping. This material requires much re-processing and is therefore considered
to be of lesser value.
 Finishing waste. This category includes a wide variety of clippings, short ends,
sample runs, and defects. Since this material is so varied, it requires a great deal
of sorting and cleaning to retrieve that which is usable. Consequently, this
material is the lowest grade of waste.

Quality Control

Most of the quality control in the production of wool fabrics is done by sight, feel,
and measurement. Loose threads are removed with tweezer-like instruments
called burling irons; knots are pushed to the back of the cloth; and other specks and
minor flaws are taken care of before fabrics go through any of the finishing procedures.
Shearing sections or lines
 Chapter 5. Classification and grading of wool

Wool is generally sold on the basis of grade, class and quality. When fleeces are
grouped according to fineness, the process is called grading. The ―grade‖ of wool refers
to the quality or relative fineness of the wool, which refers to the thickness (diameter) of
individual wool fibers and ranges from fine to coarse.
There are three methods used to report wool grades i.e. the American blood
count system, the English spinning count system, and the micron system. The micron
system is the most accurate measure for determining the grade of wool. A micron is
one-millionth of a meter (1/25,400 of an inch). The fiber diameter is the most efficient
measure of fineness of wool. For each grade, there is a range of average fiber diameter
and a maximum standard deviation. Typically, fine wools are those with a fiber diameter
of 22 microns or less. Within grades, wools are classified on the basis of length. Longer
fiber length has higher spinning quality and the shorter fibers have less spinning quality.
The classification is also based on end uses of wool, which is generally
classified as that used for apparel and non-apparel or carpet wool. Apparel wools can
be further divided into woollens and worsted yarns used in the manufacture of woven
and knit fabrics. Woollen yarns are made from short fibers (1 to 3 inches) that are criss-
crossed and do not lie in any general order, giving the yarn its characteristic fuzziness.
Fabrics made from woollen yarns include flannels, tweeds, and Melton, and are usually
associated with fall and winter garments. Worsted yarns are made from longer fibers of
3 to 6 inches, which are combed to lie parallel to each other and produce a smooth,
clean look. Fabrics made from worsted yarns are smooth and cool to wear; these
fabrics, such as gabardines,

Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Grading system.

Fineness Range Length Burr Colour

1. Below 34.4 - A 1. Above 75 mm 1. LB-Below 3% 1. White

2. 34.4 to37.0 - B
White(TW)
3. 37.1 to 40 - C
4. 40.1& above –D
2. Below 75 rnm 2. MB-3 to 5% 2. Tinged
3. HB-Above 5% 3. Light Yellow(LY)
4. Heavy Yellow(HY)
5. Other colour (Colour)

SOME CHARACTERISTIC OF MAIN TYPES OF WOOL

No Wool type Use Fibre diameter Clean dry yield

(mµ) (%)
1. Fine Wool High quality, light weight 17-20 65-70
wooden clothes
2. Medium Good quality, heavier woollen 22-24 70-75
wool clothes
3. Carpet wool* Carpets 25-32 80-90
 Chapter 6. Physical and chemical properties of wool

I . Gross Dimensional Properties

Gross dimensional properties of wool fibre include characteristics such as fibre
fineness, medullation, crimp and circularity factor. These properties are the important
criterion for deciding the quality of the wool in its grading and help in deciding the
suitability of the processing system. These properties are also useful for determining
machine settings and spinnability of the wool fibres, for predicting the processing
performance and end-use suitability of the wool fibres.
1. Fibre Fineness
The fibre fineness of the wool is determined in term of the fibre diameter. The
fibre diameter of wool influences around 80% of the product performance. The
spinnability, processing technique and quality of end products are governed by
diameter of wool fibre . There is a positive correlation between the spinning quality
and average fibre diameter of the wool. The average fibre diameter of the wool varies
from breed to breed and may even vary from lock to lock within the same flock. The
average fibre diameter varies from 16-17 mm in the finest merino wool to over 40 mm
in the coarser type of wools. The range of fibre diameter of the merino type wool is
between 16 to 24 mm, while this range varies from 22 to 60 mm in case of Indian
wools.
2. Fibre Length
Fibre length is another important characteristic of wool fibre which governs the
wool quality. Mean fibre length is quite critical for processing the wool. It determines
the minimum number of fibres per cross section of the yarn that could be economically
spun on particular spinning system. Thus fibre length along with fibre diameter
influence the spinning limit of the wool. The fibre length in fine wool is 1.2 to 1.3 times
of staple length because of crimp while Indian wool fibres have almost similar fibre
length to staple length because of very little crimp in the fibre. The staple length is
governed primarily by inheritance but also depends on environmental conditions during
the growth of the wool. In general, the staple length increase with fibre diameter. The
fibre length of wool varies from 55 mm to 200 mm.
3. Fibre Crimp
Wool fibre grows in more or less a wavy form and with a certain amount of twist.
It gives the bulkiness and warmth. Crimp in the wool is a result of the morphological
arrangement of ortho- and para -cortex cells in the wool fibre. Fine wool fibre consist
distinct arrangement of ortho and para cortex. The para- cortex grows at different rate
during the fibre growth which causes the fibre to develop a spiral crimp. Fine merino
wool fibres are crimped and have 21-30 crimp per inch. The coarse wool devoid from
bilateral structure and the ortho-and para cortex arranged in concentric arrangement,
results low crimp in the fibre. Therefore, coarse wool particularly Indian wool has very
poor crimp and less than two crimps per cm. Fibre crimp influence the spinnability of
the yarn and quality of the product.
The fibre crimp is also highly correlated with handle value i.e. Numeri
(Smoothness) and Fukurami (fullness and smoothness).The wave length of the crimp
decreases as fibre diameter increases. The typical wavelength for merino wool is 2
mm, while it is 20 mm for lincoln wool. The crimp frequency is also related to nutrition
and seasonal change.
4. Circularity Factor
The shape of the wool fibre cross section varies from a circle to oval varying in
ellipticity and perfection of shape. The departure from circularity is usually expressed
by means of the ‗contour ratio‘ i.e. the ratio of the length of the major axis to that of the
minor axis. The ellipiticity factor is around 1.22 but finer wools have little less. The
degree of ellipticity also has an important bearing on spinning behavior.
II. Physical properties
1.Colour
Colour of the fibre is a desirable factor to determine the wool quality. In general,
the colour of wool is white to light creamy. This variation in colour is due to the
disulphide bonds which seam to be able to act as chromophores. The colour of wool is
objectively measured in term of tristimulus value, relating to response of three factors
(X,Y, Z) of human eye to colour. The typical value of (Y-Z) for good, average and poor
coloured wool is 3, 5 and 7.5 respectively.
2.Lustre
Lustre is an important aesthetic property of wool fibre. It refers to the light
reflecting characteristic of wool fibre. The lustre also depends on origin, breed and
climate in which the sheep is reared. High lustrous wools are demanded by carpet
manufacturers. The coarse wool possesses high lustre than fine merino wool. New
Zealand wools have more lustre than any other type wools.
3. Hygroscopic Nature
Wool fibre is very hygroscopic in nature and it can absorb about 30% of moisture
of its own weight without feeling wet. The hygroscopic nature of the wool is due to the
polarity of peptide groups, the salt linkage and amorphous nature of wool fibre. The
peptide groups and salt linkages attract water molecules which readily enter into the
amorphous region of the fibre. The amount of moisture absorbed under atmospheric
condition is a function of humidity and temperature. The chlorination, reduction,
scouring and oxidation all improve the wettability of the wool. The moisture regain of
Merino wool at 63.3% RH is 13.97%. Indian wool absorb less moisture at given humidity
than merino wool . The hygroscopic properties are important not only because of the
weight changes but also vary its dimension, mechanical and electrical properties .
4. Heat of Wetting
Wool is renowned for its ability to give off a small steady amount of heat while
absorbing moisture. This phenomenon is known as heat of wetting. Among the textile
fibres, wool liberates the greatest amount of heat (113 Jules/g). The greater the
moisture absorption of the fibre, the greater will be amount of heat evolved.
5. Resilience
The resilience on compression of fibre is an important property. Wool resilience
is due to spring like structure of molecular chains which are linked together with
chemical bonds. The resilience of wool fibre depends on the stiffness, elastic
recovery, medullation and crimp in the fibre. The resiliency increases with the
coarseness of the fibre, as the coarse fibres have higher young‘s modulus and high
torsional rigidity. Indian wool fibres are superior in term of resiliency than any other
wool. Since it contents hetro and hairy type of medullated fibres.
6. Compressibility
 The compressibility of wool is a measure of handle. Wool of low resistance to
compression has a softer handle than wool of the same average fibre diameter. These
wools are also susceptible to entanglement during aqueous treatment. Resistance to
compression is highest among fine short wool fibres of better style. It is due to higher
crimp frequency of these wool fibres.
7. Frictional Properties
Friction in wool is an important surface characteristic which play an important role
during processing. It is a desirable property to hold together the fibres in a spun yarn
and the interlacing threads in a fabric. Friction in wool is generally known for felting
properties. The pattern of the scales significantly influence the frictional properties of
wool fibres. Larger frictional force occur in fine wools than coarse type wool.
8. Stress-Strain Behavior
The stress-strain behavior of wool fibre subjected to longitudinal determination
depends on the temperature and humidity conditions. The changes are mainly due to
the influence of temperature and humidity on the macro molecular structure of the wool.
The coarse wool is having more strength than fine wool. Medullation in coarse
wool fibre significantly influences the strain-stress characteristics of wool fibre. The
breaking load, elongation and work of rupture are greater in medullated fibres than
non- medullated fibres.
9. Elasticity
Wool fibre has very good elastic recovery. The ability of wool fibre to recover
from being stretched is partially due to its crimp and partially due to the a-keratin
configuration. Repeated stretching may cause permanent deformation of wool fibre.
This property is very essential so that the fabric does not have permanent wrinkle, as
well as, it may regain original shape after deformation. In general, the finer fibres are
more elastic. The medullated fibres have better elastic recovery properties than the
corresponding true wool fibres
10. Stress Relaxation
1. If a single wool fibre is stretched to, and then held at a fixed strain, its stress
gradually decays with time, a process called stress relaxation. The relaxation of
 stress in wool fibre is attributed to the breaking of various physical and chemical
cross links on extension and there reformation with passage of time.
III. Chemical Properties
During chemical processing, the wool fibres and yarns are treated with wide
range of chemicals at moderate to high temperature. The conditions of treatments
being very severe, the fibres are damaged resulting in loss of strength and increase in
alkali solubility and harshness. The processing of wool with different chemicals under
industrial conditions is carried out for different durations and at different temperature
and concentrations. Thus, understanding of the behavior of attack of different
chemicals on the wool fibre is of paramount importance.
1. Effect of Acids
Wool is more resistant to acids than alkali. Wool strength does not deteriorate in
dilute acid (<10%) at room temperature. Short term treatment of con. acid solution
(upto 80%) with heating hardly influences strength properties of wool fibre.
2. Effect of Alkali
Wool dissolves readily in alkaline solution, especially at elevated temperature. A
3% solution of Sodium Hydroxide is sufficient on boiling for almost immediate and
complete dissolution.

Physical & Mechanical Properties of Wool

Properties Exotic breed Cross bred Native

Linear Density (Tex) 0.41 0.47 0.5-0.6*
1.86**
Medullation (%) 0-2 5-20 20-80
Staple length mm 70-120 50-80 20-80
Crimp/cm 3-5 2-3 0.5-1.5
Scouring yield 60-70 70-80 80-90
Grease content % 10-12 4-8 2-3
Circularity factor 0.88-0.93 0.86-0.88 0.67-0.86
Tenacity g/tex 9-11 11-12 11-14
Extension 40-45 35-40 30-35
Modulus 180-210 210-290 310-370

*Non-medullated
**, Medullated
 Chapter 7. Impurity of wool, factors influencing quality of wool

Impurities in wool

A. Sorting : Raw wool brought to the mill is sorted out first as per the requirement.
Sorting is a more advanced step requiring more skill and is different from classing or
grading, where fleece as a whole is the unit; but in sorting, the fleece is opened up into
different subsorts for more specific usage.

B. Opening and Dusting : Raw wool contains natural impurities such as oils and fats
secreted by sebaceous glands, and water-soluble salts from dried excretion from the
from the skin known as suint. The acquired impurities include sand, dirt, burrs and other
form of vegetable matter. The applied impurities consist of tar, pitch and paint used in
small quantities for animal identification purposes or chemicals used for treatment. The
machinery employed for scouring opens up the clumps of fibres into individual staples
and at the same time delivers a uniform quantity of opened stock to the scouring train.
This facilitates the proper penetration of the scouring liquor into the wool fibre, rendering
the scouring more uniform and thorough. It also reduces costs by saving on soap alkali
scouring liquor.

C. Scouring : The removal of the impurities in raw wool is an intricate and important
operation. It is accomplished by aqueous scouring process or by solvent-degreasing
process. Scouring is accomplished in a series of vats or bowls (3-6) through which the
wool is propelled by mechanical rakes with intervening squeezers. The scoured stock is
dried through specially constructed driers. For Indian carpet type wools, 3 bowls are
sufficient.

Recovery of wax from wool : Wool wax is a greasy substance secreted by fatty
glands of the skin. Wool grease is recovered by centrifuging aqueous scouring liquors
from the washing of greasy wool with detergents, often called centrifugal woolgrease.
Chemically speaking, it is a complex mixture of wax esters of long chain fatty acids and
alcohols, the latter including cholesterol, lanosterol and dihydrolanosterol. Centrifugal
woolgrease is often considered by buyers to be of the best quality, especially if it is
passed through 2 or more centrifuging steps. Industrial uses include fuel, lubricating
greases, concrete mould lubricants, rust preventatives. Woolgrease is also an important
component in many leather softeners.

Lanolin : In its refined form, wool grease is called ―Lanolin‖, and is widely used in
cosmetics for its emollient properties (virtually all cosmetics and beauty aids, such as
lipsticks, mascara, lotions, shampoos, and hair conditioners contain lanolin.), in
pharmaceutical products as carrier bases and for various industrial applications (eg, rust
preventatives, leather dressings, fur dressings, putty, cutting oils, and insulating tapes).
Lanolin is graded based upon its colour and presence of impurities, with the highest
grades being white or very pale yellow in colour. It is produced by reducing the level of
impurities in wool grease, by neutralising free fatty acids, bleaching and deodourising.

D. Carbonization : All wools contain a larger or smaller amount of burr. If burrs are
not removed, they cause considerable difficulty in all the manufacturing processes and
may even damage the card clothing and combs. The burrs are removed by mechanical
means such as burr crushers or manually by hand scissoring of the heavy burry parts of
the fleece. The chemical removal of burr is known as carbonization. It is done using
acids such as sulphuric or hydrochloric acid and by salts such as aluminium chloride
which produces acid when heated. The acid reduces the vegetable matter to carbon.
The carbon is removed by mechanical action during crushing, beating and neutralizing.

Some defects generally encountered in wool are hairiness, impurities, skirting,

lack of uniformity and cotts (pressing together of coarse fibres).

Hairiness

 The presence in the true wool fleece of wool hair is a degrading factor.

Breaks
 Wool is very sensitive to nutritional factors, disease or changes of climate,
pasture, etc.
 Droughts, fever, starvation or even pregnancy and lactation may result in a
poorer fibre which breaks easily.

Cotts

 This term denotes a condition where the coarse fibres which are shed into the
fleece become felted together.

Lack of uniformity

 Variation in length and diameter of the fibre in adjacent areas of the fleece is an
undesirable factor.

Impurities

 Impurities in the fleece of vegetable or mineral origin, as well as brands made

with hot irons or undesirable paint, and stains derived from urine, parasites, plants or
bacteria are taken into consideration.
 Certain parasitic skin diseases also lead to degradation.

Skirting

 Skirting is a term denoting a process of separating inferior wool, such as dirty,

greasy, seedy or hairy wool, from the more valuable part of the fleece.
 At the same time, coarse and stained britch wool and dirty bits from around the
legs and brisket are removed.
 Chapter 8 Brief outline of processing of wool

1. Sheep
Wool comes from sheep. They grow a wool coat and once a year this wool coat
is sheared off the animal. In W isconsin, this is frequently done in the early spring
shortly before they have their lambs. A shorn ewe will be more likely to stay out of the
wind and bad weather and protect her new-born lamb if she does not have a thick wool
coat on her.
2. Fleece
The shorn wool coat is called a fleece. It is also called "grease wool" because of
all the oil and lanolin in the wool. This fleece must be cleaned before it can be
processed into wool yarn. There is much vegetable matter, manure and natural oil that
must be removed. Sometimes as much as 50% of the weight of the fleece is not wool.
3. Skirting a fleece
The wool from the back end of the sheep, their legs and sometimes their belly is
too full of manure to use. These are referred to as "tags" (as in the phrase "tag end").
These are removed first before washing the fleece; this process is called skirting, as all
the edges of the wool coat are removed. The fleeces are also sorted into the various
types: fine from coarse and short from long.
4. Washing the wool
The grease must then be removed from the wool. This can be done using soap
or detergent and a lot of water or it can be done by submerging the wool in an acid bath
which dissolves all the vegetable matter as well as the grease (this is called scouring).
5.Picking
The washed and dried wool is then "teased" or "picked" which is the beginning of
the process of opening up the locks of wool and turning it into a consistent web. The
wool is put through a picker which opens the locks and blows the fluffy wool into a room.
At the same time a special spinning oil is added which helps the wool fibers slide
against each other but also helps them stick together as a fine web through the
processing.
6.Carding
The wool fibers are then put through a series of combing steps called carding.
This can be done with small hand cards that look much like brushes you would use on a
dog. It can also be done on a larger scale with machine driven drums covered with "card
cloth" which combs the wool many times by transferring it back and forth from one drum
to the other as it is passed down the series of drums. We have "woolen" cards which
produce a wool web with the fibers coming off in random alignment. This is in contrast
to "worsted" combing that lines up all the fibers (as you would see in thread).
7.Roving
The final step in the carding process divides the web into small strips called
pencil rovings. These are collected on large spools on the end of the card. These spools
of pencil roving will be placed on the spinning frame to make yarn.
8.Spinning
The roving as it comes off the card has no twist. It is held together by the oil and
natural hooks that exist on the surface of the wool fibers. The spinning frame will put the
actual twist on the roving and turn it into yarn. This is collected on wooden bobbins. The
frame we have is small but it can spin up to 90 threads at one time.
9.Wind and/or skeining
When the wooden bobbins are full of yarn, they are placed on a cone winder and
the yarn is transferred to paper cones for use in weaving and knitting machines. It could
also be put into skeins of yarn which are the form that knitters like to use.
10.Finishing
There are many ways of finishing the yarn. It is sometimes necessary to remove
the lubricant by washing, which also "sets the twist" which allows the fibers to open up,
fluff out and make a loftier yarn. Sometimes the wool is woven or knitted directly from
the cone and is washed and blocked in its final form (as cloth, socks, sweaters, etc.).
 Chapter 9 Tests for Identification of wool
Parameters for judging quality of wool

 Diameter / thickness
 Staple length- Total length of a fibre in its natural condition, it is obtained by
measuring the natural staple without stretching the crimps out of the fibre. Fibre
length-Total length of the fibre after removing the crimps by straightening wool
staple. Crimpness- wavyness of wool fibre
 Elasticity
 Kemp-dead fibre-reject grade of wool fibre
 Lustria
 Conductivity
 Dyeing properties
 Strength of wool
 Systems of Grading wool:
 American system or Blood system
 British system or numerical system or spinning count system. It consists of finest
count of to which it can be spun. This is used in most countries. It is based on
number of yarn that can be made from one pound of scoured wool or combed
wool. It is based on number of yarn that can be made from one pound of scoured
wool or combed wool. It fineness of fibres is more, the length of yarn is greater.