LECTURE SERIES TEXTILE

FIBRES
MODULE #2 NATURAL FIBRES
STARTING 26/8/2020
NATURAL CELLULOSIC FIBRES

 These fibres the origin is plant

 Depending upon the part of plant from which the fibre is derived
 Seed fibre – cotton, kapok
 Bast fibre – jute, flax, hemp
 Fruit fibre – coir
 Leaf fibre – sisal, pineapple
 Major component is cellulose, on burning give the smell of burning paper
1. COTTON FIBRE – KING FIBRE
Cotton fibre Introduction

 Oldest known fibre to civilisation

 USA dominates the world market for cotton, but other larger producers are
India, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt and China
 Global yield per hectare of cotton fibre is 320 kg, while for India it is only 170
kg
Botanical varieties of cotton fibre

Family of cotton fibre Region Characteristics

Gossypium Arboreum India White in colour, 20 to 30 mm length,
coarser fibre
Gossypium Herbaceum Middle east, Egypt, Long fine silky fibre, 37 to 45 mm
India

Gossypium Baradense Egypt, Sea Island Long fine silky cotton with creamy tint, 50
mm and above
Gossypium Hisutum American 20 – 30 mm average quality cotton
DEVELOPMENT AND EXTRACTION
 In 3 months of cultivation, flowers appear in cotton plant
 It takes another 3 months for the cotton boll to mature and fibre to be extracted
Morphological Structure of Cotton fibre
 Cotton fibre is seed hair
 Each flower may result in 20 to 25 fibres enclosed in a boll.
 Fibre is tubular with well developed wall and a central lumen
 Fibre generally 15 to 20 micro thick, fairly constant diameter, only base is thcker and tip is thiner
 Four major parts
 Cuticle
 Primary wall
 Secondary Wall
 Lumen
Morphological structure of Cotton fibre
 Cuticles
 Protective layer
 Composed of waxes and fats
 Primary Wall
 Composed of cellulose.
 Its thickness is 0.1 to 0.2 microns
 Cellulose in fibrillar form at about 70 to the fibre axis
 Secondary wall
 Major component to fibre weight
 Contains cellulose
 Cellulose fibrils are arranged at 20 -30 angle to fibre axis
 Lumen
 Void part about 30 % of fibre cross sectional area , on fibre drying it shrinks to only 5 %
 Lumen collapses on fibre drying and shrinks and gives the bean shape
 The impurities present in lumen are responsible for giving colour to fibre
Convolution in cotton fibre

 Fibre is cylindrical at the time of formation

 Gradual drying leads to flattening of the fibre to more
ribbon like
 Shrinkage of fibre occurs in direction perpendicular to
fibrils
 This causes twisting of fibre structure resulting in
convolutions
 If the fibre is acted upon by swelling agents like caustic
soda, convolutions disappear and fibre becomes
rounded in cross section
Cotton fibre chemical composition

Chemicals Composition %
Cellulose 88 – 97 %
Protein 1 -2
Oil and waxes 0.4 – 1.5
Pectins 0.4 – 1.5
Minerals 0.7 – 1.6
others 0.5 – 0.8
Polymer System of Cotton
 Cotton is a linear, cellulose polymer.
 The repeating unit in the cotton has
two glucose units, called cellobiose.
 Its degree of polymerization is thus
5000. Hence it is a very long, linear
polymer, about 5000 nm in length and
about 0.8 nm thick.
 The most important chemical groups on
the cotton polymer are the hydroxyl
groups or -OH groups which are also
present as methylol groups or –CH2OH.
 Due to the presence of hydroxyl group,
polar nature of polymer gives rise to
Polymer System of Cotton

 It consists of about 65 to 70 per cent crystalline and about 35-30 per cent
amorphous regions. Polymer system of cotton shows well ordered and oriented
crystalline regions.
 The maximum distance across which hydrogen bonds can form between polymers
is 0.5nm in crystalline regions.
 Hydrogen bonds are the dominant forces of attraction present in the polymer
system of cotton. Van der Waals forces which are also present have little
relevance.
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Why does cotton absorb moisture?
 Why does cotton fibre swell on absorption of water?
 Why does the cotton fibre become strong on wetting?
 Cotton fibre wrinkles easily
 Cotton should not be ironed at temperatures above 100 C
 Cotton fibre is suitable as summer clothing
 Cotton fibre is used for towels
 Cotton fibre is said to be king fibre
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Why does cotton absorb moisture?
 30 – 35 % of frills in cotton are randomly arranged, account for amorphous region
 Hydroxyl groups in cotton are sites for linkage to water molecules… Hydrogen
linkages are formed.
 Moisture absorption will depend upon temperature and RH of environment
 Moisture absorption of cotton is about 8.5 % at standard temperature and RH
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Why does cotton fibre swell on absorption of water?
 Aqueous swelling of fibre takes place as the water molecules form physical linkages
with the hydroxyl groups
 They occupy the spaces in the amorphous region leading to swelling of the fibres
 Swelling would also cause deconvolution
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Why does the cotton fibre become strong on wetting?
 The strength of cotton fibers is due to the 70 per cent crystallinity of its long fiber.
It is one of the few fibers which gains strength when wet.
 It occurs because of a temporary improvement in polymer alignment in the
amorphous regions of the polymer system.
 The improved alignment when wet results in an increase in the number of
hydrogen bonds, with an approximate 5 per cent increase in fiber tenacity.
 Dry strength is 3 to 5 g/denier, wet strength is about 20 % higher
 Also immature fibres are weak due to less cellulose fibril development
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Cotton fibre wrinkles easily
 Physical linkages between hydroxyl groups of cellobiose polymer chains.
 On wetting these are removed and broken by application of heat
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Cotton should not be ironed at temperatures above 100 C
 Cotton fibre starts degrading at temperatures around 150 C
 Also the fabrics made from cotton may be chemically treated and bleached.
 This would further aggravate the degradation
 Hence safe temperatures are below 100 c
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Cotton fibre is suitable as summer clothing
 Light weight
 Absorbs moisture
 Soft next to skin feel
 Breathable
 Cotton allows heat to dissipate making it a wonderful fiber to maintain a
comfortable sleeping temperature
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Cotton fibre is used for towels
 Absorbs moisture
 Stable in structure when wet
 Breathable
 Soft feel
Fibre structure and property
relationship
 Cotton fibre is king fibre
• Oldest known natural fibre available worldwide
• Can be spun into yarns as well as nonwovens can be made from it
• Comfortable – there are no surface characteristics of cotton that make it irritating to human
skin. Cotton feels good against skin; it has a soft hand.
• Hydrophilic – cotton has a natural affinity for water – it attracts moisture away from your
body.
• Moisture passes freely through cotton – aiding in evaporation and cooling
• Good Heat Conductivity – Cotton allows heat to dissipate making it a wonderful fiber to
maintain a comfortable sleeping temperature.
• Strong and abrasion resistance
Bast fibres Jute Flax Hemp
Jute fibre
 Jute is a natural fiber popularly known as the “Golden Fiber”.
 Jute fiber comes from the stem of a herbaceous annual plant “Corchorus”.
Introduction

 Jute is the second largest produced natural fibre in the world

 India, China, Bangladesh are leading producers of Jute
 Jute is almost entirely a market oriented crop
 Bangladesh is the largest cultivator of raw jute
 The plant has a height of 8 to 12 feet
Jute Fibre extraction rocess
Jute Fibre extraction rocess

Cultivation Harvesting
 Jute is a rainy season crop, sown  Jute is harvested any time
from March to May according to between 120 days to 150 days
rainfall and type of land. when the flowers have been shed,
early harvesting gives good healthy
 Jute requires a warm and humid
fibers.
climate with temperature between
24ċ to 37ċ.  The harvested plants are left in the
field for 3 days for the leaves to
 The soil of good depth, containing
shed
salts from annual floods, is best for
jute.
 The stalk diameter of plant is ¾
inches.
Retting Stripping
 Retting is a process in which fibers  Stripping is the process of
get loosened due to decomposition removing the fibers from the stalk
of hard cell walls by the action of after the completion of retting.
bacteria. Fibers are removed from the stalk
by any one of the following
 The bundles are steeped in water
methods:
at least 60cm to 90cm depth.
 Single plants are taken and their
fibers are taken off.
 Taken off a handful of stalks,
breaking it in a to and fro motion
in water.
Washing Drying and Packing
 Extracted fibers are washed in  The fibers are hung on bamboo
railings for sun drying for 2-3 days.
clean water. The dark color of After drying, the fibers are ready
to be sold in the market.
fibers can be removed by dipping
 The bailing of jute fiber is done
them in tamarind water for 15 to according to grading system.

20 minutes and again washed in  Packing into Kutcha bales about

250 pounds for use in mills or jute
clean water market.
Grading of Jute fibre
Structure of Jute fibre

 Commercial jute varies from yellow to brown to greyish in color.

 The bundle of fibers held together by gummy material; lignin which
plays an important role in structure of plant.
 By contrast with the regular lumen of flax, that of jute is irregular; it
becomes narrow in places quite suddenly.
  Jute is mainly composed of
polysaccharides and lignin but it also
contains smaller amount of fats and
Composition of Jute Vis-à-vis Cotton waxes, pectin, nitrogenous, coloring
and inorganic matters.
 The polysaccharides or glucose units
are of two types such as alpha-
cellulose (C6H10O6)n and hemi-
cellulose.
 The hemicelluloses are short linear
polymers
 The lignin has a high polymeric
complex structure whose building unit
is a phenylpropane with a number of
reactive groups, hydroxyl and
methoxyl.
 Jute is acidic in nature due to
presence of poly-uronic acid in hemi-
cellulose.
Properties of Jute

 Fiber Surface & Appearance: Yellow to brown to dirty grey in color and Natural
Silky Lustrous appearance
 2. Tensile Strength: Not stronger than flax because of the irregularities in the thickness
of cell wall.
 3. Elongation: Elongation at break = 1.7%
 4. Elastic Properties: It is a stiff fiber and not tend to return its original length
completely when the tension is relaxed.
 5. Specific Gravity: 1.5
 6. Length: 1~4 meters (3~12 feet)
Properties of Jute

 7. Effect of Moisture:
 Moisture Regain = 13.75%
 Jute can absorb as much as 23% of water under humid conditions
 8. Effect of Age: High content of non-cellulosic matter makes jute sensitive against
chemical and photochemical attack.
 9. Effect of Microorganisms: Jute is more resistant to microorganism due to protective
effect of lignin.
Advantages of Jute

 Great antistatic properties

 Low thermal conductivity.
 100% Biodegradable; so it is environment friendly fiber like Cotton.
 Cheap in market.
 Can be widely used in Agriculture Sector, Textile Sector, Woven Sector,
Nonwoven Sector.
 Jute Fiber can be blended with Natural and Synthetic fibers.
Jute vis –a-vis Cotton
 Jute is cheap and reasonably strong and is available in large quantities.
 Generally used in:
 Sacks & Packing Cloth
 Food Storage
 Backing cloth for carpets
 Curtains & Furnishing fabric
 Used in Geotextiles, technical textiles and textile composites
 Mixed with wool, used in cheap clothing
Chemical properties of Jute

 Jute fibres have poor resistance to alkali due to presence of hemicelluloses.

Alkali treatment extracts out the hemicelluloses from the fibre structure
making it weak. Treatment with 18 % caustic soda jute becomes slightly
weaker but highly soft and crimpy due to irregular swelling. The process is
popularly known as woollenisation.
 Jute fibres are weakened and destroyed by acids. The cellulose chains
disintegrate due to hydrolysis in presence of acids. The mineral or inorganic
acids are more effective than organic acids.
 The bleaching agents remove the natural colour from jute to make it white
but at the same time partly remove the lignin and make the jute weaker and
finer.
Flax fibre
Flax plant
History of flax fibre - linen

Even Egyptian Mummies are found wrapped in linen, such fabulous is the fibre
Flax plant and structure of fibre

Cross section Longitudinal

Chemical composition of bast fibres
Cottonisation of flax fibre
 Flax fibres may be mechanically or chemically broken down to length 25 mm
to 40 mm to suit cotton blending.
 This is done mechanically by cutting and treatment with caustic soda to
remove pectin and hemicellulose
Flax fibre structure and strength
Flax physical properties
Flax physical properties
Flax thermal proeprties
Summary of properties
Summary of properties
Summary of properties
Coir fibre

 Natural Cellulosic plant fibre

 Obtained from fruit of coconut
 Tropical plant grows india, Malaysia, Srilanka, Philippine, Indonesia
 Fibre removed from mature fruit by de-husking
Extraction of fibre

 Process of extraction
 Retting
 Cleaning
 Drying
 Combing
Types of coir fibre
Production process
Chemical composition of coir fibre
Structure of coir fibre
Physical properties of coir
Key advantages of coir fibre
 Rigid fibre
 High abrasion resistance
 Strong fibre
 Low cost
 Static free
 Flame retardant
 Sound insulation and thermal insulation
 Resistant to microbes and insects
Natural protein fibres – Wool & Silk
Wool fibre
 Natural fibre with origin as animal hair
 Epithelial growth on mammal skin, sheep
 Other animal hair fibres are camel hair, goat hair, rabbit hair, like
cashmere, angora, pashmina
 Peculiarity of the fibre is its crimp, which makes it spinnable
 Process of collection
 Shearing
 Cleaning
 Sorting
Introduction to wool fibre
 Wool is a freely traded international commodity and representing 1.5% of
world’s fibre production.
 Australia is the leading producer of wool. Merino is the finest wool.
 While there has been an overall reduction in global wool supply in recent
decades, the fall in fine wool production has been more pronounced than for
medium and coarse wool types.
 In 1990, around 50 per cent of global wool produced was classed as fine wool
according to the International Wool Textile Organization (IWTO) standards
(less than or equal to 24.5 microns in diameter), but by 2010, this proportion
declined to 36 per cent.
Indian wool
 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, overall wool productivity in India is much lower, 0.9 kg per sheep/ year
than the world average of 2.4 kg/sheep/year
 The bulk of the wool produced in India is of coarse quality and used mainly in the
manufacture of hand-knotted carpets.
 85 % of the total wool produced in India are suitable for carpet manufacturing.
 The main wool producing states of India are Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir,
Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Haryana
 Deccani, Bellary and Kurumbai are the major wool producing sheep breeds in
south India. The wool produced by these animals is very coarse with greater than
50μ fibre diameter and 5 - 10 cm in length
Wool fibre

 Grading done based on their fineness

SN Grade Fineness, Length, cm

micron
1 Fine 10 - 30 3.2 - 10
2 Medium 20 - 40 5 - 20
3 Long 30- 50 12.5 – 35.5
4 Cross bred 20 - 40 7.5 – 15.5
5 Coarse 20 -100 variable
General characteristics of wool fibre
 Fine wools have as many as 10 crimps per centimeter, while coarse wool has
less than 4 crimps per 10 centimeters.
 As the diameter of wool fibres increases, the number of crimps per unit
length decreases.
 The number of crimps per unit length may be taken as an indication of wool
fiber diameter or wool fiber fineness. As the diameter of the wool fiber
increases the crimp per unit length decreases.
 Length of the fiber ranges from 5cm for finest to 35cm for the coarsest wools.
 Diameter for finer 14μm, coarse 45μm,
 Length width ratio ranges from 2500:1 for the fine and shorter, 7500:1 for
coarse and longer
 Colors vary from off white to light cream.
Morphological structure of wool fibre
 Longitudinal microscopic appearance of wool is the overlapping surface cell
structure.
 These surface cells, known as epithelial cells and commonly known as scales,
which point towards the tip of the fiber.
 The cross section of wool fibre is usually oval in shape

Scales
 Morphological structure of wool fibre

 Cuticle : The cuticle is the layer of overlapping epithelial cell's surrounding the wool fiber.
 There are three cuticle layers
 Epi Cuticle: The epicuticle is the outermost layer covers of the wool fiber.
 Exocuticle : The overlapping epithelial cell forms the exocuticle.
 Endocuticle: The endocuticle is the intermediate connecting layer bonding the epithelial cell of the cortex of the wool
fiber.

 The Cortex:
 The cortex or core, of the fiber forms about 90% of the fiber volume. It consists of countless, long, spindle shaped cells
or cortical cells. It is composed of two regions known as ortho and para cortex.
 The ortho cortex absorbing more dye than para cortex. The ortho and para cortex spiral around one another.
 Fine wool fibers have about 20 such cells, whereas coarse wool fibers have about 50 cortical cells across diameter of
their cross-section.

 Medulla: Coarser fibers have a hollow space running lengthwise through the center.
 Morphological structure of wool fibre
 The cortical cells of the wool fibre consist of a
number of macro-fibrils. These macro-fibrils
held together by a protein matrix.
 Each macro-fibril consists of micro-fibrils of
indeterminate length. And each micro-fibril
composed of eleven proto-fibrils these
protofibrils spiral about each other.
 Finally, each proto-fibril consist of three wool
polymers (alpha keratin plymers), which also
spiral around each other. It is the fibrillar and
spiralling structure, within the cortical cells,
which contributes towards the flexibility,
elasticity and durability of the wool fibre.
Morphological structure of wool fibre

 Differential staining in wool

 Different staining is due to the different composition of the para-cortex and the
ortho-cortex.
 The chemical composition of the para-cortical cells shows a higher cystine content
than ortho-cortical cells. Cystine is a sulphur containing amino acid, capable of
forming di-sulphide cross-links.
 This increased cross-linking tends towards greater chemical stability resulting in
less dye absorption of para-cortical cells.
Morphological structure of wool fibre
 Felting
 Felting of wool is the irreversible shrinkage of the length, breadth and thickness of the
material. Wool felts because of the serrated surface of its fibres which is formed by the
overlapping epithelial cells or scales.
 Because of this serrated structure, less friction will result if the fiber moves in a rootward
direction than if it moves in a tipward direction.
 This difference in surface friction between the two directions is known as the directional
frictional effect (DFE). Felting of fiber is enhanced by heat, acid or alkali.

 Colour of wool
 Color of wool varies due to the di-sulfide bonds, which acts as chromophores. As a result the
incident light may be modified to cause the reflected light to have a tinge of yellow, giving the
wool fibres their off-white appearance.
 When the fibre is cream to dark cream in color, this is due more to the polymer degradation on
the surface of the fibre, as wool polymer is very sensitive to atmospheric oxygen and air
pollutants.
Wool composition
 Wool polymer is a linear, alpha-keratin polymer which has a helical configuration.
 The repeating unit of wool polymer is amino acid which is linked to each other by the peptide bond
(-CO-NH-).
 It is not possible to determine the extent or degree of polymerization for wool. It consists of a long
polypeptide chain constructed from 18 amino acids.
 Wool polymer is about 140 nm and about 1nm thick
 In its normal relaxed state , the wool polymer has alpha keratin structure
 Stretching of the wool fiber tend to stretch, straighten with unfolded configuration called beta-
keratin. A beta-keratin wool polymer always tends to return to its relaxed alpha keratin structure.
 Amorphous : Wool polymer system is extremely amorphous, as it is about 25 to 30% crystalline. The
spiraling of the proto-fibrils, micro-fibrils and macro-fibrils does not imply a well aligned polymer
system.
 Cystine:
 The sulphur containing amino acid which is present in wool, makes the wool polymer system the only one with
cystine linkages, also known as di-sulphide bonds.
 Cystine bonds are covalent bonds, they occur within and between wool polymers.
 This make wool fibre flame retardant
Chemistry and linkages in wool polymer
 I. Polar peptide groups: The oxygen of the carbonyl groups (-CO-) is slightly
negatively charged and as a result will form hydrogen bonds with the slightly
positively charged hydrogen of the amino groups (-NH-) of another peptide
group.

 These bonds are weaker and are few and far due to large side groups present
in wool polymer.
Chemistry and linkages in wool polymer

 II. Salt linkages or ionic bonds: Few of the amino acids are acidic in nature,
while other are basic in nature. Argnine and lysine have free –NH2 group while
Glutamic and asperatic acids have free –COOH groups
 Hence, carboxyl radicals (-COOH) and (-NH2) as side groups of amino acids
which are basically the acidic and basic groups, salt linkages or ionic bond will
forms.
Chemistry and linkages in wool polymer
 III. Covalent bonds: Cystine, the sulphur containing amino acid which is
present in wool, makes the wool polymer system the only one with cystine
linkages, also known as di-sulphide bonds. Cystine bonds are covalent bonds,
they occur within and between wool polymers.
 This covalent bond is more stronger than the electrovalent bond in wool
polymer.
 It contributes to strength rigidity and flame resistance in wool
Chemistry and linkages in wool polymer
Tenacity properties of wool

 They possess a large number of highly polar peptide linkages which can give
rise to inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen bonding. While these bonds
contribute much toward increasing the strength of the fiber, such close
spacing of these groups along the molecular chain would be detrimental to
other desirable fiber properties.
 They contain relatively large side chains (R groups in the scheme of the
polypeptide chain) which prevent close packing of the protein molecules and
thus decrease the extent to which hydrogen bonding can occur.
 The low tensile strength of wool is due to the relatively few hydrogen bonds
that are formed.
 Wool fibre has strength of 1 to 1.7 g/denier.
 Tenacity properties of wool

Commonly, the stress-strain curve of a single wool fiber

which provides tensile characteristics is depicted by 3
different deformation regions, namely,
• Initial Hookean region from 0 to 2% strain
corresponding to the reversible deformations of
mainly bond angles and lengths,
• A yield region ranging from 2% to 25-30% in which
the α- helices of micro-fibrils unfold and are
replaced by β-pleated sheets, and
• A post yield region beyond 30% in which some
irreversible degradation process occur.
Tenacity properties of wool

Wool strength on wetting

➢ Wool is composed principally of proteins which are polycondensation products in which the
different amino acids are linked together to form a polypeptide chain:

➢ When wool absorbs moisture, the water molecules gradually force sufficient polymers apart
to cause a significant number of hydrogen bonds to break.

➢ Water molecules hydrolyze salt linkages in the amorphous regions of the wool fiber.
Breakage of these inters –polymer forces of attraction are apparent as swelling of the fiber
and results in a loss in tenacity of the wet wool textile material.

➢ Wool is comparatively weak fiber. It has tenacity of 1 to 1.7 g/denier. On wetting strength
reduces to 0.8 to 1.6 g/denier
Elasticity of wool

 Wool has very good elastic recovery and excellent resiliency. The ability of
wool fibres to recover from being compressed is due to:
 a) crimped configuration of wool fiber
 b) alpha–keratin configuration of the wool polymer
 The ability of the polymers to return to their alpha-keratin configuration is
due to inter-polymer di-sulphide bonds, salt-linkages and hydrogen bonds.
Moisture absorbency

 Absorbent nature of wool is due to the polarity of the peptide groups,

salt linkages and amorphous nature of its polymer system.
 The peptide groups and salt linkages attract water molecules which
readily enter the amorphous polymer system of the wool fiber.
 It absorbs 12- 15 % moisture
 Also dyeing is easy for wool, dye molecules can enter the amorphous
regions of the polymer system of wool.
Thermal insulation properties of wool

 Wool fibre has scales on its surface, giving surface irregularity

 The crimped configuration prevents wool fibres from aligning themselves too
closely when being spun into yarn.
 As a result it is possible to have wool textile materials with air spaces
occupying about two-thirds of the volume.
 The warmth of wool fabrics is due more to the air spaces in material than to
the fibres.
Wool susceptible to alkali

 5 % caustic soda at boil dissolves wool.

 Strong alkali tend to hydrolyse the peptide chain linkages. This damages the
fibre.
 Soda ash potash and ammonia have little or no effect on wool.
 Hence for wool washing mild detergent is used.
 Also care has to be taken while washing of wool fibre as hot water and forces
during washing could cause the polymer system of wool to be disturbed and
hence bring about deformation in the woollen garment.
 So very mild and gentle washing is done for woolen garments.
Action of acids on wool

 Dilute acids have no effect, they may be absorbed and held in the amorphous
regions
 Concentrated acids or heat could result in hydrolysis and degradation.
 This could deform the scales and make the fibre brittle.
Wool used in carpets

 Wool carpets have a natural and soft luxurious feel.

 The unique fibre structure is strong and hard-wearing and provides natural
protection to help resist staining and soiling.
 It is elastic and is resilient.
 Wool carpets absorb noise so are quiet and naturally flame retardant so are
safe.
Wool in fire blankets

 Wool’s inherent fire resistance comes from its naturally high nitrogen, sulphur
and water content, requiring higher levels of oxygen in the surrounding
environment in order to burn.
 Wool fibre on burning forms a self-insulating char that prevents further flame
spread.
 In addition, wool’s cross-linked cell membrane structure will swell when
heated to the point of combustion, forming an insulating layer that prevents
the spread of flame. This also means that wool produces less smoke and toxic
gas than synthetic fibres.
 While most textile fibres are polymers containing mainly carbon and hydrogen
that can burn easily, wool also contains high levels of nitrogen and sulphur.
Natural Protein fibre silk
INTRODUCTION

 Natural fibre from animal secretion

 Domesticated silk from silkworm Bombyx mori, that feeds on mulberry. This is
mulberry silk.
 Other silks obtained from silkworm that are not cultivated, they are wild silk.
These may feed on castor leaves. Thee are Eri, Muga, Tussar varieties
 India globally is the second largest producer of silk after China
 Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Assam, WB Bihar, Maharashtra are
few of the states producing silk
Silk extracion

 The process of extraction of silk from silkworm

 DRYING
 SORTING
 COOKING
 REELING
 THROWING

 The leftover broken discontinuous strands are used to form spun silk yarn.
Structure and composition of silk fibre

 Mature silkworm builds its cocoon by extruding a viscous fluid from its two large glands in the
body. This viscous part is fibroin which is covered by another secretion called sericin, flows
from two other symmetrically placed glands. When these two components come in contact
with air, gets coagulate and result in firm continuous filament.
 As a result of this spinning process, the fiber has two main parts called sericin and fibroin.
 Sericin is gummy substance acts as an adhesive for twin fibroin filaments. Fibroin is the
principal water insoluble which makes 78% of the weight of raw silk. It has a highly oriented
and crystalline structure.
 Structure of silk fiber has micro-fibrils which are packed together to form a fibril bundle and
several fibril bundles produce a single strand.
 Fibroin has high proportions of alanine, glycine and serine.
 It consists of small amount of amino acids which have acid or basic side chains. This is one of
the reasons why silk absorbs relatively lower amount of acid and alkali as compared to wool.
 X-ray analyses of the crystalline domains silk fiber represents that the peptide chains pack in
full extended forms.
Appearance of silk

 Silk filaments are 600-1700 m long and diameter ranges from 12-30 µm
depending upon the health, diet and state under which the silk larvae
extruded the silk filaments.
 So fiber length to breadth ratio is 2000:1. It is off-white to yellow in color.
Silk protein and linkages

 Silk polymer is linear, fibroin polymer. It is composed of 16 different amino acids.

The silk polymer is not composed of any amino acids containing sulphur, so it does
not contain any di-sulphid bonds.
 Silk polymer occurs only in the beta-configuration. Length of the silk polymer is
about 140nm which is slightly longer than wool polymer, and about 0.9 nm thick.
 The important chemical groupings of the silk polymer are the peptide groups
which give rise to hydrogen bonds, and the carboxyl and amine groups which give
rise to the salt linkages.
 Polymer system of silk is composed of layers of folded linear polymers. This results
in 65-70% crystalline polymer system.
 The major forces of attraction between silk polymers are hydrogen bonds, which
are effective across a distance of less than 0.5nm. This ensures that fibroin
polymers must be closer than this given distance.
Moisture regain

 Moisture regain of silk is about 11% compared to cotton which has 8.5% this is
due to the very crystalline polymer system.
 The amount of moisture absorbed by silk depends on whether it is raw or
degummed silk or on the species of silk and in the humidity.
Tenacity of silk

 Silk is strong fiber. A filament of silk is stronger than an equal diameter of

steel filament. This strength is due to linear, beta configuration polymers and
very crystalline polymer system. These factors lead to formation of many
hydrogen bonds in a much more regular manner.
 Its tenacity varies from 2.4 to 5.1 gms per denier.
 The wet strength of the fiber is about 80-85% of the dry strength. This is
because water molecules hydrolyzing a significant number of hydrogen bonds
and in the process weakening the silk polymer.
 Elongation at break is about 20-25% and extension at break is 33% at 100% RH.
Absence of elasticity

 Very crystalline polymer system does not permit the amount of

polymer movement
 Also the majority protein is in beta form
 Hence results in plastic nature of silk than elastic.
 stretching results in rupturing of hydrogen bonds. After stretching,
the polymers do not return to their original position, which leads to
distortion and wrinkling or creasing of the silk textile material.
Effect heat on silk

 Heating of silk fiber remains unaffected for a long period at 1400C.

 It is more sensitive to heat compared to wool, which is due to the
lack of any covalent cross links in the polymer system of silk,
compared with the di-sulphide bonds which are present in wool’s
polymer system.
 Peptide bonds, salt-linkages and hydrogen bonds of silk fiber
decompose quickly at 1750C.
Effect of acids and alkali

 Acids and alkalis cause hydrolysis of polypeptide chain present in the fibroin
fiber. Acid hydrolysis causes more damage to fiber than alkaline hydrolysis.
 Acid hydrolysis attacks at nearly all the peptide linkages as compared to alkali
hydrolysis which occurs at the end of the peptide chain. Concentrated
sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid will dissolve the fiber and nitric acid
result in change of color of silk.
 Dilute acid do not attack the fiber under mild condition.
 Hot caustic alkalis readily dissolve the fiber. Weak alkalis attack fibroin when
the treatment time at boiling point is prolonged.
Applications

 Property of silk to absorb water easily makes it comfortable to wear and

hence widely used for clothing.
 Its attractive lustre and drape makes it appropriate for applications such as
home furnishing.
 It has potential to use as biomedical application as surgical sutures as it
doesn’t cause inflammatory reactions and biodegradable microtubes for
repair of blood vessels.