Natural Wool Research Articles

Evaluation of Impact, Tensile, and Flexural Strength of Natural Wool Fiber Reinforced Polymethyl Methacrylate Denture Base Material: An In Vitro Study

Introduction: This study was carried out to assess the effect of natural wool fiber addition on the impact, tensile, and flexural strengths of the heat-cured acrylic denture base material. Methods: Short wool fibers with and without chemical surface treatment were added to polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) at a percentage of 0.25% by weight. A total of 90 acrylic specimens were prepared and divided into three groups according to the tests performed. Impact strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength tests were evaluated. The statistical analysis of the results data was performed using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and Tukey’s post hoc test. Results: Impact strength improved significantly after adding silane-treated natural wool fibers to PMMA. However, the tested groups did not have significant differences in tensile and flexural strengths. Conclusion: Natural wool fibers in a percentage of 0.25% by weight could improve the impact strength of the acrylic denture base material after treatment with the silane coupling agent. At the same time, they did not significantly affect the tensile and flexural strengths with or without surface treatment.

Molecular‐Engineered Wool for Sustainable All‐Weather Radiative Cooling Textiles

AbstractPersonal thermal regulation through passive radiative cooling is an effective strategy to achieve sustainable development. Although recent advances have introduced various cooling textile designs, the extensive use of materials unsuitable for common textiles, alongside coating or compositing technologies, not only compromises the wearability and safety of these textiles but also impacts green sustainability. Herein, it is shown that wool is a promising natural material for transferring mid‐infrared human body radiation, but the high absorption in the solar spectrum prohibits wool from achieving satisfactory daytime radiative cooling. Thus the natural wool impregnates zinc ions into the protein chains to form a zinc‐ion woolen (wool‐Zn) fabric. The wool‐Zn fabric can provide humans with a cooling sensation both indoors and daytime outdoors, showing a temperature reduction of 2 °C on human skin indoors and a reduction of 7 °C on artificial skin under direct sunlight, respectively, when covered by wool‐Zn fabrics compared to when covered with cotton. Moreover, the wool‐Zn fabric shows desirable antibacterial properties and durability against washing and abrasion, while maintaining desirable wearability. As a result, the wool‐Zn fabric shows great potential for commercial application in personal thermoregulation and provides an effective avenue toward sustainable energy and environment.

A Comprehensive Investigation of Woolenization Process Effect on Jute Yarn Quality

Jute, a renowned biodegradable and sustainable textile fibre, plays a pivotal role in environmentally conscious textile production. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the woolenization process on the qualitative attributes of jute yarn, such as yarn evenness, and tensile and functional properties, with a special focus on the development of wool-like properties. Yarn samples were meticulously prepared from white jute fibre, categorized into three distinct count groups (C8, C10, and C12), and subjected to four treatment categories: untreated (U), woolenized (W), bleached (B), and dyed (D). The results showed that the woolenization process impoverished yarn evenness, with a significant 15.2% increase in CVm for WC8, 74% and 88.6% increase in Thin (-50%)/Km and Thick (+50%)/Km, respectively, for WC10. For tensile properties, a 27% reduction in tenacity and 176.5% remarkable elongation improvement were noted for samples WC10 and WC12, respectively. Furthermore, the development of wool-like properties was noteworthy in functional properties, including a 38.8% increase in Specific Volume Index (SVI), and a 12.8% reduction in moisture content was marked for WC8. The woolenization process also had an adverse effect on jute yarn count and quality ratio, with a deterioration of 12.5% and 32.2% marked for sample WC10, respectively. The results suggest that the bleaching process performed after woolenization negatively impacts yarn evenness. However, dyeing after woolenization and bleaching can enhance overall yarn quality. The outcome of this study will promote the use of natural fibre, and jute over synthetic and natural wool fibres.

Sensitising natural wool with green and brown coffee using a facile extraction method to optimise dye process parameters

Green coffee powder is the raw powder of coffee cherries and all coffee’s potential components are held within this green powder. A new natural colourant was extracted from Green Coffee using water as an extractant. To obtain a green-colored solution, a specific amount of green coffee was mixed with distilled water and left for 24 h at room temperature. Furthermore, the colouring performance of extracted colour has been studied using the conventional exhaust dyeing method on wool fabric. Different parameters viz. concentration of Green coffee powder, the temperature of the dye bath, the period for immersion, and solution pH were made to set to obtain a fine tone of green colour. The dyeing parameters (amount of the coffee: 2 g, 100 °C, 70 min & 6.7 pH) were optimised and selected to draw a comparison with the conventional Brown coffee powder. In experiments on wool, this potential solution of Green coffee offered rich green hues with good tonal variation. In addition, the colour fastness to washing was found superior in the case of both Green and Brown coffee and colour fastness to light, rubbing as well as perspiration also showed good performance. In this study, our main focus was to obtain the true and fast green tone of the fabric using Green Coffee and compare it with brown coffee using the same conditions used for dyeing with green coffee. The application of these dyes as natural dyes results in obtaining innovative natural fast colour with remarkable dyeing properties and a new inclusion to the existing commercial spectra of natural dyes.

Smartphone-based procedure to determine content of single synthetic dyes in food using the Arata-Possetto extraction method

The use of additives, including dyes, is common in the preparation of food products. The analytical control of artificial food dye content is relevant since some, such as azo dyes, may produce cancer and attention deficit disorders and hyperactivity in children. Consequently, the maximum permitted concentration of azo dyes in food is regulated by current legislation. Therefore, it is of interest to find simple and fast procedures for the control of these compounds. The aim of this study is to determine the concentration of azo dyes in food samples by the Arata-Possetto method – based on the extraction of azo dyes employing natural wool –, followed by the analysis of an image captured by a smartphone camera. After experimentally determining the optimal extraction conditions, the calibration curves for standard solutions of different food dyes and the color of the dyed wool were obtained. Results from dyed wool image processing were compared with the absorbance spectra of the solutions before extraction as measured by a diode array spectrophotometer. The spectrophotometric and the image processing procedures were employed to obtain the calibration curves for different food dyes, which were subsequently employed to analyze food samples. Statistical treatment shows that the results of both methods are comparable.

Sustainable engineering of wool keratin towards cobalt atoms fixation for enhanced electrocatalytic water splitting

Developing sustainable bifunctional electrocatalysts based on non-noble metals for water splitting is crucial for modern society. Meanwhile, the utilization of biomaterials from waste streams in their fabrication enhances sustainability in the electrocatalytic sector. Herein, this novel approach has been demonstrated by selectively utilizing disulphide bonds, existed in natural wool keratin structure, to fabricate cobalt sulphide catalysts. The obtained Co9S8 nanoparticles, supported by nitrogen/phosphorus co-doped active carbons (Co9S8/N, P-ACs), exhibited a mesoporous system (SBET = 439.3 m2/g) and distinctive metal electronic environment. The as-prepared catalysts require a low overpotential of 90.7 mV and 245 mV to drive HER and OER at 10 mA cm−2 in the alkaline medium. The fabricated Co9S8/N,P-ACs|| Co9S8/N,P-ACs water electrolyzer possesses a low cell voltage (1.62 V at 10 mA cm−2) and a high stability with 9.8 % decay after 25 h of operation in the alkaline medium. Finally, density functional theory simulations confirm the octahedral sites in Co9S8 instead of CoO are the active sites, and an optimized d-band center is achieved by nitrogen, phosphorus-doped carbons.

A Novel Polyvinylidene Fluoride/Keratin Electret Filter With Comprehensive Performance and High-Efficiency PM0.3 Removal

Effective and environmentally friendly air filters to preserve public health are essential given the particle matter pollution epidemic that has permanently damaged human health. This study used blending spinning to create a unique polyvinylidene fluoride/keratin electret filter with reliable PM0.3 reduction and comprehensive features. More specifically, adding keratin derived from natural wool significantly increased composite fibrous membranes’ pore structure and surface charge. Keratin and polyvinylidene fluoride work together synergistically to produce a fiber membrane that exhibits good filtration performance with a quality factor of 0.04662 /Pa, a low pressure drop of 127 Pa, and a high particle removal capacity of 99.731%. The development of this electret material provides a new approach for the design of environmentally friendly air filters for efficient removal of PM0.3.

Development of non-combustible weaveable yarn through oxidative control of a textile acrylic fibre

Acrylic fibre is considered to be artificial wool in the textile industry, but in contrast with natural wool, it vigorously burns producing black smoke and toxic gases. This not only has hindered its technical applications, but also poses safety risks to the end-users of acrylic-based products. This research aims at enhancing the fire-retardancy of acrylic yarns using a facile thermal stabilisation process which is based on controlling the oxidation temperature and residence period. To this end, acrylic yarns are thermally processed according to six different time and temperature profiles ranging from 220 to 280 °C, with residence periods ranging from 22 to 28 min. The oxidised yarns were characterised using FTIR, DSC, and TGA techniques and the effects of the oxidative thermal treatment on physical characterises, and surface morphology of yarns and fibres were discussed. The results showed that the acrylic yarn undergone the oxidation process based on 240–255–270–280 °C heating profile for 28 min at each step had a sufficiently high degree of cyclisation with an excellent fire retardancy. Furthermore, the stabilised acrylic yarn was strong enough to be woven into a plain weave fabric using a laboratory scale loom while displaying non-combustible behaviour during cyclic exposure to flame. These results present a novel pathway for the development of a low cost, non-combustible fabric ideally suited for applications in extreme environments.

A free-floating structure triboelectric nanogenerator based on natural wool ball for offshore wind turbine environmental monitoring

The marine distributed wireless sensor network system can promote the development of offshore wind turbine environmental monitoring. However, traditional ocean sensors and large power generation equipment are hard to meet the requirements of distributed sensor networks. Hence, we proposed a free-floating structure triboelectric nanogenerator (FF-TENG) based on the all-in-one ocean energy harvesting and sensing device concept for offshore wind turbine environmental monitoring. The FF-TENG device follows the integrated structure design of the sphere and floating body, which brings high wave energy capture efficiency and high wave sensing sensitivity. In this design, the wool ball plays the role of the triboelectric material owning to excellent positive triboelectricity. And the lightweight characteristic of the wool ball endows the FF-TENG device with fine wave-following properties in the ocean environment. In rolling working mode, when the motion amplitude and frequency are 5 cm and 4.5 Hz, the instantaneous open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Isc) of a single FF-TENG can arrive at 462 V and 15.5 μA, respectively. The transferred charge (Qsc) of a single FF-TENG can reach 107 nC. According to the results, the FF-TENG device can achieve a 4.26 times energy harvesting effect compared with nine-independent spherical TENG. Moreover, the Isc of FF-TENG represents a nicely linear relationship with the swing angle (minimum frequency: 0.2 Hz), which indicates that the FF-TENG can monitor the change of wave frequency and amplitude. This research provides a new path for all-in-one ocean energy harvesting and sensing device in offshore wind turbine environmental monitoring.

Ultra‐Strong Regenerated Wool Keratin Fibers Regulating via Keratin Conformational Transition

AbstractBy virtue of remarkable biocompatibility and their promising applications in biomedical fields, biomass‐regenerated fibers, such as wool keratin fiber and cellulose fiber, have attracted extensive attention. However, the insufficient mechanical performance still hinders their yarn manufacturing capability and further large‐scale applications. Herein, an ultra‐strong and ultra‐tough regenerated wool keratin fiber by regulating keratin conformation with high‐quality small‐size graphene (HQSGr) and mechanical training treatment (M‐HQSGr‐RWKF) is fabricated. With the assistance of mechanical training, a small addition of HQSGr (0.1 wt.%) remarkably augments the secondary structure transition from α‐helix to β‐sheet of the keratin, which delivers a tensile strength of 215.4 ± 5.2 MPa, surpassing all reported natural wool and regenerated wool or even poultry fibers. Benefiting from the excellent mechanical strength, wet‐state toughness (158.9 MJ m−3), and recoverable strain (205.0%), M‐HQSGr‐RWKF has been demonstrated as a biocompatible artificial muscle to drive the biomimetic motion, which manifests ultrahigh actuation strain greater than 100.0% and stress of 16.7 MPa. The derived ultra‐strong and ultra‐tough keratin fiber opens a new avenue for developing smart fiber from biomass resources.

Marine Biodegradability and Ecotoxicity of MWool® Recycled Wool Fibers: A Circular-Economy-Based Material

Pollution of the marine environment by microfibers is considered a problem for ecosystem conservation. The amount of microplastic, localization of sources, and associated ecotoxicity are well known in the literature. Wastewater from washing machines is the main source of microplastic fibers in the aquatic environment, and fabrics made from recycled plastic are widely reused. The circular economy also promotes recycling of dyed natural wool materials as a basis for making new clothing, but in this case, less research has been conducted on the behaviour and effects of recycled wool microfibers in marine ecosystems. MWool® (MW) and MWool® carded (MWc) products made from recycled wool fibers were tested in mesocosms to investigate the biodegradation of wool fibers over a 260-day period and the effects of this process on marine ecosystems in terms of microfiber inputs and the ecotoxicological effects of by-products and chemicals released during degradation. The early degradation process was associated with the loss of artificial pigments from the dyed wool, particularly pink and red, which occurred within 30–90 days of exposure. Mean release of microparticles into contact water is significantly different from control (T0, p < 0.01) at 90 days MWc (36.6 mg/L) and 180 days MW (42.9 mg/L). The biodegradation process is accompanied by swelling of wool fibers, which is associated with a significant increase in mean wool thickness (p < 0.05, 18.8 ± 2.1 µm at T0 vs. 24.0 ± 7.1 µm). In both cases, the contact water was not associated with signs of ecotoxicity for the marine species tested in this study (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Brachionus plicatilis, and Paracentrotus lividus).

Reinforced Wool Keratin Fibers via Dithiol Chain Re‐bonding

AbstractRegenerated wool keratin fibers (RWKFs) have heretofore attracted tremendous interest according to environmental friendliness, ample resource, and intrinsic biocompatibility for broad applications. In this realm, both uncontrollable keratin fibril assembly procedure and resultant insufficient mechanical strength, have greatly hindered their large‐scale manufacture and commercial viability. Herein, a continuous wet‐spinning strategy is put forward to rebuild wool keratin into compact regenerated bio‐fibers with improved strength via disulfide re‐bonding. Dithiothreitol (DTT) has been introduced to renovate disulfide linkage inside keratin polypeptide chains, and bridge keratin fibrils via covalent thiol bonding to form a continuous backbone as mechanical support. A thus‐derived RWKF manifests a tensile strength of 186.1 ± 7.0 MPa and Young's modulus of 7.4 ± 0.2 GPa, which exceeds those of natural wool, feathers, and regenerated wool or feather keratin fibers. The detailed wet‐spinning technical parameters, such as coagulation, oxidation, and post‐treatment, have been systematically optimized to guarantee the continuous preparation of high‐strength regenerated keratin fibers. This work offers insight into solving the concurrent challenges for continuous manufacture of regenerated protein fibers and sustainability concerns about biomass waste.

A unique nanocomposite with FeCo nanoalloy anchored on S, N co-doped carbonaceous matrix for high bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalytic property in Zn-air battery.

A unique nanocomposite of FeCo-NSCC (means FeCo nanoalloy anchored on N, S co-doped carbonaceous composite) is obtained by one-pot pyrolysis using mixed natural wool fibers, dicyandiamide and the corresponding metal salts. The FeCo-NSCC has a higher degree of graphitization and a high specific surface area of 359m2 g-1. The FeCo-NSCC exhibits a promising bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (OER/ORR) electrocatalytic activity with onset potential and half-wave potentials of 0.980 and 0.853V vs reversible hydrogen electrode for ORR, and a low overpotential of 351mV at 10mAcm-2 for OER, superior to that of state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C and RuO2. The FeCo-NSCC presents a vigorous bifunctional OER/ORR electrocatalytic activities with the low ΔE(E1/2 - Ej=10) of 0.727V, superior to most of the reported non-noble metal-based catalysts. Besides, the FeCo-NSCC shows remarkable durability and methanol resistance. The FeCo-NSCC based battery works at an open circuit voltage of 1.52V and has a maximum power density of 161 mW cm-2 at current density of 246mAcm-2, better than those of Pt/C-RuO2 based battery (1.47V; 106 mW cm-2, 145mAcm-2). The FeCo-NSCC based battery is stable with no obvious increased voltage gap after 60h cycles.

Natural Fibers Reinforcement Of Denture Base Materials: Natural Wool Reinforcement:, A Review Of Literature

Natural Fibers Reinforcement Of Denture Base Materials: Natural Wool Reinforcement:, A Review Of Literature

Adsorption of Pollutants from Colored Wastewaters after Natural Wool Dyeing.

The presented study assesses the efficiency of selected adsorbents, zeolite 4A in two particle sizes and pelletized activated carbon (AC), for the potential removal of color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and metals from wastewaters after natural wool dyeing. Firstly, the natural coloring compounds were extracted from dried common walnut (Juglans regia) leaves and used further for exhaustion dyeing of wool fibers, together with three different metallic salts in two concentrations (meta-mordanting). Effluents with higher mordant concentration were additionally treated according to a shake-flask adsorption experiment. The obtained results revealed efficient removal of exceeded metallic ions by zeolite (up to 94.7%), on account of their superior ion exchange capability as compared to AC. The zeolites also reduced turbidity and electrical conductivity significantly. On the other hand, AC was more efficient for the reduction in organic pollution, COD up to 96% and TOC up to 95%, due to its higher specific surface area and total pore volume, and, thus, higher potential for adsorption of different compounds in comparison to 4A. All three proposed adsorbents lowered wastewaters’ coloration remarkably, up to 78% (AC) and up to 71% (4A), depending on the type of effluent/mordant and inspected wavelength; although, the spectral absorbance coefficient (SAC) values remained highly above the limit values for discharge of wastewaters into watercourses.

Environment and sheep wool quality indicators

The features of the skin histology and the determination of the quality indicators of wool of young female Tsigai breed sheep are presented in the article. A positive correlation was found between the fineness of the wool and the live weight (p ≤ 0.05); between the shearing of natural wool and the fineness of the wool (p ≤ 0.05); between the shearing of natural wool and the live weight (p ≤ 0.05); between the washed wool and the fineness of the wool (p ≤ 0.05) and the shearing of natural wool (p ≤ 0.05). There is no reliable relationship between the fineness and the percentage of the washed wool shearing. However, the percentage of the shearing of washed wool is negatively related to the live weight (p ≤ 0.05), the shearing of natural wool. The greatest thickness of the skin was on the back and leg are 968.07 and 968.24 microns respectively. It is assumed that the skin regeneration occurs due to the cells of the basal layer. This is due to the fact that the thickness of the basal layer decreases in the following order: side-back-leg-neck, which correlates with the degree of exposure to damaging factors on these areas.

Theoretical Optimization of the Production of Heating Layers Using Local Wool Fibers

Science is the basis of the country’s development and wealth. In particular, it is necessary to effectively use advanced scientific developments and technical achievements in order to strengthen the economy in the period when the desire for innovation in all fields is still growing. In theoretical-experimental Scientific Research work, both theoretical and experimental results are achieved, and it is more useful to withstand more theoretical-experimental loads for a longer period of time. The occurrences in the production process of natural wool fiber technologists are a complex of physical and mechanical phenomena, which can be used only by the modern achievements of science and technology. In most cases, the parameter relationship with the factors influencing the technological process or the object can open a curve without any other things.

Luxury and Modernism: Architecture and the Object in Germany 1900–1933

Luxury and Modernism: Architecture and the Object in Germany 1900–1933

Thiol-Based Ionic Liquid: An Efficient Approach for Improving Hydrophilic Performance of Wool

ABSTRACT Research suggests that to eliminate undesirable effects of the scale layer, natural wool needs to be surface-modified before further application to textile manufacture, obtaining better properties of shrink-resistance, washing/felting and dyeing. However, previous methods exhibited some disadvantages, such as the adsorbable organic halogens (AOX) pollution from chloride treatment and severe fiber damage caused by enzyme treatment. Therefore, thiol-based ionic liquid was introduced onto the surface modification of wool to counter these defects. In this modification process, the surface modification was controlled on the wool surface using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with evaluation of the effects of cleavage of disulfide bonds ascertained by the X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) results. The solubility in alkali and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra further indicated that the process could prevent main body damage of the fiber, the decreased content of the α-helix structure was evaluated from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) curves. Furthermore, the hydrophilic performance of the modified wool, including wettability and the dye-ability, revealed an apparent enhancement compared to that of raw wool. In a summary, the thiol-based ionic liquid approach can efficiently improve hydrophilic properties of wool, and has the potential for large-scale production.

Natural Latxa Sheep Wool as an Environmentally Friendly Substitute for Specific Organic Fibers in Railway Friction Materials: A Preliminary Approach

The present work characterizes a natural sheep wool and compares its properties to those of a range of three different, well-known organic fibers that are typically used in the friction material production: aramid, cellulose, and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers. The characterization work consisted of the study of the fibers alone, the nonpressed friction materials, and the final railway brake blocks. By these means, it was proven that the wool obtained from latxa sheep (Ovis aries) is a suitable replacement for cellulose because the wool presented slightly better thermal resistance in thermogravimetric analysis, and the particle retention ability of both fibers was similar. The latxa sheep wool was also found to delay the curing reaction to a similar degree as the PAN fiber. Finally, the friction material including sheep wool presented physical and mechanical properties similar to those including cellulose and PAN fibers, and no major differences were found in friction with changing speeds or temperatures. In addition, the inclusion of sheep wool led to the lowest speed and force fade and to a good recovery behavior after the speed and temperature phases, only second to the friction material using PAN fiber. An average spread in the instantaneous friction coefficient and a slightly higher wear are reported for the material containing sheep wool. Finally, no significant differences were found on the friction surfaces or on the wear mechanism when their microstructure was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy.