Nonwoven fabric production using waste silk

Abstract

This thesis is aiming to study the possiblity in producing a nonwoven fabric from waste silk by conventional carding followed by thermalbonding process. It also covers the study of physical and mechanical I properties of the products to verify whether they are acceptable for textile applications. Waste silk from the mesh around the cocoons, so called Keba, was : blended with bicomponent binder fibers, i.e., polyolefin and polyester which compositions were varied in contents between 20-35% by weight. The roller carding machine was used for forming the blended webs. The webs, then, were passed through the belt-thermalbonding machine for heat compression. Some basic fabric properties, such as tensile and tear strengths, were evaluated. The results show that the nonwoven fabrics with areal density 60 g/m2 can be effectively produced from the proposed process. The products are yellowish white, lustrous and soft. The uniformity of the web falls in an acceptable range with coefficients of variation 8-10%. Their moisture regains 'were about 2.0-3.6%, and they show good air permeability. Generally, increasing binder fiber contents provide in stronger nonwoven fabrics. On the other hand, higher amounts of waste silk result in less stiffness and soft hand. Nonwoven fabrics blended with 25-30% of polyester fibers have acceptable strength and softness.