Enzymatic Degradation and Dyeability of Kroy-finished Wool Treated with Shellac

Abstract

The sorption of natural thermosetting resin, Shellac, by the Kroy-finished wool and the effects of Shellac on enzymatic degradation and dyeability were investigated. The amounts of Shellac sorbed by the Kroy-finished and the regularly scoured wools were almost the same. Although the weight loss of the Kroy-finished wool by enzymatic degradation was significantly larger than that of the scoured wool, the values of strength retention for both wools were substantially the same at the same sorption amounts of Shellac. The color change and color fastness of the Shellac modified wools were tested for the fabrics dyed with three different acid dyes and three different reactive dyes. It was found that the sorption of Shellac on the Kroy-finished wool improves considerably the color fastness of rubbing and brings about the color change in higher levels as compared with the scoured wool. Present results obtained led to the conclusions that the sorption site of Shellac is the cell membrane complex (CMC) and Shellac retards enzymatic degradation for both the Kroy-finished and regularly scoured wools.