Abstract
For the re-utilization of waste or used wool fibers, an attempt was made to apply the water-soluble keratin extracted from wool oxidized with performic acid to the additive finish of textile goods. With the amount of the keratin adsorbed on these fabrics, the moisture regains of polyester (PET), acrylic (ACR) and cellulose acetate (ACE) fabrics generally increased and the contact angles of water on the fabric surfaces decreased. As a result of the treatment, the surface resistivities of PET fabrics under 65 and 85% RH both decreased, while neither the resistivity of ACR under 65% RH nor that of ACE under 85 % RH decreased. Further, the resistivities were almost unchanged, even after rubbing of the fabric surfaces with a pilling tester.
