Influence of Lipid Layer on Enzymatic Anti-felting Effect of Wool Fabrics
The lipid structure of the outer layer of wool surface scales makes the fiber highly hydrophobic,which hinders enzyme penetration during the biological enzymatic anti-felting process.To address this issue,methanol/potassium hydroxide and hydroxylamine hydrochloride were used for wool pretreatment to investigate the removal effects of the lipid layer and its influence on wool structure and properties.Subsequently,after removing the wool's lipid layer with hydroxylamine hydrochloride,sodium bisulfite and Savinase 16XL protease were ap-plied to conduct anti-felting finishing for the wool.The results demonstrated that the three-step treatment had great wool anti-felting finishing effect,lowering the fabric's felting rate to 5.44%while keeping the strength loss within acceptable limits.Additionally,the wettability,dyeability,air permeability and moisture permeability of the fabric were significantly enhanced,thereby increasing the added value of wool fiber products.