INVESTIGATION ON TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES OF MERINO WOOL STOCK BATCHES

Abstract

The study was performed on 29 industrial merino wool batches. During the initial processing, the wool from each batch was divided into worsted (grade 64s and 60s) and carded (grades 64s and 60s). The washing of sorted wool and determination of industrial yields was done according to the technology currently used in textile enterprises. The following technological parameters were determined in all clean wool industrial batches: moisture, residual fat, mineral and vegetable matter; fineness and length. It was established that out of the total amount of greasy wool (3 103 557 kg) purchased and processed in Kolhida-Sliven LTD, the share of Bulgarian wool was 61.28% and that of imported wool – 38.72%. The greatest relative share of purchased wool was that of native improved wool – 92.61%, followed by
merino wool – 6.92% and merino-like wool – 0.47%. In both greasy and clean wool, about one-third of the total amount was worsted and two-thirds – carded. The grade 64s prevailed among worsted wool, whereas grade 60s – among carded wool samples. The industrial yield after washing of stock batches was 45.77% in average, with slightly higher values for carded wool. The average moisture, residual fat and mineral matter in the different clean wool types were in compliance with the Bulgarian State Standard, whereas the vegetable matter content of all wool types exceeded significantly the specified limits. The average fineness of studied wools types was 23.29 μm for worsted wool and 23.62 μm for carded wool, whereas the mean weighted lengths – 59.12 mm and 47.65 mm for worsted and carded wools, respectively.