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PRODUCTION POSIBILITIES OF SILK NON-WOVENS 1.

Introduction:
Silk is a natural fibre & is got in a filament form. It has very unique characteristic & aesthetic appeal like its sheen; its handle; its comfort & its drape which are unmatchable. This wonderful fibre is spun in the form of a filament by the silkworm larva. India is the only silk producing country in the world having all the four varieties of silk viz. Mulberry, Tasar/ Tussah, Eri/Endi, & Muga Silk. The last three silk being categorised under the Non-Mulberry or VANYA silk. Silk industry in India, is predominantly decentralised. It is hindered by age old practices and conventional manufacturing techniques which have limited the range of products and its uses. Besides, the advances in the synthetic fibre manufacturing technologies have brought in many challenges for silk fibre industry in several aspects, including the productivity. Therefore, there is a need to present silk in a new form and in competitive way. Thus product diversification is the need of the hour, as it not only helps to expand the market base and adds value to the end product, but also generates additional employment and income to the Sericulturists. An attempt has been made to diversify and produce silk non-wovens using silk filament & silk waste by employing the silkworm to spin the filament in a sheet form (instead of cocoon) on one hand & on the other, applying the principles of non-woven (bonding & mechanical) technology and blending it with creativity of the artisans. Special emphasis is laid on the silk waste generated during the conversion from the cocoon/ pupae stage to silk fabric. Non-woven is a continuous web sheet or fabric like material composed of fibres which are mechanically and/or chemically bonded together and is not made by weaving, knitting or conventional textile process.

2. Silk production details & Generated Silk Waste Data


Year Production of raw silk in Tons Mulberry Vanya Total Generation of silk waste in Tons Mulberry Vanya Total % of silk waste v/s production of raw silk Mulberry Vanya Total

1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06

12884 12954 14048 14260 13944 14432 15842 14617 13970 14620 15445

1025 1172 1188 1284 1270 1425 1509 1702 1772 1880 1861

13909 14126 15236 15544 15214 15857 17351 16319 15742 16500 17306

4022 4000 4215 4250 4153 4237 4655 4514 3764 3587 3705

208 247 235 253 248 305 319 336 373 365 297

4230 4247 4450 4503 4401 4542 4974 4850 4137 3952 4002

31.2 30.9 30.0 29.8 29.8 29.4 29.4 30.9 26.9 24.5 24.0

20.3 21.1 19.8 19.7 19.5 21.4 21.1 19.7 21.0 19.4 16.0

30.4 30.1 29.2 29.0 28.9 28.6 28.7 29.7 26.3 24.0 23.1

% of Silk waste generated in the country over decade


35 30 25 % 20 15 10 5 0
19 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 95 996 997 998 999 000 001 002 003 004 005 -96 -97 -98 -99 -00 -01 -02 -03 -04 -05 -06

Year Mulberry Vanya

4. Waste generated in silk sector:


During the conversion or the processing of Raw silk filament into fabric, generation of waste at every stage is inevitable. So much so, due to the economic aspect, silk waste is not discarded & is used in producing yarns such as Spun silk, Noil silk, Ghicha, Matka, Katia etc. At each stage of processing of silk, inferior yarn in comparison to the previous stage is produced. Thus generated waste is utilised to the fullest extent in the subsequent stages. Thus by giving an additional avenue i.e. of producing silk non-wovens, an opportunity to reap additional financial benefits arises. Being eco friendly, silk can replace very easily some of the man made fibres due to its lustre, warmth, absorption property, etc. Wastes generated in various stages of silk production are:a) Floss generated during the deflossing of cocoon b) From defective cocoons which are sorted out before reeling c) Cut cocoons which are produced during reproduction d) Waste generated during cooking, reeling and re-reeling e) Preparatory twisting and warping waste f) Weaving waste (shuttle-less loom selvedge waste) g) Wet processing (degumming) stage. Thus, using these wastes in an effective way is like fringe benefits to the silk producer. Additionally, all the secondary & tertiary stage produced yarn could be used for production of non-wovens.

5. Production techniques of Non-wovens:


Experiments were initially carried out to see the productivity aspects. Trial production on a larger scale established the viability of non-wovens especially in arts & artefacts, fashion designing & upholstery. As already mentioned, utilising the silkworm to produce a sheet like fabric (or simply called as self bonding of fibres in the fabric) or by using silk waste & adopting the non-wovens production techniques like chemical bonding or mechanically interlocking of fibres with help of needle punching, silk nonwovens can be produced.

A. Self bonding of filaments into a fabric:


This happens during the cocoon spinning stage by silk worm larvae. As the silk worm spins the silk; it produces a gum called Sericin which cements the silk filament known as Fibroin. The advantage of this gum which is part & parcel of silk spinning is effectively utilised in the production of non-wovens. Invariably, when silk yarn is used for fabric production, this Sericin portion is removed during the degumming process. This naturally adds to the pollution of the environment. With the effective usage of this gum, nearly 25% wastage that would have otherwise occurred is eliminated. During the production, the silk worms randomly deposit their silk onto a template, each silk worm produces about one mile of continuous thread. To produce just 100 grams of normal produced silk, l500 silkworm are killed by stifling. In contrast while adopting this process, the silkworm continues to live their whole cycle of life, and the silk farmers who tend them, enjoy a livelihood that is environment friendly. When the spinning is completed, the silkworms turn into chrysalis and are moved into a safe environment for a fortnight or so when it metamorphosis to silk moths and these moths could be used for reproduction cycle. After the life cycle of the silk moth, it is used as fertilizer for cultivation. Procedure Plywood of 3 x 3 attached on to a pivot arrangement is fixed on a tripod. Adult silk worms ready for spinning, are kept over the wooden plate and allowed to spin on the surface. During spinning, the worms move from one end to another and in doing so, the frame also gets rotated due to the shifting of load on the plate. After 5 to 6 days of

Production layout Spinning, the silk sheet thus formed is removed from the plate. The silk sheet thus produced is cleansed and then immersed in hot water and treated at 80-85 degrees for 15 minutes. The formed sheet is examined & if required, layers are removed in some places to give uniformity. Depending on the end use, additional layers may be added during this process. The water is squeezed & pressed by the calendaring process. This moderately uniform sheet can be taken up for bleaching or dyeing under controlled conditions. Dyeing process Finished product

Spinning of Filament by the silkworm Segregating & peeling of layers to achieve uniform sheet Controlled bleaching & dyeing Application of finishes Value add-ons like embroidery, printing, painting etc.

B. Adhesive bonding of silk fibre got from silk waste:


Procedure: Preparatory process: Fibre: Raw material in form of waste comprising of deflossing waste, reeling waste and basin waste, cut/pierced/ defective cocoons are thoroughly cleaned. Importantly silk waste containing pupal parts, dirt & other impurities are to be separated to obtain clean silk fibre. After removing the impurities, silk waste may be washed in plain water, degummed with soap and soda or bleached with Hydrogen Peroxide & Sodium Silicate and then dyed. Dry and cleaned silk waste is further opened by hand fed onto a fine fillet machine. 5 to 10 g of hand opened silk waste is processed on fine fillet machine to obtain a lap (7.5 cm x 1 m) of more or less parallel fibres. The lap of uniform thickness and weight per unit length, thus prepared, are used for making silk non-wovens or felts. Adhesive: The construction of a non-woven with suitable adhesive is to achieve improved characteristics such as strength, firmness, durability & stiffness. Further, depending on end uses, both fabric & the adhesive need to display fire retardence, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, anti-microbial properties, organic compatibility, reduced surface tension, improved dimensional stability to solvent, wash and acid resistance. PVA (poly vinyl acetate) or PVC (poly vinyl chloride) can be used as adhesives. A solution of PVA (10 g/litre) in plain water is prepared and applied to prepare silk non-wovens. Production process: Laying out the fibres: Place a piece of acrylic sheet on the table. Prepare the silk waste in lap as described above, to be laid on the acrylic sheet. Lay lap horizontally across the top of the sheet; continue moving downwards creating continuous fibre strips until you have reached the bottom left corner. Each lap segment of silk should over lap the other in all directions so as not to see the acrylic sheet underneath the table.

A second, third and even fourth layer of silk can be applied. The desired thickness of the felt will be dependent on the final use. Pieces that will be manipulated or sewed later will require more than one layer. For maximum sheen, the fibres should be laid out as smoothly and as parallel as possible. A certain amount of skill is required to do this. Wetting: Before applying adhesive, the laid lap sheet should be wetted thoroughly, so the silk accepts the adhesive. Silk sheet is wetted by sprinkling plain water or soap solution over it. It takes more water and time to penetrate the fibres than one might anticipate. The silk sheet changes to a darker colour and becomes very flat with no air pockets once the water has been soaked. Use a smooth glass or stainless steel rod of 2cms diameter and apply pressure by rolling it over the sheet. This will help the water or solution to penetrate uniformly and the sheet becomes still flat and excess water is wiped out. Application of adhesive: Pre-prepared adhesive (depending on the end use of the nonwovens) is spread all over the wetted silk sheet, slowly and evenly. Pressure is applied by rolling the steel rod over the sheet as done during wetting. Applying of adhesive Pressing

Drying: The felt prepared on acrylic sheet is dried under the shade, as the sun rays have destructive action on the silk fibre. It takes about 3-4 hours to dry. Peeling of non-wovens: When the fusion is completed, felts are slowly removed from the acrylic sheet. Curing: For final setting of the adhesive, the non-wovens must be heat set. Ironing also helps to flatten or remove fluffy surface. Always use a press cloth while ironing the felts to avoid gumming up of the iron surface. The acrylic sheet is washed with warm water and wiped, dried and kept ready for next batch of silk non-wovens preparation.

Raw material (Cleaned Silk Waste) Degumming/ Bleaching/Dyeing Washing Drying & Opening by Hand Mechanical opening & web formation in lap form Lap laying & bonding with Adhesives (Chemical bonding) Pressing (steel rods), Drying (under shade) and Curing (ironing) Finishing techniques (printing, embroidery & finishes etc) It is observed that the softness and lustre of mulberry fibre is well reflected in the nonwoven sample, though the concentration of binder used, weight of the fibre taken and the process followed were identical for all varieties of silk.

C. Mechanical bonding of silk fibre got from silk hard waste:


This waste especially hard waste generated during twisting and weaving can be more effectively utilised for development of silk non-woven fabrics for increased value addition besides diversified application. It is observed that the hard waste generated to the extent of 300 MT in silk twisting and weaving (Shuttle less looms) is not being used for any purpose. Apart from this, even silk waste, fibres obtained from non-reelable cocoons, filature yarn, fabric selvedge etc can also be used. The procedure for opening & cleaning of the fibres followed here are similar to chemical bonding. Here the mechanical methods i.e. the use of needle punching machine to entangle the fibre into web like structure is employed. The preparation of the raw material is done as follows:Between two layers of fibre webs (got in a lap form), cotton net is used. If required, additional fibre webs are laid in a sandwich fashion. This is then fed into the needle punching machine.

Selection of Raw material Preparation of fibre (Degumming/stripping of colour) Opening and lap formation Web formation Web bonding (Mechanical) Dyeing, Drying and Curing Finishing techniques

Line diagram of needle punching machine

Z I- Fibrous web feeding and compression zone; Z II Needle punching zone; Z III- Drawing-off zone; 1 - Needle beam; 2 - Needle board; 3 Needles; 4 - Feed table; 5 - Draw-in rollers; 6 - Bed plate (lower hole plate); 7 - Stripper plate (upper hole plate) 8 - Drawing-off rollers. Selvedge waste Needle Punched Fabric

Non-woven care:Yes, you can wash all products in Luke warm water or dry cleaning is the best option. Some natural dyed samples

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6. Uses/applications
Appliqu for clothing, Appliqu work on hand crafted items Inner lining for warm garments Head caps, ties, garments & blankets Furnishing and home apparels Handicrafts items like wall paintings, wall hangings, wall coverings, gift tags, bags, purse/wallets, table mats, matting for pictures, journal/book/album covers greeting/invitation/business cards, lamp shades & many many more .. Imagination is the limit. Technical & Medical textiles Embroidery & appliqu work

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6. Conclusions: The objective of developing non-woven product out of all the 4 varieties of silk fibre is possible. The manufacturing technology evolved suits the decentralised sector also. It is a low cost technology The product standardisation would automatically lead to standardisation of process parameters and would be within the capacity of targeted stake holders. A systematic approach for its marketing would generate sustainable self employment for the villagers. Silk lovers get a new product in a competitive way. Effective utilisation of silk & its produced waste. Embroidery Work

References:
Dr. V. K. Kothari: Non-wovens and their application in filtration www.livesilkrevolution.com Indian Silk Nov 05 to Apr 06

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