New Wool New Zealand Wool Industry (Continued Nineteen)

(6) gloss

Highly glossy

New Zealand can supply glossy wool.

Generally speaking, this kind of wool is thicker than that of other crossbred wool.

This kind of wool is mainly used in hand knot carpet industry because its diameter is soft.

This kind of wool is also used in knitted garments similar to Mohair style.

2. Other components of wool

The sheared wool is cut off from sheep, which contains variable amounts of sweat fat (grease and sweat), dust, grass, water and other contaminants, most of which can be removed when washing wool.

The weight of the washed wool and the net hairs are of interest to the processors, but there is a great difference between the sheep and the hairs.

Usually, with the increase of fiber diameter, the net Brix rate increases.

For example, the average of merino wool in New Zealand.

(1) lanolin

The wool is covered by a yellow wax substance, which is produced by the sebaceous glands of the subcutaneous fibrous roots.

It is used to lubricate fibers and avoid damage during growth period.

The lanolin gradually moves towards the outer end of the hairs and accumulates at the tip of the hairs, absorbing dirt and dust.

Because this wax gives wool a tactile touch, usually called lanolin.

Lanolin can melt at 40 degrees, and it is easy to remove when washing wool.

In the wool scouring process, lanolin is recovered, sold, and processed into pure lanolin, which is widely used in cosmetics and medical agents.

There is a difference between lanolin content and the diameter of wool fibers.

For example.

Lanolin accounted for about 25% of the gross weight of Merino. However, the hybrid wool contained about 10%.

(2) wool sweat

The sweat from sheep dries on the surface of wool fiber, which is easily dissolved in water. Therefore, the sweat quality on the hairs can be washed by the rain water, and it can also be washed easily when washing wool.

Wool sweat can reach 10% of the weight of wool.

Coarse wool crossbred had more sweat than finely branched sheep.

(3) grass miscellaneous

Grass, such as grass seeds, small pieces of branches and leaves, grass, hay and so on, are contaminated by sheep in grazing grounds, wrapped in wool.

Because it is not easy to remove when washing wool, the increase of grass impurity content will affect the quality of processing and products. The content of grass impurity becomes an important factor in the purchase of wool.

Because fiber materials contain grass impurities, the grass must be removed at the initial stage of processing, and the rate of combing will be reduced.

Those miscellaneous weeds that are not cleared before processing will reduce the efficiency of the post spinning process, resulting in broken ends and uneven evenness.

Grasses in wool yarns are annoying and will damage the feel and appearance of fabrics.

New Zealand wool is widely recognized as fact that it does not contain grass. Usually, its content is below 1% (average O.3%).

The most common contaminants are grass or hay, New Zealand weed and plant fragments.

Very few other occasions include hardwood thorn, Geranium grass, underground clover, spire thorn, herb, Thistle and star shaped thorn seeds.

When sheep are grazing in the jungle, their backs may be covered with leaves, twigs and stems.

This kind of wool is called grass mixed wool.

The grass grasses on most of the sheep grazing in New Zealand grasslands are easily removed during the initial processing of spinning.

When the content of grass is very high, it can be used to remove herbicides by carbonization. This process includes wool (or fabric) treated by acid solution, baking in the drying room, and carbonizing the grass and crushing it. The carbonization process increases the cost, also damages the fiber, affects the softness of wool yarn, the latent ability of dyeing and the feel of the fabric. New Zealand wool rarely needs carbonization, and in fact, there is no carbon chemical plant in New Zealand.