Effect of water at elevated temperatures on the wool fibre surface

Aqueous treatments are found in many stages of wool processing. Water and heat are known to alter the chemical nature of the whole fibre. There is an incomplete understanding of the full effects of aqueous treatments on the fibre surface. This study investigates changes to the fibre surface as a result of exposure to water at elevated temperatures in terms of the current fibre surface model and highlights the significance of such changes in further processing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and gas chromatography (GC) have been used to study the chemical and morphological changes to the fibre. The results show that the fibre surface is modified by treatment with water at elevated temperatures (50-100 °C) with the loss of surface-bound lipid and changes to the morphological structure of the fibre. Even at temperatures as low as 50 °C, some of the surface-bound lipid is removed. At higher treatment temperatures, more of the bound lipid is removed. This finding has impotent practical implications for the wool processing industry.