SYNTHETIC WOOL

Grey River Argus, 18 April 1936, Page 10

SYNTHETIC WOOL

Scientific Tests Made MATERIAL TURNS YELLOWISH Thu opinion that the ;mcetiug of fundamental requirements of structure which may lie expected to reproduce all the properties of wool has not been fulfilled by the new Italian fibre made from casein is contained hi a report by the Wool Industries’ Research Association, of Leeds, which applied .'cientilic tests to the product. Although it could not be considered a competitor of the natural product, this would not prevent seietific attempts to overcome the difficulties. The exports agree that it is extremely unlikely that milk wool can be made into compact, warm clothing, and such articles as blankets, as the Italians ap-pareut-lv believe. Ou this poiut the report states: “The genoral appearance of the material is similar to that 01 merino wool, except that there is no crimp and Oto feel is harsher, A examination shows a fundamental difference, however. The new filaments possess no scales, such as are responsible for the valuable property of controllable felting, characteristic of natural wool.”

The report states that the now filament is not the first which hag been made from the casein of milk, or by regeneration of denatured proteins. When steeped in alkali the wool turns yellowish and sonic weakening occurs. I’he significance of this test is that the alkali acts on the fibres in a manner similar to that of several launderings, so it may be inferred that it will be difficult to retain the original properties of a garment, which has Io be washed repeatedly. If loaded Io the breaking point, under water the artificial filaments appear to become, quite plastic, and extend considerably, often to double their original length, and break under a load which is only one-quarter to oneeighth that required to break real wool o.L comparable diameter. This weakness would involve great difficulties in handling fibres in the wot. state for instance, in launderiing.