Natural Fibres

Cotton
Silk
Wool
Linen

COTTON
Cultivation
Morphological structure
Chemical structure

Commercial classification of Cotton

based on the length of the fibre

Sea Island cotton

Egyptian cotton
Brazilian cotton
American cotton
Indian cotton

Chinese cotton

5 cm or more
3.7 - 4.5 cm
3 - 4 cm
2.5 - 3.5 cm
2 - 3 cm
1.5 - 2 cm

Diameter of cotton fibre = 15-20

microns

Morphological structure of Cotton

Convolutions

Lume
n

The morphological structure of the

fibre consists of 4 parts:

a.Cuticle
b.Primary wall
c. Secondary wall
d.Lumen

a. Cuticle

Encloses the cotton fibre -> protects the fibre

Composed of cotton wax-mixture of fats and oils.
oily film -> hard like varnish.

b. Primary wall

Built from cellulose

Cellulose molecular chain randomly arranged
0.1-0.2 microns thick

c. Secondary wall

Also composed of cellulose

d. Lumen

Cylindrical void (i.e. space) along the length of

the fibre
Occupies 30-35 % of total area of cross-section

Chemical composition of
cotton
Chemicals
Composition
(%)
Cellulose

88 - 97

(glucose molecules)

Protein

1-2

(polypeptides & amino acids)

Oil and Wax

0.4 - 1.5

(glycerides & fatty acids)

Pectins

0.4 - 1.5

(Ca/Mg/Fe + pectic acid)

Minerals
(chlorides/carbonates/sulpha
tes of K, Ca and Mg)

0.7 - 1.6

Cellulose
Basic unit of cellulose is anhydro Dglucose
Glucose is a monosaccharide
containing 6 carbon atoms 5 in the
ring and 1 in side chain

LIFE CYCLE OF SILK WORM

Egg (hatches in 810 days)
Caterpillar
(5 mg / 2-3 mm )
After 20-30 days
2-5 gm / 5-9 cm
Seeks for secretion of
filament / transferred to
special trays
Turns into a pupa

PRODUCTION OF SILK

MORPHOLOGICAL STRUCTURE
OF SILK

Brin

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Composed of,
FIBROIN (the silk filament), and
SERICIN (the gummy substance that
holds the filaments together)
Compon
ent

Mulber
ry Silk

Tassar
silk

Muga
silk

Eri Silk

Fibroin

70-80 %

80-90 %

80-90 %

80-90 %

Sericin

20-30 %

8-10 %

8-10 %

4-5 %

2-3 %

3-5 %

3-5 %

3-5 %

Other

 FIBROIN and SERICIN contain amino

acids
Gly Glycine
Ala Alanine
Ser - Serine

Primary structure of FIBROIN

(Gly-Ser-Gly-Ala-Gly-Ala)n
The chemical composition of SERICIN
is C30H40N10O16.

WOOL
Wool is the oldest and the important
animal fibre.
Major production: UK, Russia,
Argentina, USA
The main physical features of the
wool fibre are its length and
diameter.

GRADING OF WOOL
Type of
Wool
Fine
Medium
Long
Cross Bred

Fibre
Length

Fibre diameter

3.2 10 cm

10 - 30 micron

5 20 cm

20 - 40 micron

12.5 35.5
cm

35 - 50 micron

7.5 15.5
cm

20 - 40 micron

Mixed
Mixed length
- 100 micronof
Wool
sorting
is the20process
separating the wool fibres based
on its quality such as length
(short or long), fineness (fine or
coarse), handle (stiff or soft), etc.

MORPHOLOGICAL STRUCTURE
OF WOOL
3 structural parts:
a. Epidermis or cuticle
b. Cortex
c. Medulla

Chemical composition of
Wool
Composition

Percentage (%)

Keratin
Grease
Moisture
Suint
Sand and dirt
Vegetable matter

45-75
5-15
10-12
2-12
4-30
0-5

 Keratin:
Composed of C (~53%), H (7 %), N (18%), O
(25%) and S
S content varies largely among different types
of wool.
Polypeptide composed of 15-20 amino acids

Grease:
Insoluble in water
Ester of (high molecular weight) fatty acids and
monohydric alcohol (eg. Cholesterol)

Suint:
Water soluble
K salts of fatty acids and organic amino acids

Sand and Dirt

Protein molecule:

Helps to
differentiate the
amino acid

Dipeptide

Polypeptide

Polypeptide chain can be:

Straight chain but in a zig-zag form
Folded chain (arranged forward and
backward on one plane)
Coiled chain (spiral form)

FLAX
- Bast fibre
- The plant grows 170 cm in height
and 1.5 cm in diameter.
- On maturity, changes from green to
yellow.
- Better to harvest when the seed pods
have ripened.
- Dried for a week stem is collected.

PROCESSING OF FLAX

*Retting is the process of separating

the fibre bundles from gummy

FLAX FIBRE - LINEN

Strongest natural fibre 80-90% crystalline region.
High crystallinity -> dry strength and wet strength
are the same.
Length 90-125cm
Diameter 14-25 microns
Cross-section - Round to polygonal with a small
lumen.
Moisture regain 12%
Used for home textiles, sheeting, canvas, threads,
twines, paper making, etc.