A comparative study on wool bio-antifelting based on different chemical pretreatments

The enzymatic antifelting of wool with proteases, which is referred to as bio-antifelting, has become a promising eco-friendly alternative to conventional chlorination treatment. However, wool bio-antifelting in industrial scale has not been reached so far due to its unsatisfactory shrink-resistance and uncontrolled action in fiber damage. In this paper, the action and mechanism of two kinds of chemical pretreatments, i.e., hydrogen peroxide and dichlorodicyanuric acid pretreatments on the shrink-resistance of protease-treated wool fabrics were investigated and compared. The results show that although hydrogen peroxide treatment could decrease the shrinkage of wool in comparison with untreated one, its contribution to the enhancement of wool bio-antifelting with protease was not remarkable. An effective shrink-resistance can be obtained when the wool fabric was treated with dichlorodicyanuric acid and protease consecutively. Both of the two chemical pretreatments could improve the wettability and whiteness of protease-treated wool. The mechanism of different pretreatments for enhancing wool bio-antifelting with protease was further illustrated and compared via several microscopic analyses such as Allwörden’s reaction, FTIR-ATR and SEM. The comprehensive comparison for wool bio-antifelting based on different chemical pretreatments reveals the difference of hydrogen peroxide and dichlorodicyanuric acid pretreatments in antifelting mechanism, which is valuable for getting a clear understanding and further modification of wool bio-antifelting.     

The combined use of cutinase,keratinase and protease treatments for wool bio-antifelting

A combined treatment method of cutinase, keratinase, and protease was applied in the wool processing to modify the wool properties. The results demonstrated that individual protease treatment did not obviously improve the wettability and anti-felting property of wool fabrics. The combined process of cutinase and protease seemed more efficient than the keratinase-protease method, the obtained wettability and anti-felting ability of wool fabric were more encouraging. The combined use of cutinase, keratinase, and protease treatments endowed wool with more satisfactory properties compared to other methods. The contact angle of the protease-treated wool fabric reduced to 66 ° and the area shrinkage decreased to 5.2 % with an acceptable strength loss of 14 %. Reaction mechanism of the three-step enzymatic process was proposed in this paper. The data from amino acid analysis revealed the cooperative actions of cutinase, keratinase, and protease treatments during the combined enzymatic processing.     

Nano titanium dioxide on wool keratin as UV absorber stabilized by butane tetra carboxylic acid (BTCA): A statistical prospect

Photo yellowing of wool is one of the most important problems which have negative impacts on various aspects of wool prompting scientists to find a solution over the past decades. In this research the protective features of nano-titanium dioxide particles against UV on wool fabric were discussed and the color variations of wool samples after UV irradiation were measured and reported. It was shown that nano TiO₂ is a suitable UV absorber and its effect depends on the concentration. Also, it was assumed that butane tetracarboxylic acid plays a prominent role as a cross-linking agent to stabilize the nano-titanium dioxide as well as a polyanion to maintain negative charges on the wool surface for higher nano particles absorption. Also the variables conditions were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM).     

The grafting of recycled polyol from waste polyurethane foam onto new polyurethane and its impact on shape recovery and water vapor permeation

Recycled polyols from waste polyurethane (PU) foams were grafted onto PU to improve the properties such as tensile strength, shape recovery, low-temperature flexibility, and water compatibility. The recycled polyol was either purified by column chromatography before grafting or was used directly for grafting. The soft segment melting temperature of PU did not notably increase with the addition of polyol, whereas the glass transition temperature increased with increased polyol content. The tensile strength sharply increased at low polyol content and decreased at high polyol content, while the strain at break did not significantly change with an increase in polyol content. The shape recovery at 10 oC notably improved compared with unmodified PU and remained high after four cyclic tests. Polyol-grafted PU demonstrated better lowtemperature flexibility and reduced the water vapor permeability of PU membranes. Overall, grafting recycled polyol onto PU significantly improved the tensile stress, shape recovery, and low-temperature flexibility of PU.     

Differences in the functionality and characterization of kafirins extracted from decorticated sorghum flour or gluten meal treated with protease

Kafirins have been extracted from several types of sorghums due to their potential use for production of gluten-free products. Nevertheless, the extraction of these proteins from wet-milled sorghum gluten meal (SGM) has not yet been explored. In this study, we investigated the differences in composition, color, molecular structures, functionality and in vitro protein digestibility of kafirin extracts obtained from dry-milled flour or SGM obtained from decorticated white sorghum treated with and without endopeptidic protease. Kafirins were extracted using aqueous ethanol and metabisulfite. Kafirin extracts from SGM presented higher protein purity (95% vs 86%), lower fat content (0.7% vs 2.0%), in vitro protein digestibility (89% vs 85%), and better water holding (2.8 vs 1.9 g/g) and fat absorption capacities (2.4 vs 1.6 g/g) compared to extracts from ground decorticated sorghum. Color was not affected by treatments. SDS-PAGE showed differences in the low molecular weight patterns of kafirin extracts obtained from SGM whereas FTIR analyses showed reduction of α-helical and β-turn percentages and β-sheet increment after extraction. The proposed protease treatment increased free amino nitrogen and emulsifying index of kafirins, but did not affect other functional properties. Thus, SGM represents a potential new feedstock for the extraction of food-grade kafirins.     

Biodegradable packaging based on raw materials from crops and their impact on waste management

Packaging waste forms a significant part of municipal solid waste and as such has caused increasing environmental concerns, resulting in strengthening of EU Regulations in order to reduce amounts of packaging waste. Among other materials, a huge range of oil-based polymers is currently used in packaging applications. They are largely non-biodegradable and particularly difficult to recycle or reuse due to mixed levels of contamination and complex composites. In recent years, the development of biodegradable packaging materials from renewable natural resources (e.g. crops) has received increasing attention, particularly in EU countries. Significant progress has been made to produce biodegradable materials with similar functionality to that of the oil-based synthetic polymers. It is anticipated that, as the materials are from renewable resources and biodegradable, they would contribute to sustainable development and if properly managed would reduce their environmental impact upon disposal.This paper discusses the potential impact of biodegradable packaging materials on waste management in terms of landfill, incineration, recycle/reuse and composting. A comparison is also drawn to the oil-based polymer packaging materials. It is the view of the authors that biodegradable packaging materials are most suitable for single use disposable packaging applications where the post-consumer use packaging can be locally composted as a means of recycling the materials. Establishment of appropriate collection, transportation and treatment technologies are considered crucial to the success widespread applications of biodegradable packaging materials.     

A comparative study of wool fibre surface modified by physical and chemical methods

The wool scale present on the fibre surface gives rise to certain unwanted effects such as felting and poor wettability in textile wet processing. In general practice, the removal of scale was done either by surface modification through physical/chemical degradation of scale or by deposition of a polymer on the scale. In modern treatment, combination of both methods is usually carried out. Since the deposition of a polymer on the fibre surface depends much on the surface characteristic of the fibre, therefore, the surface property of modified fibre is an important factor for polymer application. On the other hand, the surface modification methods may also result in improved hydrophilicity of fibre. The present paper investigated the surface physico-chemical properties of wool fibre under the influence of different surface modification treatments: (i) low temperature plasma (LTP) treatment with nitrogen gas and (ii) chlorination. The surface physico-chemical properties of the LTP-treated and chlorinated wool fibres were studied which included contact angle measurement with different solvents, determination of critical surface tension and surface free energy. Experimental results showed that these selected properties were altered after the surface modification treatments. In addition, a polymer was deposited in the treated wool fabrics and scanning electron microscope was used for assessing the surface morphology.     

A new application method of chitosan for improved antimicrobial activity on wool fabrics pretreated by different ways

Antimicrobial treatments have become more important for the textile materials especially used in sportswear, activewear, and casual wear since they can easily be contaminated by perspiration leading to bacterial growth and body odor. In this work, antimicrobial activity of chitosan in a silica matrix on pretreated wool fabrics was studied. The pretreatment processes were applied by two different ways (enzymatic and enzymatic+hydrogen peroxide). Afterwards chitosan solutions were applied to the untreated samples and to the samples that were pretreated by two different ways to give antimicrobial effects. The antimicrobial activity of wool fabrics treated in various methods was assessed before and after repeated washings (up to 10 cycles) by the application of standard test method AATCC 147-1998. The morphology of the treated fabrics was investigated by SEM and their characterizations were made by the FT-IR spectral analysis. Results revealed that pretreatment ways and chitosan application methods were quite important for adsorption and diffusion of chitosan on wool fabrics and washing stability. From the SEM images, it was clearly observed that pretreatment processes caused some degradation on the surface of the fiber; but combined processes were found to be less degradative and more effective.     

茶渣生物洁净有机肥肥效试验研究

由于近年来茶叶深加工的大量进行,茶渣的生成量也迅速增加。如何有效的利用茶渣,使其变废为宝,是一件迫在眉睫的事情。我们利用木霉菌发酵代谢产物研制了茶渣生物肥,分别有复混肥和纯有机肥。在茶叶和几种蔬菜的试验中,增产效果明显,其肥效不亚于进口的复合化肥,兼具速效性和长效性,肥效持久,并具有明显的抗连作障碍作用。     

A novel biodegradable polyurethane based on hydroxylated polylactic acid and tung oil mixtures. I. Synthesis,physicochemical and biodegradability characterization

A novel biodegradable polylactic acid-based polyurethane (PU) was synthesized via a chain extension reaction between hydroxylated polylactic acid (PLA-OH) and hydroxylated tung oil (HTO) using 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) to link the two polyols and dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) as a catalyst. Both PLA-OH and HTO, as polyols, were separately synthesized in our laboratory. Three different molecular weights of PLA-OH prepolymers were used, and the molar ratio of PLA-OH to HTO was also changed to investigate the effect of these two parameters on the structure and properties of the final PUs. Chemical structures of PLA-OH, HTO, and final PUs were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (¹HNMR) spectroscopies. Thermal transitions and thermal stability of the final PUs were, respectively, studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The FTIR and ¹HNMR results showed that the chain-extension reaction of the two polyols with HDI was sufficiently achieved. The TGA results showed that the polyurethanes based on the lower molecular weight PLA segments were more thermally stable; it was not degraded up to 270 °C. DSC results showed that incorporating HTO in the PU chains led to formation of more flexible PU chains, while the glass transition temperatures of the PUs of higher PLA-OH molecular weights were higher than those of lower ones.     

Hydrophilic and flexible polyurethane foams using sodium alginate as polyol: Effects of PEG molecular weight and cross-linking agent content on water absorbency

Hydrophilic and flexible polyurethane foams were prepared using sodium alginate as a polyol, and characterized by optical microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, density measurements, volume swelling, and water absorbency. Optical microscopy revealed that the resulting cells were closed with round and elongated shapes. FT-IR confirmed that the urethane linkages were formed between the isocyanate and sodium-alginate. As an indirect measurement of porosity, the apparent density indicated an initial decrease followed by an increase with increasing glycerin content. The volume-swelling ratio was initially constant, followed by a gradual decrease with glycerin content. The volume swelling ratio increased with PEG molecular weight. The water absorbency initially increased, followed by a decrease with increasing glycerin content. The correlation-ships between water absorbency, density, and volume-swelling ratio indicated that the absorbency was predominantly influenced by density when the PEG molecular weight was low and was greatly affected by the volume-swelling ratio when the PEG molecular weight was relatively high.     

A novel DDPSi-FR flame retardant treatment and its effects on the properties of wool fabrics

A novel flame retardant monomer DDPSi-FR containing organophosphorus and silicon was prepared using 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO), 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (HBA), and 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS). The chemical structure of DDPSi-FR was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Subsequently, after treating the wool fabrics, the effects of the monomer on the flame retardancy, thermal stability, and mechanical properties were studied. The flame retardant and thermal properties were evaluated by conducting vertical flame tests, limiting oxygen index (LOI) determination, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that improved flame retardancy and thermal stability were achieved. Notably, the flame retardancy was retained even after 15 washing cycles. The mechanical properties were evaluated using the bursting strength, and the results indicated that DDPSi-FR treatment improved the breaking strength.     

应用浸种剂对甜菜产质量的影响

应用甜菜浸种剂试验结果表明,甜菜根产量较对照提高１０．８％,产糖量提高１４．２％,含糖率提高０．５４个百分点,且有效地防止和控制立枯病和根腐病的发生,是目前直播甜菜提高产、质量的一项重要措施。     

Preparation and properties of an eco-friendly superabsorbent based on flax yarn waste for sanitary napkin applications

Recently, cellulose-based superabsorbent has attracted attention as a promising material in many fields because of its rich sources and outstanding properties of biodegradability and biocompatibility. This study examines the potential application of a novel flax yarn waste-g-poly(acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) (FYW/PAA) superabsorbent in the absorbent core layer of sanitary napkins. Acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) were grafted onto the pretreated flax yarn waste (PFYW) by free-radical graft copolymerization in homogeneous aqueous solution. The synthesis conditions of the FYW/PAA superabsorbent and its application performance for sanitary napkin were investigated. The results showed that, under the optimal synthesis conditions, the water absorbency of the prepared FYW/PAA reached 787.6 g/g in deionized water, 109.5 g/g in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution and 206.5 g/g in artificial blood solution. The composited absorbent core layer containing the FYW/PAA achieved the similar artificial blood solution absorbency of 192.6 g/g and retention of 83.9 wt% to those of the marketed sanitary napkin products. Meanwhile, a weight residue of 53.6 wt% was attained for the FYW/PAA after being buried in soil for 90 d.     

Extraction, identification and dyeing studies of Isosalipurposide, a natural chalcone dye from Acacia cyanophylla flowers on wool

A chalcone compound Isosalipurposide 1 was qualitatively isolated from Acacia cyanophylla yellow flowers. The dyeing of wool fabrics with this chalcone compound as a natural dye has been studied. The effect of dye bath pH and dyeing temperature were investigated. The obtained shades were bright with generally a good fastness. A post-mordanting method was used in the dyeing of wool with this chalcone dye. It was found that, generally, mordanting improved light fastness especially in the case of zinc sulphate.     

甘蔗施用糖厂酒精废液的肥效试验研究

通过一个主试验和多点表证示范研究甘蔗施用糖厂酒精废液的肥料效应.结果表明,糖厂酒精废液中的养分对甘蔗有一定的增产增糖作用,但是产量差异未达显著水平;地膜覆盖比施酒精废液增产作用大,经济效益好.     

Effect of heat on rheology,surface hydrophobicity and molecular weight distribution of glutens extracted from flours with different bread-making quality

Gluten was extracted from flours of several different wheat varieties of varying baking quality. Creep compliance was measured at room temperature and tan δ was measured over a range of temperatures from 25 to 95 °C. The extracted glutens were heat-treated for 20 min at 25, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 90 °C in a water bath, freeze-dried and ground to a fine powder. Tests were carried out for extractability in sodium dodecyl sulphate, free sulphydryl (SH) groups using Ellman's method, surface hydrophobicity and molecular weight (MW) distribution (MWD) using field-flow fractionation and multi-angle laser light scattering. With increasing temperature, the glutens showed a decrease in extractability, with the most rapid decreases occurring between 70 and 90 °C, a major transition in tan δ at around 60 °C and a minor transition at 40 °C for most varieties, a decrease in free SH groups and surface hydrophobicity and a shift in the MWD towards higher MW. The poor bread-making variety Riband showed the highest values of tan δ and Newtonian compliance, the lowest content of free SH groups and the largest increase of HMW/LMW with increasing temperature. No significant correlations with baking volume were found between any of the measured parameters.     

Effects of different extraction methods on the structural properties and bioactivities of polysaccharides extracted from Qingke (Tibetan hulless barley)

In this study, four extraction methods, including ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE), hot water extraction (HWE), microwave assisted extraction (MAE), and pressurized water extraction (PWE), were used to extract Qingke polysaccharides (THBs), and their physicochemical structures, in vitro antioxidant activities, and in vitro hypolipidemic activities were investigated and compared. Results demonstrated that the yields, the chemical compositions, the apparent viscosities, the molecular weights, and the molar ratios of constituent monosaccharides of THBs varied by different extraction methods. THB-P extracted by PWE possessed the highest molecular weight and apparent viscosity among all tested THBs. In addition, all THBs extracted by different methods exerted obvious in vitro antioxidant activities, in vitro binding capacities, and inhibitory effects on the pancreatic lipase. Indeed, both antioxidant activities and hypolipidemic activities of THB-P were higher than that of THB-H, THB-U, and THB-M obtained by HWE, UAE, and MAE, respectively, which might be due to the high molecular weight and apparent viscosity of THB-P. The findings indicated that the pressurized water extraction could be a convenient method for the extraction of polysaccharides from Qingke with high biological activities for applications in the functional food fields.     

不同时期施保水剂对甘蔗抗旱性和产量及品质的影响

在玻璃大棚槽栽条件下，分别于甘蔗下种期、分蘖初期和伸长初期每667m^2施保水剂15kg，以不施保水剂为CK，8—10月份人工模拟干旱胁迫，探索施保水剂与不施保水剂以及不同时期施保水剂对产量和品质的影响。试验结果表明，干旱胁迫期间，施保水剂土壤含水量下降缓慢，甘蔗叶片含水量较高，质膜透性和丙二醛含量较低，蔗茎月伸长量较大，蔗茎产量比CK高8．94％-12．25％，11～1月平均蔗糖分比CK高0．54～0．96个百分点。不同时期施保水剂的效果，以伸长初期施用表现最佳，分蘖期施用次之。     

水稻喷施立丰灵的抗倒增产效应

在水稻拔节前喷施植物生长延缓剂立丰灵 (调环酸钙 ) ,可使节间缩短 ,株高降低 ,弯曲力矩变小 ,显著增强基部节间抗折力 ,从而显著增强抗倒伏能力。立丰灵还可能通过抑制稻体内合成的GA1、GA4降解 ,促进幼穗的发育 ,显著增加每穗颖花数 ,达到抗倒增产的双重效果。试验结果表明 ,立丰灵的适宜喷用剂量为0 4g·10 0m-2 。