Determination of the efficiency of the AM2 dehairing technology process with Llama fiber of different types of fleeces and Alpaca Huacaya fiber

Abstract

The dehairing process is a fiber cleaning process and consists of separating objectionable coarse fibers and plant and mineral contaminants from the fine fibers as efficiently as possible. This efficiency is determined by the fiber type removal/retention rate (RR) and the fiber length shortening rate (FL). Up the present, in fiber from Llamas and Alpacas, the dehairing yield (R%) has been used as a commercial evaluation of the efficiency of the process. Efficiency is of greater commercial importance because it reflects the amount of desirable fiber that is actually obtained after the cleaning process has been performed. It also allows comparing technologies, number of passages and process costs. The objective of this work is to determine the efficiency of Llama and Huacaya Alpaca fiber dehairing carried out by AM2 technology based on the retention/removal (RR) and shortening (FL), taking into consideration different types of fibers (GF), types of fleece (TV), using methodology used in other fibersusing methodology and variables from studies with other fibers. The dehairing efficiency of the AM2 technology is similar in Llama and Alpaca fiber and slightly better than a similar technology used in cashmere fiber in Australia. In general efficiency fluctuates between 74-94%, in terms of desirable fine fiber recovery, for the textile process of these fibers. The variable defined as the fiber type removal/retention rate, is usable to correctly evaluate the fiber dehairing process of Llamas and Alpacas.