A Study of Wool Carbonizing

Abstract

The surface barrier effect in dyeing carbonized wools was examined by dyeing various carbonized wools with CI acid red 1 at 25°C. Free acid is more evenly distributed on the surface of the wool fibers in rapid carbonizing than in conventional carbonizing. This free acid sulfates the surface layer of the wool during rapid carbonizing without increasing the permeability of the cuticle layer to dye. The distribution of the bound sulfate between the cuticle layer and the fiber bulk was also determined. Conventionally carbonized wool has 76% of its sulfate content in the surface layer, while rapidly carbonized wool has about 40% of its sulfate in the surface layer. Rapid carbonizing would appear to be an effective method of introducing a uniform dye resist effect into wool and would thereby greatly improve the level dyeing properties of carbonized wool.