Oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis of wool keratin

The degradation of wool keratin by 0.25 to 7.87 N hydrochloric acid in 10 hours at 25°C and by 0.25 to 0.75 N hydrochloric acid in one hour at 100°C has been followed by weight, nitrogen, sulfur, and wet warp breaking strength of the residual keratin. Acid degradation has been shown to be much greater at 100°C than at 25°C, to remove little of the sulfur, and to decrease the wet strength more rapidly than the weight or nitrogen. The residual wool has been shown to decrease in nitrogen and increase slowly in sulfur with increasing concentration of acid.; The degradation of wool keratin by 0.06 or 0.70 N sodium chloride in one hour at 100°C has been shown in the same manner to be very slight.; The degradation of wool keratin by steam at 100° to 141.5°C in one hour and by steam at 115.2°C in one to five hours has also been followed by analysis of the residual keratin for weight, nitrogen, sulfur, and wet strength. Degradation by steam has been shown to increase with increasing pressure or time; wet strength, which disappears in one hour at 134.5°C, has been shown to decrease more rapidly than weight, nitrogen or sulfur.; The degradation of wool keratin by 0.9525 N sodium hydrogen sulfite in 10 hours to 40°C has been followed by weight, nitrogen, total sulfur, sulfate sulfur and wet strength. The residual wool from this treatment analyzed only slightly higher in nitrogen and total sulfur and slightly less in sulfate sulfur but retained by 50 percent of its original wet strength.; The degradation of wool keratin by 50 volumes of 0.01 to 0.04 N aqueous potassium permanganate, by 50 volumes of 0.01 to 0.06 N acidic potassium permanganate, by 50 to 100 volumes of 0.02 N aqueous potassium permanganate, and by 50 to 100 volumes of 0.02 N acidic potassium permanganate in 10 hours at 40°C has been followed by weight, nitrogen, total sulfur, sulfate sulfur and wet strength of the residual keratin. Percentage decreases in weight, total nitrogen, and non-sulfate sulfur have been shown approximately the same in aqueous and acidic solutions. Solution of part of the sulfate sulfur has been shown to occur in acidic potassium permanganate. Wet strength has been shown to decrease more rapidly than weight, nitrogen, or sulfur and more rapidly in aqueous than in acidic potassium permanganate.