Study On Kenya Wool Fiber Resource And Its Antistatic Processing Performance

Kenya is one of the African countries with enormous livestock populations composed of sheep,cattle,goats,and etcetera.Wool is a major foreign exchange earner for Kenya.Most farmers in Kenya rear sheep for production of meat,and wool as a by-product.Agriculture,commerce and Industrialization are the key pillars of wealth creation in any African country,therefore this paper discusses the Kenya wool fiber resources and processing performance.Wool is one of the economic and natural textile material resource,providing both local and foreign exchange income.Through the discussion,this paper provides the fundamental information for their possible conventional and non-conventional textile applications.Therefore the studies that were carried out are as abbreviated in the following points:1.Study on Kenya wool fiber resource to obtain the breeds and basic properties of wool can help to improve economic value of wool.Sheep industry has received less attention in relation to research and development as compared with large livestock.The wool quality and yield are very essential in enabling the stakeholders in obtaining good returns in the international market.This study was conducted to analyze the wool fiber breeds and qualitative index of wool sheep in Kenya.The wool samples were taken from 95 wool sheep comprising of 23 male and 72 female all between the ages of one to five years.Wool samples from shoulders,flanks,back area and Belly and legs,were taken for analysis.Mean fleece weight was 2.04 ± 0.06 kg with 37% CV for all the selected sheep and the average for male was 2.06 ± 0.06 kg and 2.02 ± 0.08 for female.The variation in fleece weight was in the range of 0.7-3.3 kg.The yield percentages and impurities were analyzed and reported.Therefore,the wide variation in fleece weight,the increase in sheep population and the trend of raw wool export suggests potential for improving economic traits.Kenya can obtain trade benefits related to wool industry by becoming a member of International Wool Trade Organization.It is essential to have good international and regional cooperation with countries that can share knowledge and training as well as marketing and information.2.Study on Kenya wool fiber properties provides information on fleece characteristics for stakeholders in wool trade and to make sheep farming more viable and profitable to farmers.Wool fiber samples were taken from four sheep body parts of the 95 sheep.Tests were conducted to analyze the fiber diameter,length,color and strength.Correspondingly,fiber surface morphology and the medullated fibers were also analyzed and the results reported.The fiber characteristics from the shoulder and flank were better than those shorn from back and belly/legs.From the results,the values of the measured parameters suggest potential for improvement of economical qualities and in fostering economic and industrial development.3.Study on effects of medullated fibers on Kenya wool fiber antistatic processing performance.Kenya wool fibers scoured with nonionic detergent and with different percentage,6% and 16% of medulatted fibers were used in this study.The commercial available antistatic agents were selected and used to treat the fibers in different techniques.The effect of an antistatic treatment on Kenya wool fibers antistatic properties were then analyzed and evaluated.The fiber friction properties,electrical resistance interaction voltage and half-life period tests were conducted to evaluate the fiber antistatic properties after treatment.The SEM analysis was conducted to evaluate the surface morphology of the fibers.The results showed that the antistatic properties of both samples were significantly improved after treatment but samples with 6% medullated fibers had better antistatic properties than those with 16% medullated fibers.Therefore,fiber surface treatment and fiber modification may greatly help in improving properties of wool fibers and medullation in wool fibers at high levels may be considered as a factor affecting wool antistatic processing.Tests were also conducted after washing for 20 times and the effect of antistatic reduced in some samples of both 6% and 16% categories after washing since some antistatic treatment can be washed off from the substrate.However,some processes such as scale stripping renders a long lasting antistatic effect due to reduced friction effect on wool fiber surface.4.The influence of incorporating silver nanoparticles in protease treatment on antistatic properties of wool fibers was studied.This study was conducted by analyzing the effect of surface treatment on wool using varied percentages of protease(3%,6% and 9%)with incorporating silver nanoparticles and by varying p H where p H=4 and p H=7 were used.The results showed that,the antistatic effect on the samples treated at 3% protease and 6% protease were better than the samples treated at 9% protease.Correspondingly,the samples treated at p H=4 had better antistatic properties than those treated at p H=7.Sulfur compounds play a key role in interaction and absorption of silver nanoparticles.