Research on the recovery and performance of keratin in waste blended fabric

The viscose components of waste wool/polyester/viscose fabric were dissolved using the phosphoric acid/polyphosphate system. Following filtration, the wool underwent dissolution through the urea/sodium bisulfite/sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) system, and subsequent keratin extraction ensued. The impact of urea, sodium bisulfite, and SDS concentration, as well as reaction time, on the solubility and extraction rate of keratin during the wool extraction process was examined. The obtained keratin was subjected to performance testing. The remaining polyester and viscose cellulose were not used as primary research subjects for the related experiments. Aged wool samples were used as test samples and treated with keratin/ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) and keratin/glutaraldehyde, respectively. The optimal conditions for wool dissolution were determined as 300 g/L urea, 40 g/L sodium bisulfite, and 20 g/L SDS for 6 hours, resulting in wool dissolution and keratin extraction rates of 89.53% and 49.32%, respectively. After testing and calculation, the stress–strain at break of the aged wool sample was 6.67 MPa and 5.25%, while the stress–strain of the keratin/EGDE and keratin/glutaraldehyde-reinforced samples was 22.67 MPa and 21.5%, and 24.41 MPa and 25.25%, which is about two times higher compared with the aged sample, and the glutaraldehyde proved to be more effective as a reinforcing additive. The stress–strain was increased by about two times in comparison with the aged sample. These findings offer new ideas and research methods for conserving and consolidating organic matter artifacts in “keratin/EGDE” and “keratin/glutaraldehyde” artifact samples.