Mercerizing is a heavy chlorination treatment of wool, which removes the scales on the surface of wool, thereby reducing the difference in friction coefficient when wool moves in the forward and reverse directions. Is this a bit difficult to understand? In fact, it is very simple. If you touch our hair carefully, you will find that there are forward and reverse hairs. The same is true for wool. If two wool fibers move in opposite directions, there will be a very large friction force, causing the two fibers to entangle together. If a wool sweater is washed by hand in cold water, it will become significantly smaller. One of the reasons is that the fibers lose their original elasticity after being entangled together. After mercerizing, the scales are stripped off and the fibers become smoother. Clothes made of mercerized wool yarn will feel slippery, and the anti-pilling performance will be greatly improved. It can also achieve the effect of shrinkage resistance and machine washability. Then someone will ask, isn't this shrinkage resistance treatment? What's the difference? We will make a comparison after we finish talking about shrinkage resistance wool.
Shrink-proof wool is made by moderately chlorinating the wool tops, peeling off the surface scale layer to a certain extent, but not completely, and then wrapping the wool tops with a special resin to make the fiber surface relatively smooth. It also reduces the difference in the positive and reverse friction coefficients of the wool, achieving the shrink-proof effect.
Well, here we have to talk about the difference between mercerization and shrink-proofing. In fact, as you can see from the picture, mercerization is to completely peel off the scales on the fiber surface, but the wool after treatment will have three obvious disadvantages: poor fiber cohesion, reduced coloring ability and reduced warmth retention. The poor cohesion of wool strips will directly affect the spinning performance and will also have a relatively large impact on production. When knitting on a flat knitting machine, it is more likely to break the thread. The advantages are smooth hand feel, not easy to pilling and more washable, which can meet the IWS TM31 knitted fabric machine washable product performance. In addition, because the price of mercerization technology is relatively high, the market acceptance is not high, so there is a substitute for shrink-proof treatment. Although the wool after shrink-proof treatment cannot achieve such strong shrink-proof performance as mercerization treatment, it can also meet the IWS TM31 standard, and the price is relatively low, and it does not cause much damage to wool fibers. However, because it is wrapped in resin, the gloss of the shrink-proof wool after dyeing will be better than that of mercerized wool. As for warmth retention, the two processes are similar.
The Basulan process is a mild chlorination treatment of wool tops, which passivates the scales on the surface of the wool and reduces the reverse friction, but does not peel off the scales, and retains the original characteristics of the wool as much as possible. The Basulan process is a German technology, but it is very mature in China. The wool after treatment will feel fluffier, because the scale layer is passivated, the coloring will be brighter, and it can play a certain anti-pilling performance. Many high-count wools will feel very close to cashmere after being treated with Basulan. However, it should be noted that although the Basulan process can also play a certain role in shrinkage prevention, it does not meet the IWS TM31 machine washable standard and belongs to the category of products that should be carefully hand washed. Worsted wool made from yarn using the Basulan process feels significantly better than shrink-proof and mercerized wool. Although not as silky as the latter two, it is softer, more skin-friendly, and has better warmth retention. In the past two years, production has gradually used wool yarns treated with the Basulan process. It has almost no pricking feeling when worn close to the body, feels delicate and fluffy, and is relatively affordable, making it very worthwhile to buy.
