Application of Recycled Sericin on Worsted Fabric

Recent concerns have emerged over the textile industry’s commitment to sustainable development, primarily driven by the environmental impacts of fast fashion. Sericin, a sustainable biopolymer with potential textile applications, has garnered attention for its favorable properties. However, most sericin is discarded as waste during the silk degumming process, leading to environmental contamination and increased biological and chemical oxygen demands. To explore innovative uses of sericin in textile functionalization, this study thoroughly investigated the effects of sericin finishing on the thermal comfort properties of worsted wool fabric. Employing an exhaustion method, the research evaluated changes in chemical composition (including functional groups, elemental composition, and amino acid contents), morphology, thermal stability, and thermal comfort attributes (such as thermal resistance, warming/cooling perception, air and moisture permeability, moisture regain, and hydrophobicity) of sericin-treated worsted fabric. The results indicated significant enhancements in primary transmission characteristics, with sericin-treated wool fabric exhibiting notable improvements in thermal resistance (0.041 ± 0.007 K.m²/W–three times higher than untreated wool), warmth perception (maximum heat flux of 0.096 ± 0.003 W/cm²), moisture vapor transmission rate (3.45 ± 0.15 mg/cm²/h), air permeability (106.13 ± 2.46 cm³/cm²/s), moisture regain (13.17 ± 0.25%), and contact angle (123.68 ± 1.32 º). Additionally, sericin altered the wool fabric’s elemental composition, amino acid contents, and thermal stability. Given the widespread use of sericin in textile manufacturing, this study underscores the potential for sericin finishing to enhance value and sustainability in worsted wool fabric production.