Degumming of Silk Yarn Using Alkali, Enzyme and Seidlitzia Rosmarinus

In this study, silk yarns were degummed using alkali, enzyme (alcalase) and Seidlitzia Rosmarinus (Kelyab, an Iranian native product) to investigate the effectiveness of products as degumming agents. The efficiency of degumming was assessed in terms of weight loss and tenacity. Some physical properties of the degummed silk yarns, i.e. tensile strength and the yellowness index were also measured. Seidlitzia Rosmarinus (Kelyab) effectively removed sericin leading to maximum 22.73% weight loss. Degumming with alkali and Seidlitzia Rosmarinus (Kelyab) led to the highest weight loss among the samples while the strength of the yarn decreased with severity of the degumming treatments. Seidlitzia Rosmarinus (Kelyab) decreased the strength of the yarns at higher concentration and treatment time. The SEM micrograph showed that the Seidlitzia Rosmarinus (Kelyab) in the highest concentration could completely remove the sericin while no serious damage was observed.