| Abstract: | Abstract Anti-felting properties of knitted wool fabrics treated with chitosan were investigated, by both a laboratory scale treatment and a semi-industrial application. The influence of oxidative wool pre-treatments was analysed. The distribution of chitosan on treated wool fibres was also assessed using both qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods. The study provided shrinkage data perfectly comparable with those obtained by the currently used shrinkproofing processes, but with two important advantages: the total absence of chlorine in the process and the complete biodegradability of chitosan. The semi-industrial treatment showed the complete reproducibility of the laboratory scale results, giving rise to the possibility of an industrial adaptation of the process. |
