NATURAL POLYMERS

COTTON, SILK, WOOL

• NORAZLAILI BINTI MOKHTAR

• NURUL SHUHADA MOHAMED
• SHAFIQAH FAUZI
• SITI ZALEHA JUSOH
COTTON
•Cotton is a soft white fibrous substance covering seeds
of certain plants.

•Itstaple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll

around the seeds of the cotton plant.

•The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and

used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the
most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing toad.
Processing of cotton
• Harvest your cotton and compress it using a module
builder.

• Transport the module to where you will gin the

cotton.

• Ginning is the process of separating the cotton from

the seed.

• Run your cotton through a dryer to remove excess

moisture and help improve the quality of the fiber.
• Then process it through cleaning equipment to remove
dirt and debris such as leaves and twigs.

• Use either a saw gin or roller gin to separate the fiber

from the seeds. Cotton with short fibers can be
processed with a saw gin.

• It separates using circular saw blades to grip the fibers

and pull them through slots too narrow for the seeds to
pass through.

• Compress the raw fibers, now known as lint, into bales

and band with steel straps.
SILK
 Silk, fiber produced as a cocoon covering by the
silkworm, and valuable for its use in fine fabrics and
textiles.

 The silkworm, in fact, is not a worm but a caterpillar.

 Although cocoon coverings of fiber are made by a

large number of insects, only those of the mulberry
silk moth, Bombyx mori, and a few other moths
closely akin to it, are used by the silk industry.
 PROCESSING OF SILK

The silk making

process begins
with eggs for silk
worms.
The more mature
silk worms are fed
leaves.
The silk worms are
allowed to feed on
leaves for some
time.
The silk actually
comes from the
cacoons of the silk
worm
 This delicate
thread is where
the actual silk
comes from.
 The cacoons
must be boiled.
The thread is spun
by hand. In fact,
everything in the
process is done by
hand.
All the silk from
Siamese Style is
hand woven in
villages in NE
Thailand.
WOOL
 DEFINITION
 Wool, common name applied to the soft, curly fibers obtained
chiefly from the fleece of domesticated sheep, and used
extensively in textile manufacturing.

 Wool from different parts of the same fleece varies greatly in

length of fiber, fineness, and structure.

 Wool from the shoulders and sides of the sheep is usually

superior to that from other parts of the body.
 Shear
Weavi ing
ng
Washi
PROCESSING ng
Spinn OF
WOOL
ing
Blend
Cardi ing
ng
PROCESSING
 The first step in processing wool is shearing.

 Next, the wool must be washed; in order to remove

grease and other impurities the wool could have
accumulated while being out in the feedlot.

 The wool is then passed through a series of rollers

and dryers.
 Wool from different batches are then mixed together
mechanically, thus creating a slightly different set of colors. 

 The clean wool is then passed through rollers, which in

turn, straighten the fibers and removing unwanted matter.

 Rollers do vary in size and speed, which forms a thin web

of fibers.

 Slivers, or continuous ropes are then formed by the use of

steel fingers which divide the wool and roll the strands on
top of one another.
 Crabbing is the next step the fabric will go through. In this
process the fabric goes through hot and then cold water in
order to set the cloth.

 Sponging is done in order to prevent the fabric form shrinking. 

This is done by dampening the fabric with a sponge, and then
rolling it in muslin.

 Chemical finishes are then added to the wool, but the amount
and type is determined by the end products use.
COMPOSITION
COTTON SILK WOOL
Cellulose is this one The exact composition Their average chemical
(C6H10O5)n of proteins (amino acid) compositions are:
in silk is depends on
factors including species Carbon 50%;
and diet. 
Fibroin consists of Hydrogen 7%;
approximately 42%
glycine and 25% alanine Oxygen 22-25%;
as the major amino
acids.  Nitrogen, 16-17%;
The remaining Sulphur 3-4%.
components are mostly
glutamine, serine,
leucine, valine, proline,
tyrosine and arginine. 
Spidroin 1 and spidroin
2 differ mainly in their
content of proline and
tyrosine.
PROPERTIES
Cotton Silk Wool
It is soft and It is versatile and It is hard wearing
comfortable. very comfortable. and absorbs
moisture.
It wrinkles easily. It absorbs
moisture. It does not burn
It absorbs over a flame but
perspiration It can be easily smoulders instead.
quickly. dyed.
It is lightweight
It has good color It retains its shape and versatile.
retention and is relatively
smooth. Wool does not
Strong and wrinkle easily.
durable. It has a poor
resistance to It is resistant to
Easy to handle and sunlight exposure. dirt and wear and
sew tear.
USES
 COTTON SILK WOOL
Cotton is used to make Silk cloth is also used as  To clothing, wool
blouses, shirts, singlets, a material on which to has been used for
shorts, bermudas, jackets write and paint. blankets, horse
and pants. rugs, saddle cloths,
It is often used for carpeting, felt, woo
It can also be made into clothing such as shirts, insulation and
bedspreads, pillowcases, blouses, formal dresses, upholstery.
carpets and curtains. high fashion clothes,
negligees, pyjamas, robes,  Wool has also been
skirtsuits, sun dresses traditionally used to
and kimonos. cover cloth diapers.

Silk has had many  Wool is an animal

industrial and
commercial uses;
parachutes, bicycle tires,
comforter filling and
artillery gunpowder bags.
protein, and as such
it can be used as a
soil fertiliser, being
a slow release
source of nitrogen
and ready made
amino acids.