Abstract:

A method of manufacturing fibrous composite materials by wet spinning is presented. We used natural polymers, namely sodium alginate and keratin obtained from chicken feathers. Spinning solutions were prepared from these polymers, and after filtration and aeration they were used for fibre and fibrid formation. The investigations included preparing alginatekeratin spinning solutions of different keratin content, estimating the influences of formation speed and drawing on the fibre properties, and estimating the sorption properties of the composites obtained. The alginate-keratin fibres obtained are characterised by better sorption properties, higher hygroscopicity and smaller wetting angle, than those of alginate fibres. The introducing of keratin into alginate fibres lowered their mechanical properties, but they are further on a level which enables applying these fibres for manufacturing composite fibrous materials. The alginate-keratin fibrids are also characterised by better sorption properties than those of alginate fibrids.