Silk: from Mulberry to Final Products

Hosam El-Din Zakaria El-Sayed, Usama Mohamed Ghazy, Hussein Sayed Taha, Amira Abou El-Kheir, Salwa Ibrahim Mowafi, Rania Farouk El-Newashy, Fatma Nadi Elshal, Karima Mounir Haggag  © by the authors

ISBN: 978-1-940366-71-5
Publisher: Science Publishing Group
Book Description

The road for silk production passes through many stages; namely mulberry cultivation, silkworm breeding, and textile production. Each stage comprises many steps which needs professional in various fields, such as agriculture, biotechnology, and textile chemists and technologists.

The term sericulture covers the stages cultivation of mulberry, silkworm rearing and post cocoon activities leading to production of silk yarn. Sericulture offers lucrative employment, economic growth and upgrading the quality of life to the people in rural zones and consequently it plays an important role in anti-poverty programs. Hence several developing nations like China, India, Brazil, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Turkey, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Uzbekistan and some of the African and Latin American countries have taken up sericulture to provide employment to the people in rural area.

The current annual global silk production ranges between 70,000 to 90,000 M.T. and the demand for silk is increasing by 5% annually. With the increase in population and demand for fashionable clothing items due to fast changing fashion designs in developed countries, the demand for silk is bound to increase even more. For increasing the silk production, we require highly productive mulberry varieties and silkworm races and silkworm races tolerant to adverse climatic conditions and diseases which can come mainly from the sericultural germplasm resources and also from the wild relatives of Bombyx available in the natural habitats.

Furthermore, this work highlights the efforts exerted to overcome some problems regarding in vivo and in vitro propagation of mulberry trees, silkworm rearing, post cocoon, and textile technologists leading to economically feasible semi-mass production of silk.

Author Introduction

Prof. Hosam El-Din Zakaria El-Sayed, the lead author of this book, is Assistant Vice President for Research at National Research Centre/ Head of Proteinic and Man-made Fibres Department/Professor of Textile Chemistry and Technology/ Liaison officer of the NRC at the International Organizations. He holds a B.Sc. Degree in Chemistry; a M.Sc. Degree in Organic Chemistry; Ph. D. in Applied Organic Chemistry. He is Principal and Co-principal investigator of research projects funded by the National Research Centre, Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, and Science and Technology Development Fund.

Prof. Usama M Ghazy, Head of Sericulture Research Department of Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center. He holds a Ph. D. from the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt. He is the Principal investigator of the project of "Development of the rearing silkworm in Siwa Oasis" and "Development of Community-driven Income Generating, Integrated use of Commercial Insects in the Sudan, Egypt and Yemen".

Prof. Hussein Sayed Taha, Prof. of Plant Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at National Research Centre. Award the scientific excellence Prize for National Research Center in Agricultural Sciences. Contribute in the preparation and edited the in vitro propagation of cassava plant Verlag/ Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing AV / Germany.

Dr. Amira Abou El-Kheir, Associate professor of Textile Chemistry and Technology at National Research Centre. She holds a Ph. D. in organic chemistry. Member in Egyptian Syndicate of Scientists and member in Egyptian Society of Textile Science and Technology. Principle of research projects funded by the STDF.

Dr. Salwa I. Mowafi, Researcher of Textile Chemistry and Technology at National Research Centre. She holds a Ph. D. in organic chemistry. She awards the best doctoral thesis at the National Research Centre and Dr. Mohamed Kamel Award in Chemistry of textile and technology. Co-principal investigator of research project funded by the STDF.

Dr. Rania F. El-Newashy, Associate professor of Design and Fashion Apparel at the National Research Centre. She is co-principal Investigator and member of research projects funded by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and Science and Technology Development Fund. Dr. Rania El-Newashy is the Deputy Head of Clothing and Knitted Researches Industries of the Textile Research Division.

Chem Fatma N. Elshal, Assistant Researcher, Dyes and Pigments Department-Textile Research Division-National Research Centre. She holds a B. Sc. Degree in Chemistry.

Prof. Karima M. Haggag, is the former dean of the Textile Research Division of the National Research Centre. She holds a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from Cairo University. She was awarded the NRC Prize for Appreciation in Engineering Sciences in 2013. Prof. Haggag is the Principal and Co-principal investigator of research projects funded by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology and Science and Technology Development Fund.

Table of Contents
  • Preface

  • Chapter One: Silkworm Rearing and Realing Cocoons for Production of Raw Silk

  • 1. History

  • 2. Mulberry Silkworm Rearing

  • 3. Mountage

  • 4. Cocoon Harvesting and Drying

  • 5. Cocoons Marketing

  • 6. Reeling Cocoons

  • References

  • Chapter Two: Application of Plant Biotechnology Techniques Would Overcome the Problem Propagation of Selected Mulberry Cultivars

  • 1. Introduction

  • 2. Why Biotechnology in Mulberry?

  • 3. Problems of Mulberry Biotechnology

  • 4. Genetic Engineering in Mulberry

  • 5. Conclusions and Prospective

  • References

  • Chapter Three: Chemistry and Technology of Silk

  • 1. Introduction

  • 2. Silk Structure

  • 3. Silk Fibroin (SF)

  • 4. Silk Sericin (SS)

  • 5. Properties of Silk Sericin

  • 6. Applications of Silk Sericin

  • 7. Silk Degumming

  • 8. Silk Weighting

  • 9. Crease Resistant Finishing of Silk

  • 10. Storage and Care of Silk Fabrics

  • References

  • Chapter Four: Coloration of Silk

  • 1. Introduction

  • 2. Dyeing of Silk

  • 3. Cationization of Silk

  • 4. Printing of Silk

  • References

  • Chapter Five: The Final Products

  • 1. Introduction

  • 2. Properties & Uses

  • 3. Fiber

  • 4. Advantages of Silk Fabric

  • 5. Disadvantages of Silk Fabric

  • 6. Production of Silk

  • 7. Processing of Silk

  • 8. Types of Silk Fabrics

  • 9. Silk Types

  • 10. Different Uses of Silk Fabric

  • 11. Silk Products

  • References