The recovery of wool from sheepskin pieces

The recovery of wool from sheepskin pieces by digestion in warm water and with bacterial and mould proteases and papain has been investigated on a laboratory scale. The influence of conditions of pre‐shrinkage of the skin in hot water, temperature of digestion, pH, presence of buffers and other salts, and other factors have been studied. The wools recovered from the digested skin pieces have been examined to ascertain the extent of wool damage, if any. The optimum conditions have been found for each method and the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods compared. The possible use of the various methods on a large scale is discussed.