Thesis (Ph.D) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1999. / Thesis submitted for degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Western Sydney, Nepean and CSIRO Division of Animal Production. Includes bibliographical references.

Small-scale wool production at Xume is marked by diversity in technical features and marketing aspects. This study presents the typology case study conducted at Xume, a rural area of Tsomo in the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. The objective of the study is to identify traits of the diverse wool production and marketing conditions and to make recommendations regarding development support in areas that need it. The overall goal of the study, as part of the LandCare Programme, is to generate knowledge on wool production by the people of Xume, their practices and conditions that might increase their sources of income. A household classification tree was constructed to differentiate wool producers into those that reared sheep with the purpose of generating income (significant and non-significant) and those that kept sheep with no purpose of generating income. From the classification tree a typology was generated. The typology yielded three types of wool producers namely, sheep keepers, wool growers and commercial woolgrowers. Descriptive statistics were used to explain each type and to see the extent of variability among types. Gross margins indicated that the enterprises had a potential and success was possible for the commercial woolgrowers. Results indicate the following: • sustainability of resource use is the key to successful wool production at Xume. • community involvement is vital in sustaining resource use. • veterinary control is also important in wool production. • wool quality accompanied by skills training is also an important aspect that needs to be given attention after the sustainability of resource use is established. • development initiatives should consider complexity, dynamism, and diversity of farming situation at Xume by continuously reviewing rules and regulations set by the community as part of social capital. • wool production and marketing can create financial stability at Xume through creating jobs. • lastly, it is very important that typology be reviewed regularly in order to commodate changes and developments that take place over time. / Dissertation (MInstAgrar (Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Produktionen av textila fibrer ökar varje år och domineras idag av bomull och polyester. Denna industri innebär en stor miljöpåverkan, inte bara genom användandet av kemikalier tidigt i värdekedjan utan även utsläpp vid transport av råvaror och textila produkter över långa sträckor. Ett alternativ till denna globala värdekedja, och ett steg mot en mer förnyelsebar textilindustri, är att i större utsträckning utnyttja de lokalt producerade råvaror som i dagsläget förbises. Idag slängs ca 54% av den ull som årligen produceras i Sverige. Flera projekt för att använda mer av den svenska ullen, bland annat Swedish Wool Initiative, har genomförts. Detta har resulterat i att ett par olika företag har börjat sälja plagg av svensk ull, men då grövre stickade plagg. Här finns en kunskapslucka kring hur tunna garn och sedermera tyg som kan tillverkas och hur deras egenskaper skiljer sig från garn och tyg av importerad merinoull. Detta arbete jämför därför svensk jämtlandsull och finull med importerad merinoull genom karakterisering av fibrer, garn och tyg. Testerna visar att fibrerna av jämtlandsull har större diameter och kortare längd än de andra sorterna, men det färdiga garnet visade ingen signifikant skillnad i styrka utan alla tre hade en styrka kring 3-4 cN/tex. Garnet av finull kunde inte användas till stickning då det var för ojämnt och hade för stor variation i styrka. Av jämtlands- och merinogarnen producerades stickade tyger med en kvadratmetervikt kring 270 g/m2. Arbetet visade således att den svenska finullen inte lämpar sig för produktion av finstickade plagg. Dock har jämtlandsullen potential att användas i något grövre plagg än det väldigt tunna tyget som var arbetets målbild. Detta då garnet av jämtlandsull hade väldigt lika egenskaper som det av merinoull. / The production of textile fibres increases each year and is today dominated by cotton and polyester. This industry causes a large environmental impact, not only through the use of chemicals early in the values chain but also emissions from transports of raw materials and textile products over long distances. An alternative to this global value chain, and a step towards a more renewable textile industry, is to a greater extent use locally produces raw materials that currently are overlooked. Today, about 54% of the wool produced in Sweden is thrown away. Several projects aimed to increase the use of the wool have been done, for example Swedish Wool Initiative. This resulted in a couple of companies starting to sell garments made of Swedish wool, but only coarser knitted garments. Here a knowledge gap exists around how thin yarns and subsequently fabrics that can be produced and how their characteristics differ from the ones of yarn and fabric made of imported Merino wool. Therefore, this study compares wool from the Swedish Jämtlands sheep and Finulls sheep with imported merino wool through characterization of fibres, yarn, and fabric. The tests showed that the fibres from the Jämtlands sheep have a larger diameter and shorter length than the other fibres, but the final yarn didn’t show any significant difference in strength. All three yarns had a strength around 3-4 cN/tex. The yarn made from the wool from the Finull sheep was not possible to knit because of irregularities and variation in strength. The yarn made from Merino and Jämtlands wool was knitted into fabrics with a square metre weight of about 270 g/ 2 m . Thus, the work shows that wool from the Finull sheep isn’t suited for production of fine knitted clothing. The Jämtlands wool on the other hand, has potential to be used in slightly coarser garments than the very thin ones that was the aim of this work. This is thought possible because of the similar characteristics between the yarn made from Merino wool and the one made from Jämtlands wool.

The background to the study is the construction industry's global environmental impact. In this study, it is investigated whether CLT (cross laminated timber) and sheep wool insulation is a building technology alternative in an exterior wall based on today’s building standards. To find out if CLT and sheep wool insulation are an alternative for an external wall construction, a literature study and hand calculations were carried out. The literature study summarizes regulations from Boverket BFS 2020:4 regarding moisture, fire, energy and sound requirements. In order to assess how an external wall made of CLT and sheep wool insulation works, three different external wall constructions were developed. Hand calculations were used to determine the heat transfer coefficient and relative vapor of the wall proposals. The results from the calculations show that all wall proposals work with regard to moisture and thermal comfort. Both sheep wool and CLT have a high specific heat capacity, but the volumetric heat capacity and the location of the material determines whether it affects the indoor environment. The study shows that the fire properties of sheep wool mean that the placement of the sheep wool insulation is decisive for whether the wall will be fireproof or not. Calculations of penetration depth in case of fire for CLT show that CLT is a suitable material from a fire point of view. The design flexibility of CLT means that the construction can be adapted so that the sound insulation requirements are met for buildings with special requirements. 54% of the sheep wool produced in Sweden is discarded, according to calculations, the discarded sheep wool can insulate external walls for approx. 11% of the detached houses produced annually. A study was conducted on whether wool can cause allergies, the information does not indicate that sheep wool insulation can cause allergies. The study concludes that combining sheep wool insulation with CLT is possible however the use of CLT is more justified in a multi-storey house than a single-family house. / Bakgrunden till studien är byggbranschens globala miljöpåverkan. I den här studien utreds det om KL-trä (korslimmat trä) och fårullsisolering är ett byggnadstekniskt alternativ i en yttervägg utifrån dagens byggnadsstandard. För att ta reda på om KL-trä och fårullsisolering är ett alternativ för en ytterväggskonstruktion genomfördes en litteraturstudie och handberäkningar. Litteraturstudien sammanfattar föreskrifter från Boverkets byggregler BFS 2020:4 gällande fukt-, brand-, energi- och ljudkrav. För att bedöma hur en yttervägg uppbyggd av KL-trä och fårullsisolering fungerar togs tre olika ytterväggskonstruktioner fram. Med handberäkningar bestämdes väggförslagens värmegenomgångskoefficient och relativa ånghalt. Resultatet från beräkningarna visar att samtliga väggförslag fungerar med avseende på fukt och termisk komfort. Både fårull och KL-trä har hög specifik värmekapacitet men materialets volymetriska värmekapacitet och placering avgör om den påverkar inomhusmiljön. Studien visar att fårullens brandegenskaper gör att placeringen av fårullsisoleringen är avgörande för om väggen blir brandsäker eller inte. Beräkningar av inträngningsdjup vid brand för KL-trä visar att KL-trä är ett lämpligt material ur brandsynpunkt. Designflexibliteten hos KL-trä gör att konstruktionen kan anpassas så att ljudisoleringskraven uppnås för byggnader med särskilda krav. 54% av den i Sverige producerade fårullen kasseras, enligt beräkningar kan den kasserade fårullen isolera ytterväggar i ca. 11% av småhusen som produceras årligen. Det gjordes en undersökning om ull kan framkalla allergi, informationen tyder inte på att fårullsisolering kan orsaka allergi.  Studien kommer fram till att kombinera fårullsisolering med KL-trä är möjligt och att användande av KL-trä är mer motiverat i ett flervåningshus än ett småhus.

The object of this study is to determine the factors that influence the fleece value, the experimental procedure, necessary to discover these points, and the effect of culling sheep toward fleece improvement. The clean yield per fleece and the grade of wool were thought to be of equal importance in earning a greater return per fleece. In making such a comparison, wool samples were taken from twelve Hampshire ewes and twelve South-Down ewes, of which the wool represented Three-eighth Blood and Half-blood respectively. Concentrations were given to the fact that there might be some difference in the production of clean yield between young ewes and old ewes. The samples were subdivided into two age-groups within each breed of sheep. For convenience, these wool samples, taken from ewes ranging from yearling to four years old, were grouped into “Young Group”, and those samples taken from ewes over four years old were grouped into “Aged Group”. The work done will be reported in detail in later chapters. The most important factors that influence clean yield were staple length and grease fleece weight. When staple length or grease fleece weight increased the clean yield also increased due to: (1) the material increase from the increased staple-length and the increased grease fleece weight; (2) the decrease of shrinkage percentage, which is associated with the increase of staple length. Other factors ranged from moderate importance to non-importance in relation to clean yield. (a) Density of fiber was moderately important in relation to clean yield; (b) Body weight was slightly associated with clean yield; (c) Crimp was rather important in wool uniformity than in clean yield; (d) Fineness is extremely important in wool quality instead of clean yield. Fleeces from aged sheep over four years old were lighter in clean yield than fleeces from young sheep. Finer wool fleeces were much less in clean yield than coarse-wool fleeces. Farm return was in favor of coarser wool per fleece. Major emphasis should be placed on the average record of staple length and grease-fleece weight, less emphasis on body weight, and on crimp, in a culling program of all ewes. Intensive measurement should be done on all characters of wool of all rams. If two ewes produce equal amounts of grease fleece, and equal length of staple, the older one should be culled. / M.S.

Sheep were among the first animal domesticated by man, and have always been one of his most valuable beasts. Increasing efforts have been made to improve both wool and mutton, in order to give the greatest financial returns to the sheep grower. / Master of Science

Master of Science

SammanfattningUppsatsen är utformad efter ett förslag från Anders Ryberg vid Länsstyrelsen i Västra Götalands län. Förslaget var att lokalisera användningsområden för den ull som i dagsläget kasseras i Sverige. I början beskriver vi grundläggande fakta om ullfibern för att ge dig som läsare ett bättre begrepp om ullfiberns användningsområden som senare tas upp i arbetet. Detta följs av en beskrivning av de miljöaspekter som ullanvändningen medför, vilket dessutom är viktigt ur en marknadsföringssynpunkt. De ullkvalitéer vi har i Sverige beskrivs därefter kortfattat, följt av en presentation av svenska företag och projekt som arbetar med svensk ull. Därefter beskrivs Australiens, Storbritanniens och Norges ullindustrier. Deras marknadsfringsstrategier och infrastrukturer för ullhantering är viktiga att ta del av om den svenska ullindustrin ska kunna konkurrera i framtiden. Vi har även funnit många intressanta användningsområden för den svenska ullen. Däribland finner vi geotextil, isolering och ull i avfallshantering enklast att producera utifrån de förutsättningar vi har i Sverige. Våra slutsatser är att det krävs en hel del initiativ, framförallt från fårägarna i Sverige, för att skapa en större efterfrågan på svensk ull. Tillvägagångssättet är att skapa infrastruktur för uppsamling och sortering av ullen runtom i landet, sedan marknadsföra ullen med hjälp av information om dess unika egenskaper och positiva miljöaspekter. / <p>AbstractThe thesis is developed from a proposition by Anders Ryberg at the county administration board of Västra Götaland. The proposition was to evaluate new fields of utility for the Swedish wool which today is disregarded. First off we give a basic description of the facts concerning the wool fiber in order for you as a reader to better comprehend how the wool fiber applies in different fields of utility, which is brought up later in the thesis. This is followed by a description of the environmental aspects which comes with the usage of wool, which also is important from a marketing point of view. The different types of wool we have in Sweden are then briefly described, followed by a presentation of Swedish companies and projects who are working with Swedish wool. Thereafter we describe the wool industries of Australia, Great Britain and Norway. Their marketing strategies and infrastructures for wool handling are important to acknowledge if the Swedish wool industry are to be able to compete in the future. We have also found many interesting fields of utility for the Swedish wool. Among many we have found geotextile, isolation and wool in waste management the easiest ones to produce looking at the prerequisites we have in Sweden. Our conclusions are that a lot of initiative will be needed, especially from the Swedish sheep owners, to be able to create a larger demand for Swedish wool. The way to go about it is by creating an infrastructure for collecting and sorting of the wool around the country, then implicate marketing with information about the unique abilities of wool and its positive environmental aspects.</p><p>Program: Textil produktutveckling med entreprenörs- och affärsinriktning</p>

Wool from Merino sheep is an important component of the Australian economy. However, little is known of the mechanisms within the wool follicle that regulate fibre production. The aim of the research described here was to identify and characterise some of the genes expressed in the follicle.A highly expressed gene has been identified from skin and sequenced. The information obtained on this gene suggests that it might be of use in future transgenic studies. Two cDNA libraries were constructed. The first was constructed using small amounts of total RNA from skin and PCR methodology, following a published method. A second cDNA library was then produced from adult mid-flank skin using a commercially available kit. A pool of 420 potential wool follicle specific transcripts were identified from this adult mid-flank skin cDNA library using a combination of differential and subtractive screening. Clone 1-25 was chosen as the focus for the remaining work described in this thesis. Expression of clone 1-25 was detected at all stages of wool follicle development and was localised to the wool follicle bulb, inner root sheath, outer root sheath, epidermis, but not the dermis or dermal papilla. The function of clone 1-25 is as yet unknown. However, from its expression in the wool follicle, and studies by other groups, it appears that it may play a role in inducing differentiation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (Biological Sciences)

Wool scouring is the first stage of wool processing, where unwanted contaminants are removed from freshly shorn wool. In most scouring machines wool is fed as a continuous mat through a series of water-filled scour and rinse bowls which are periodically drained. The purpose of this project is to mathematically model the scour bowl with the aim of improving efficiency. In this thesis four novel models of contaminant concentration within a scour bowl are developed. These are used to investigate the relationships between the operating parameters of the machine and the concentration of contamination within the scour bowl. The models use the advection-diffusion equation to simulate the settling and mixing of contamination. In the first model considered here, the scour bowl is simulated numerically using finite difference methods. Previous models of the scouring process only considered the average steady-state concentration of contamination within the entire scour bowl. This is the first wool scouring model to look at the bowl in two dimensions and to give time dependent results, hence allowing the effect of different drainage patterns to be studied. The second model looks at the important region at the top of the bowl - where the wool and water mix. The governing equations are solved analytically by averaging the concentration vertically assuming the wool layer is thin. Asymptotic analysis on this model reveals some of the fundamental behaviour of the system. The third model considers the same region by solving the governing equations through separation of variables. A fourth, fully two-dimensional, time dependent model was developed and solved using a finite element method. A model of the swelling of grease on the wool fibres is also considered since some grease can only be removed from the fibre once swollen. The swelling is modelled as a Stefan problem, a nonlinear diffusion equation with two moving boundaries, in cylindrical coordinates. Both approximate, analytical and a numerical solutions are found.