Proper utilization of wool grease which is usually discarded after scouring of raw wool fleece in many parts of the world is of prime importance from the environmental and economic point of views. In the present work,wool grease was extracted from coarse wool fleece using conventional heating or microwave irradiation. Different concentrations of lanolin was utilized as a binder in pigment printing of wool, polyester fabrics as well as polyester/wool (65/35) and polyester/cotton (65/35) blended fabrics using flat screen technique. Fixation of prints was brought about either by conventional heating or microwave irradiation. Extraction of lanolin as well as fixation of prints under the influence of microwave irradiation was carried out at different reaction parameters; Viz. concentration of reagent, reaction time and temperature, and microwave power. Colorimetric measurements; namely colour strength (K/S) and fastness properties (against washing, light, perspiration, and rubbing) were conducted. The wet contact angle, UPF, stiffness, and air permeability of the printed fabrics were also assessed and compared to those of the corresponding samples printed in presence of commercial binder instead of lanolin.
The results of this study reveal that the colour strength and fastness properties of the fabrics printed using lanolin as a binder, whatever the adopted fixation method, is almost similar to those printed using commercial binder. Only the rubbing fastness of the printed fabrics was remarkably worse upon using lanolin as a binder in pigment printing of the said textile fabrics.