Physical Characterization of Eri Silk Fibers Produced in Kenya

摘要

Eri silk produced in Kenya was characterized for sericin content, moisture content, surface morphology, thermal properties, functional groups, crystallinity, and single fiber tensile strength. It was found that Kenyan Eri silk possesses comparable physical properties to those of commercial silk producing countries. At a degummed tensile strength of 6.81cN, Kenyan Eri silk had comparable strength despite having low crystallinity (29.2%). This is an indication that on optimizing rearing procedures and practices of Eri silkworms to certain regions of Kenyan environment, better quality silk fibers can be produced that are competitive in the world market.