Comparison of Finishing Methods for Microencapsulated Essential Oil on Silk: From Laboratory to Community Application

Abstract

In Thailand, there are approximately 40,000 silk producers throughout the supply chain. With the current increasingly competitive trade environment, every industry must focus on product development. The silk industry is no exception. Silk fabric finishing through microencapsulation is a cost-effective method that can add value to products. However, previous research has primarily used laboratory equipment that ordinary producers cannot apply. Therefore, this study compared methods of silk fabric finishing using essential oil microcapsules to provide practical guidelines that producers can actually use. Finishing silk with essential oil microcapsule with acrylic binder through three different processes: pad-dry-cure method (laboratory process) pad-indoor dry-iron method and pad-sun dry-iron method. Study investigated the washing durability of silk fabric treated with these three methods. The optimal conditions for silk fabric microencapsulation using pad-dry-cure method were found to be using essential oil microcapsule at 10 g/L and acrylic binder at 20 g/L. When comparing finishing results with the indoor drying and sun-drying methods, discovered no statistically significant difference in essential oil extraction amounts across methods. After 20 washing cycles, the fabric showed good wash durability. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis confirmed the presence of essential oil microcapsules on the fabric for all treatment methods. The pad-indoor dry-iron and pad-sun dry-iron processes can be applied to fabric finishing at the community product level.