Wool Grading Centre, Banuri, Palampur

Submitted by: Sabhyata Marwah Nitin Katoch Samar Chowdhary

introduction
For our Integrated Term project we have taken The Wool Grading and Marketing centre in Banuri. It is under The H.P.State Wool Procurement and Marketing Federation Ltd. commonly known as "Woolfed" which was established on 7th November 1988 and registered with Registrar Cooperative Societies, Government of Himachal Pradesh for the upliftment of sheep breeders of the State. The Wool Grading Centre provides wool washing and drying facilities. Wool is washed by a mechanical procedure using detergents to remove the washable impurities like dust, dirt & grease. It is also the first mechanical step towards processing of wool. The breeds of Himachal Pradesh are renowned sheep breeds of India but are medium type wool producers. The wool produced in Himachal Pradesh is better than the carpet wool produced by the sheep of Rajasthan and can easily be used for the production of woolen products. This wool is however inferior for Apparel making Industry because of the presence of dead fibre, short staple length and vegetable matters.

Activities conducted at the Wool Grading Centre

Sheep wool procurement Sheep wool scouring Sheep wool carbonizing Sheep bath facility

SHEEP WOOl PROCUREMENT

Before any of the process can be carried out an important step is the procurement of sheep wool from the breeders. For long-term sustainability of the sector in general and breeders in particular, the Federation undertakes procurement of sheep and angora wool directly from the breeders. This ensures remunerative prices, marketing facilities to the breeders and elimination if middlemen. There are two types of sheep breeds in Himachal Pradesh: o Gaddi sheep o Rampur Busheri sheep There are three wool clips a year, a wool clip is the total wool shorn from a particular flock- Summer clip, Autumn clip, Winter clip. The best wool is the Autumn Clip. The gaddi sheep are breeded in Mandi, Kullu, Kangra regions. The Rampur busheri sheep are breeded in the districts of Shimla and Kinnaur.

Wool scouring
Wool scouring or washing is a process that all wool must undergo prior to further processing. The scouring process is designed to remove the dirt ,dust, and scourable yellowness where possible from the wool in order to produce a clean product ready for further processing. Vegetable matter is not removed during scouring ,but some reduction may occur due to agitation. THE SCOURING PROCESS 1. Dusting : The wool is beaten up and the dust is removed to a certain extent. The dusting process is an essential step before scouring. 2. Teasing: The raw wool is highly tangled, in the teaser the wool is entangled so that is delivered in a more open and lofty condition to the scouring line. 3. Feeding: The wool is then fed into a machine called feeder which forwards the wool into the scouring line.

TEASER

1. Scouring Tank : The wool is forwarded to tank 1 which contains warm water( temperature 60C) with caustic soda, detergent(eeze), and whitener. The wool is washed in the tank and is passed forward. 2. Squeezer 1: The wool from the scouring tank 1 is squeezed so that the extra scouring liquor comes out. The wool is then forwarede to the next tank. 3. Rinsing tank 1:in this tank the wool is washed with simple warm water(temperature 35-50C). The dirty water gets recycled and is used again in the scouring tank. 7. Squeezer 2: Again the wool is squeezed to take out the extra water. 8. Rinsing tank 2: Again the wool is washed by cold water so that the wool is rinsed and contains no scouring liquor. 9. Squeezer 3: The wool is squeezed the last time to the water. The wool falls on the floor and is collected by the workers.

7. Hydraulic Machine: to further remove the moisture from the washed wool a hydraulic machine is used. In this machine the wool is spun in a circular motion and the moisture is removed due to the centrifugal force. 8. Dryer: After the wool has been through the hydraulic machine. It is then fed into the dryer, which is set with a timer of 2-3 minutes. After drying the wool is kept in sunlight so the wool becomes completely moisture free. In scouring no hash chemicals are used except soap and soda so the wool obtained after cleaning is not perfectly dirt free. It still has some dry pricks of grass and other vegetable matter.

Wool carbonizing
Wool carbonising is a process wool must undergo prior to spinning into woollen yarn. The main purpose of wool carbonising is to prepare the wool for spinning into yarn. During the wool carbonising process all vegetable matter contained in the wool will be removed in preparation for carding and spinning into yarn. After scouring the wool is not completely clean. To get completely clean wool, the wool undergoes a scouring process. In this process chemicals are the major cleaning agents. The wool is passed through a sulphuric acid bath that attacks all the vegetable matter in the wool and cause it to crumble. WOOL CARBONIZING PROCESS 1. Tank 1: In carbonizing the first tank contains warm water, soda lime, soap and lesophal. The wool is treated in it and then passed on to the next tank.

1. Acid tank: In this tank the pre-treated wool is subjected to acids like sulphuric acid and sulphonic acid which are in not very high concentrations. A pump is attached to the system , with its help the acid water is sprayed on the washed wool, this burns out the burrs, thorns and grass in the wool. 2. Squeezing Roller: It squeezes out the extra water so that the wool is not too wet before going to the dryer. It also has an additional function to crush the solid particles that become hard due to the action of acid on it The acid vapours from the tank are passed into the sky with the help of exuast pipes. 4. Dryer 1: In this dryer only hot air is blown on the wool which is not of very high temperature(60C). 5. Sensor feeder: The wool is fed in the feeder and it senses the need and sends wool according to the need to the next machine. This is the main function of the sensor feeder. 6. Dryer 2: Again the wool is subjected to a dryer in which the wool has to undergo large amount of heat. The temperature is about 150-200C. the left over moisture is further removed and the solid particles are also dried which makes them easy to remove.

8.

Sensor Feeder: After the wool is passed through the dryer the wool is again fed to the sensor feeder which feeds the wool to next machine, i.e. the crusher according to the need. 9. Crusher: The hardened impurities get crushed and fall down. The almost dirt free wool is pressed and it comes out of the crusher. After the process of carbonizing the wool has to still neutralization. The carbonized wool is acidic in nature as it has earlier been treated by acids. If the wools does not undergo neutralization, it will turn yellow due to the reaction with air and also the strength of the wool will be affected thereby reducing the quality and price of the wool. So as to avoid this the carbonized wool is neutralized in the scouring line. The scouring tank at that only contains water and soda to neutralize the wool. After the neutralization process the wool is kept in the sun for further drying. Even though the burrs are removed from the wool with the help of carbonizing but the strength of the wool is affected.

SHEEP DIP TANK

Sheep bathing facility is also there at the wool grading centre. The sheep come from one side into the water that contains medicines that kill lice, bacteria and other insects that affect the sheep. Only the body of the sheep is dipped in the water so that the medicinal water is not taken in by the sheep. The sheep dip tank thus helps the wool grading centre because if the sheep will be free of bacteria and insects the wool will be of good quality.

PACKAGING
After the wool is completely dry by keeping in the sun it is packed in bales so that it can be transported. The wool grading centre has three packaging machines imported from different countries like Australia, New Zealand. The wool is packed in second hand imported bags. The bag is fitted in the machine. The wool is filled in the bag and hydraulic pressure is applied so that more wool can be accommodated in the bag.

BOILER
A boiler is required in the wool grading centre to heat water required in the process of scouring and carbonization.When the plant was small and only scouring line was there, the grading centre had a small boiler called a baby boiler. But when the carbonizing of wool was started a big oil based boiler was set up called the four pass boiler. Earlier heating used to be done using steam that circulated through the line. But now boiler contains thermal oil that circulates and provides heat. The thermal oil can be used again and again.The oil used in the boiler is inflammable and can be heated to very high temperatures( upto 250-300C) The boiler is a big structure. Different pipes run to different parts of the plant. The hot oil leaves the boiler and the oil which has provided the heat comes back to the boiler to heat again. The is very efficient and one drum of oil can serve the plant for almost a year as it is recycled again and again. In case of an electricity cut, a generator is there to run the boiler and other machines so that the plant does not stop working due to a power cut.

COST OF INFRASTRUCTURE
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Hydraulic Machine: Oil Boiler: Dust willow: Hopper/Feeder: Dryer/3 Fan Dryer: Packaging Machine: 3-3.5 lakh 15 lakh 1 lakh 3 lakh 15 lakh 15 lakh each

The plant also has small trucks used to carry the packed wool. All the machines are provided by the Government of India by the WOOL BORAD. The whole centre is under the government. All the profits and earnings made by the corporation are distributed within the working staff and the same money is used for running the plant.

COSTING AND PRODUCTION

The cost including the labour, material and wastage for cleaning the wool is: Rs. 10.5-Rs. 11 per kg 30-32% of the wool goes into waste. The wastage depends on the breeder . If the breeder gives bath to its sheep the wastage is less, if no the wastage is more. The capacity of the plant is

2000 kg per day

In one year approximately 2000 quintal of wool comes in the centre.

WORKING STAFF AT THE WOOL GRADING centre Banuri

1. 2. Manager: Mr. Deepak Saini Graders(4): Mr. Pooran Chand Mr. Chet Ram Mr. Gyan Chand Mr. Hans Raj The average salary of each grader is Rs. 22,000. Clerk (contract basis): Mr. Rajneesh Jamwal Peon : Mr. Kahn Singh Driver: Mr. Shyam Lal Conductor: Mr. Kehar Singh

3. 4. 5. 6.

Some quarters are also made in the centre. The staff is less and some people live there only. 2 families live there.

MARKETTING
The wool is marketed through tenders whose information is given in the news papers. The government set a price for the wool and who so ever gives more money , the wool is sold to them. According to the information collected the wool is sent to: 1. Madhya Pradesh Khadi Ashram 2. Bhopal 3. Panipat 4. Amritsar 5. Sundernagar 6. Himachal Pradesh Khadi Ashram

Environmental concerns
environmental hazards 1. The acidic vapours are released directly into the atmosphere. 2. The waste water from wool carbonizing contains acid in it, if this water is mixed with the drinking water will cause serious harm to living beings. Steps taken to protect the environment There is a sediment tank for the scouring water in which the sediment is settled and the water is evaporated leaving the sludge behind. After the carbonizing line was started, the Environment Department of Himachal Pradesh demanded for the treatment of the carbonizing water. So a ATP ( Affiliated Treatment Plant) was installed. The ATP has been installed but has not started working now. The water after passing through the ATP will also be fit for drinking. The centre is inspected time to time by the Environment Department of Himachal Pradesh to check there is no threat to the environment or living beings due to the plant.

Thank You