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Wool being loaded into the scour...
Wool scouring is done by immersing wool in a hot water and
detergent solution to remove dirt, suint (sheep sweat, basically potassium salts) and wool grease from the
wool. The wool is transported through 'bowls' by rakes, then passes through a
squeeze press at the end of each bowl.
Wool being scoured - rakes and a squeeze press are
visible...
A scour line consists of a number of
bowls, with the first three used to 'scour' wool, and the remainder 'rinsing' the
wool to remove as much foreign matter as possible.
The GWS scouring lines - scour two on left,
scour one on right.
Resource issues in the scouring process
- Water consumption: Aqueous wool scours require a continuous input
of clean water in the scouring process. However for every kilogram of
scoured wool produced, GWS uses substantially less water than the
industry average.
- Gas consumption: Natural gas is the energy source used to heat
water for wool scouring. The use of heat exchangers on wastewater,
and unique boiler design allows GWS to reduce the
amount of energy required in the scouring process. When considered
in combination with the dryers, GWS uses significantly less energy
in heating than the industry average. We were recognised for our proven
ability to reduce energy consumption when we won a Federal
Government energy award (more details near the end of the tour!)
- Detergent consumption: By use of a careful set-up and monitoring
procedure, GWS uses less detergent than the industry average. In
addition, GWS is trialling next-generation detergents that biodegrade
over five times quicker than the conventional detergents.
Click on the sheep to go to the next step: Drying...
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