Katarzyna Kobiela-Mendrek

Sheep wool is a precious, renewable raw material that is nowadays disregarded and wasted. To better use local sources of wool, it was used to manufacture tufted carpets. The coarse wool of mountain sheep was used to form a carpet pile layer, while the waste wool from the tannery industry was applied to form carpet underlayment. During investigations, the acoustic performance of the carpets was assessed. The carpets’ sound absorption coefficients and transmission loss were determined using the impedance tube. It was revealed that the adding of underlayment improves the carpet’s sound absorption only at medium sound wave frequencies. The underlayment significantly increases transmission loss in the whole frequency range. The acoustic performance of the carpets with the wool underlayment is similar to the acoustic characteristics of the carpets with an underlayment made from polyester. It was concluded that wool nonwovens can be used as an effective, eco-friendly, sound-absorbing carpet underlayment, which can improve wool utilisation and contribute to the reduction in environmental pollution caused by plastic residues.

Sheep wool is a precious, renewable raw material that is nowadays disregarded and wasted. To better use local sources of wool, it was used to manufacture tufted carpets. The coarse wool of mountain sheep was used to form a carpet pile layer, while the waste wool from the tannery industry was applied to form carpet underlayment. During investigations, the acoustic performance of the carpets was assessed. The carpets' sound absorption coefficients and transmission loss were determined using the impedance tube. It was revealed that adding of the underlayment improves the carpet's sound absorption only at medium sound wave frequencies. The underlayment significantly increases transmission loss in the whole frequency range. The acoustic performance of the carpets with the wool underlayment is similar to the acoustic characteristics of the carpets with the underlayment made from polyester. It was concluded that the wool nonwoven can be used as an effective, eco-friendly, sound-absorbing carpet underlayment, which can improve wool utilisation and contribute to the reduction of environmental pollution caused by plastic residues.

The application of wool as mulch in strawberry cultivation was analysed to find a solution for the rational use of wool from mountain sheep. In the plantation, the experimental plots mulched with wool, straw, and bark were appointed. The plots were monitored during the experiment, while the soil temperature and moisture content were measured. The data collected in two-hour intervals were analysed, taking into account air temperature and falls registered in the local meteorological station. Additionally, the progress of mulch biodegradation was tracked. The changes in the wool morphology that occurred by biodegradation were observed during microscopic examinations using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). It was stated that wool mulch plays an essential role in thermoregulation of the soil surface, prevents the overheating of the soil during the summer heat, and protects soil against excessive cooling during cold nights. The wool mulch minimizes the fluctuations between the soil’s day and night temperature. The fluctuations do not exceed 2–3 degrees on hot summer days, which are five times smaller than for the control plot. The wool retains large amounts of rainwater several times its weight. The water is then slowly released, providing the growing plants with a moist environment during a longer rainless period. Moreover, wool is difficult to biodegrade and maintains its properties for a long time, lasting longer than one vegetation season. Compared to straw and bark, the temperature fluctuations recorded for wool are two times smaller, and its effectiveness in water management is considerably better. The beneficial impact of the wool mulch ensuring favourable conditions for strawberry growth was explained by the specific wool structure and its unique properties.

The application of wool as mulch in strawberry cultivation was analysed to find a so-lution for the rational use of wool from mountain sheep. In the plantation, the experimental plots mulched with wool, straw and bark were appointed. The plots were monitored during the ex-periment, while the soil temperature and moisture content were measured. The data collected in two-hour intervals were analysed, taking into account air temperature and falls registered in the local meteorological station. Additionally, the progress of mulch biodegradation was tracked. The changes in the wool morphology that occurred by biodegradation were observed during micro-scopic examinations using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). It was stated that wool mulch plays an essential role in thermoregulation of the soil surface, prevents the overheating of the soil during the summer heat and protects it against excessive cooling during cold nights. The wool mulch minimises the fluctuations between the soil’s day and night temperature. The fluctuations do not exceed 2 - 3 degrees on hot summer days, which are five times smaller than for the control plot. The wool retains large amounts of rainwater several times its weight. The water is then slowly released, providing the growing plants a moist environment during a longer rainless pe-riod. Moreover, wool is difficult to biodegrade and maintain its properties for a long time, lasting longer than one vegetation season. Compared to straw and bark, the temperature fluctuations recorded for wool are two times smaller, and its effectiveness in water management is consid-erably better. The beneficial impact of the wool mulch ensuring favourable conditions for strawberry growth was explained by the specific wool structure and its unique properties.

Production and use of plastic products have drastically increased during the past decades and their environmental impacts are increasingly spotlighted. At the same time, coarse wool, a by-product of meat and dairy production, goes largely unexploited in the EU. This paper asks why more coarse wool is not used in consumer goods, such as acoustic and sound-absorbing products, garden products, and sanitary products. This is answered through a SWOT analysis of results from a desktop study and interviews with producers of these products made from wool, as well as policy documents relating to wool, waste, textiles, and plastic. Findings show that on a product level, the many inherent properties of wool create opportunities for product development and sustainability improvements and that using the coarser wool represents an opportunity for replacing plastics in many applications as well as for innovation. This is, however, dependent on local infrastructure and small-scale enterprises, but as such, it creates opportunities for local value chains, value creation, and safeguarding of local heritage. The shift to small-scale and local resource utilization requires systemic change on several levels: Here the findings show that policy can incentivize material usage transitions, but that these tools are little employed currently.

Earthworks in the vicinity of roads, open mines, subsidence tanks and other man-made objects can lead to the creation of slopes that undergo erosion. One of the methods that can prevent their degradation and reclaim them is the use of geotextiles. An environmentally friendly option is using geotextiles that are produced from reclaimed fibres. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of the mechanical and chemical properties of geotextiles, namely, ropes and fibres (containing wool and polypropylene), not only on the rate of the greening of slopes but also on the species composition of vegetation. We studied the floristic composition, species diversity, species growth and soil properties of four sites of reclaimed slopes on which 46 study plots (5 m × 5 m) were laid out. We found that some species were more confined to a higher content of wool and that other species were more confined to the content of polypropylene. Both materials caused a decrease in the Shannon–Wiener diversity but an increase in evenness under the impact of ropes when compared to the control. They both also contributed to a higher mean height of the plants when compared to the control. The rate of the plant colonisation process was markedly improved by the reclaimed geotextiles. A longer and more detailed study is required to examine the effect of geotextile ropes on habitat creation.

Wool of mountain sheep, treated nowadays as a waste or troublesome byproduct of sheep husbandry, was used for the production of sound-absorbing materials. Felts of two different thicknesses were produced from loose fibres. Additionally, two types of yarn, ring spun and core rug, were obtained. The yarns were used for the production of tufted fabric with cut and loop piles. During the examinations, basic parameters of the obtained materials were determined. Then, according to standard procedure with the use of impedance tube, the sound absorption coefficient was measured, and the noise reduction coefficient (NRC) was calculated. It was revealed that felt produced from coarse wool exhibits high porosity, and its sound absorbing capacity is strongly related to the felt thickness. For thicker felt the NRC achieved 0.4, which is comparable with the NRC of commercial ceiling tiles. It was shown that the crucial parameter influencing the sound absorption of the tufted fabrics was the pile height. For both types of yarns, when the height of the pile was increased from 12 to 16 mm, the NRC increased from 0.4 to 0.42. The manufactured materials made from local wool possess good absorption capacity, similar to commercial products usually made from more expensive wool types. The materials look nice and can be used for noise reduction as inner acoustic screens, panels, or carpets.