Comparison of sericin produced through laboratory- and plant-scale extraction

In this study, the structural characteristics of sericin recovered from wastewater released from the silk textile industry (Plant sericin) were comparatively analyzed with those of sericin extracted from a silkworm cocoon produced in a laboratory (Lab sericin). To prepare Plant sericin, ethanol was added to wastewater (i.e., a sericin aqueous solution) after the degumming process to remove nonprotein materials, affording a sericin precipitate. To prepare Lab sericin, nonprotein materials were removed from a silkworm cocoon and sericin was subsequently extracted from the cocoon. Lab sericin and Plant sericin exhibited similar solution viscosities, gel strengths, and crystallinity indices, indicative of the similar molecular weights (MWs) of the two sericin samples. In the case of sericin powder, Plant sericin was more crystalline than Lab sericin due to its treatment with ethanol. The findings of this study revealed that sericin recovered from industrial wastewater can be used equally as its MW is similar to that of sericin obtained through laboratory-scale extraction.