Fibers Mechanically Similar to Sheep Wool Obtained by Wet Spinning of Gelatin and Optional Plasticizers

Gelatin is an exceptional and versatile biopolymer with applications in various industries. As the most abundant structural protein in vertebrates it is available in megaton quantities. On these grounds, it would be a plausible substitute for synthetic polymers. Gelatin processing into fibers seems promising as continuous protein filaments do not have the limitation of natural fibers, i.e., small staple fiber length. Instead of spinning an aqueous gelatin solution, a protein precipitate from a phase‐separated system is used. Robust wet spinning with subsequent fiber drawing allows production of a gelatin filament with similar mechanical properties as sheep wool. Different degrees of fiber drawing and addition of plasticizers enable to tailor the mechanical and thermal fiber properties and demonstrate the versatility of the proposed spinning process. Gelatin processing into biofibers is achieved by spinning a protein precipitate into ethanol combined with continuous fiber drawing. This allows the production of a continuous porous protein filament, which does not have the limitation of small staple fiber length as, e.g., in wool. Furthermore, the application of plasticizers demonstrates the versatility of the proposed method.