Silk Reeling and Primary Processing
topic
Reeling process: (1) cocoon sorting by quality (defect-free, uniform size/color), (2) cooking/softening in hot water 95-98°C for 10-15 min (hydrating sericin for unwinding), (3) brushing to find filament ends (each cocoon yields 600-900 m usable filament, total 900-1500 m), (4) reeling 4-10 cocoons simultaneously twisting together forming raw silk thread (11-30 denier), (5) re-reeling onto bobbins creating uniform hanks. Yield: 8-10 kg fresh cocoons → 1 kg raw silk. Byproducts: pupae (protein-rich, used as feed/food), silk waste from broken cocoons (spun silk production), sericin (cosmetics, biomedical applications $50-200/kg). Quality grades: 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A based on uniformity, cleanness, and strength.
Role
Reeling is critical value-addition step transforming cocoons ($15-25/kg) into raw silk ($40-80/kg), with skilled reeling maintaining filament continuity and uniformity affecting fabric quality, while mechanization challenges (automated reeling 60-70% of manual reeler speed) balance productivity vs. quality in modern sericulture.