Wool Processor

Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German Agency for Technical Cooperation) Regional Economic Development Programme Component 1 Mongolia Edited by Theo Hensels Team Leader Component 1 Project implemented by IAK-ABG Regional Economic Development Programme Mongolia

This report was prepared for Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Regional Economic Development Programme Mongolia GTZ Office Sky Plaza, Olympic Street 12 CPO Box 1264, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia © 2008 GTZ Regional Economic Development Programme Mongolia The programme is financed by BMZ, the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Bonn and co-financed by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Beijing Manual on behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German Agency for Technical Cooperation) Regional Economic Development Programme Mongolia

Nigel Hales Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Published by: Regional Economic Development Programme Component 1: Promotion of SMEs and Cooperatives Implemented by IAK-ABG October 2008 Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease TABLE OF CONTENT 1 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY…………………………………………………… 3 WOOLSCOURING AS A PROCESS……………………………………….. 4 2. 1 The WRONZ System……………………………………………………… 5 2. 2 Greasy Wool Opening…………………………………………………… 6 2. 3 Water Supply……………………………………………………………… 6 2. Detergent…………………………………………………………………… 6 2. 5 Squeeze Presses…………………………………………………………… 6 2. 6 Bowl Temperatures……………………………………………………….. 6 2. 7 pH Control…………………………………………………………………. 6 TUNGALAG WOOL SCOUR………………………………………………. 7 3. 1 Wool Grease Recovery Potential Zavkhan……………………………… 7 WOOL GREASE RECOVERY………………………………………………8 4. 1 Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 8 4. 2 Oxidised and Unoxidised Wool Grease………………………………….. 8 4. 3 Stages of development of the Primary Follicle………………………….. 9 4. 4 The Three Types of Impurities in Wool…………………………………. 9 4. The Sequence of Wool Grease Removal…………………………….. … 10 4. 6 The WRONZ Loop………………………………………………………. 11 4. 7 Wool grease Recovery Methods in the Woolscour…………………. … 12 4. 8 Centrifuging…………………………………………………………… … 12 4. 9 Effluent Discharge…………………………………………………….. … 13 WOOL GREASE END USES……………………………………………….. 13 SHEEP BREEDING PLAN…………………………………………………. 14 Background………………………………………………………………….. 14 6. 2 Mean Fibre Diameter of Mongolian Sheep……………………………. 16 6. 3 Fine Wool Price Indicator………………………………………………. 17 6. 4 Feasibility Study on Merino Breeding…………………………………. 7 6. 5 Income Potential and Added Value from Merino Wool………………. 18 6. 6 Possible Downsides……………………………………………………… 19 FARMING PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS………………………………. 19 7. 1 New Zealand………………………………………………………… …… 20 WOOL COLLECTION AND PACKAGING…………………………… … 21 GREASY WOOL OPENERS MONGOLIA………………………………. 22 VARIOUS……………………………………………………………………. 24 10. 1 Cottage Industries……………………………………………………… 24 10. 2 Future Training…………………………………………………………24 10. 3 Shearer Training……………………………………………………….. 24 10. 4 Shearing Equipment…………………………………………………… 25 10. Wool Collection Ulastai …………………………………………………. 25 SUMMARY………………………………………………………………….. 25 KEY STATISTICS……………………………………………………….. … 26 3 4. 0 5. 0 6. 0 7. 0 8. 0 9. 0 10. 0 11. 0 12. 0 -3- Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease 1. 0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report has been prepared as a reference document. It has been designed to outline the basic principals of Woolscouring and Wool Grease Recovery Methods. The report also includes comment about breeding practices and other wool industry observations in Mongolia.

As part of the GTZ–Programme for Regional Economic Development in Mongolia I have conducted seminars on Wool, Wool Scouring Methods, Wool Grease Recovery, Products made from Wool Grease, Wool Collection, Wool Science, Breeding and Felting during the18th of July and the 8th of August 2008. The seminars were organized by the GTZ staff of Component 1 for the promotion of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) and cooperatives in Uliastai and Darkhan. I would like to gratefully acknowledge the help and support given to me by with the local teams from GTZ in Ulastai and Darkhan.

I would also like to acknowledge the help from Mrs Damdin Enkhjargal, a Local Short Term Expert whom accompanied me during my visit. While conducting training and lectures I was able to gain an in-depth understanding of the breeding, wool procurement process, wool processing industry and cottage industries that operated in the Zavkhan and Darkhan Provinces. It is clear that there is widespread overgrazing of pastures and that the sheep suffer from a lack of Hybrid Vigor due to poor breeding and grazing practices.

Due to the seasonal nature of wool harvesting in Mongolia most of the wool clip is collected, washed and traded in a very short period of time. This in itself creates ineffiency as the vast majority of the processing equipment sits idle through the winter and spring months. In the Zavkhan province alone I have identified the potential to improve returns from the sale of wool to levels that would equally match the sales returns from Cashmere fibre. Mongolia has a large sheep population which is very positive for their internal processing industry. While there is a functioning wool industry in Mongolia, it is extremely basic and inefficient.

There also seems to be a missing link with regard to modern wool industry practices and technology as the wool industry appears to have been overlooked at the expense and development of the goat fibre industry which is by contrast very well developed. The local farmers and processors appear to have the will to change. However I am skeptical that the wool industry can make any meaningful change without substantial help from providers such as GTZ or other aid organizations. -4- Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease

My overall impression of the wool industry in Mongolia is very positive. There is immense opportunity to add value to the returns from wool and I have identified a number of low cost ideas to help which I shall detail throughout this report. 2. WOOLSCOURING AS A PROCESS; Woolscouring or wool washing is a name for a process of cleaning greasy wool. In the early 1900’s wool was washed in Tubs often sitting in rivers. The wool was washed in the tubs and then thrown onto the ground where the water was manually squeezed out and then sun dried for several days. Today woolscouring as a process is very much mechanized.

A well developed woolscour needs very little manual labour and high quantities of wool can be washed per hour. Most modern and developed woolscouring lines would incorporate the following features; ? Greasy and clean wool openers ? Weighbelts to measure the wool entering the scour in a uniform and constant manor. ? Self Cleaning hopper bottom bowls with sludge timers for regular discharge of contaminants. ? Hydrocyclones for the continuous cleaning of the scour bowl liquor. ? Separators that separate, wool grease, clean water and dirty water. ? A controlled and continuous liquor flow back system from bowl to bowl.

This type of system is commonly referred to as the WRONZ Loop. ? Metered detergent via pumps. ? Electronically controlled regains post the drying process. Almost all modern woolscourers would now be using the liquor flow and wool grease recovery system that is referred to as the “WRONZ system” or the “WRONZ Loop”. A WRONZ Loop is generally fitted to a scour that incorporates hopper bottom bowls. -5- Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Figure 1, hopper bottom scouring bowl The following is a brief description of the WRONZ System and its principal of operation.

Scouring process 2. 1. The WRONZ system is designed to balance the liquor flows through the “Scouring Bowls” and through the “Wool Grease Recovery Loop” Inputs 1. 2. 3. Outputs 1. 2. 3. 4. Greasy wool being fed into bowl 1 Fresh water continuously being feed via the flowback of liquor from bowl to bowl Recycle from the separators Sludge removal from the Hydrocyclones or HST Cream from the primary centrifuge Flowdown from the balance tank Carry over of liquor on the wool to bowl 2. In a modern woolscour, generally all of the input and output flows are measured. In this way a balance check is obtained.

The fresh water that enters the system should equal -6- Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease exactly the dirty water that leaves the system (this is including the evaporated water at the dryer). The WRONZ system was designed so a constantly measured flow of liquor and solids from washing bowls is achieved. The WRONZ operation is of self-cleaning bowls and timer settings for liquor draw-off to sludge and a flow to the primary separator equipment which is part of the wool grease recovery system and part of the liquor recycling loop.

To affect the best possible scouring conditions within the wash bowls, there must be an adequate system of constant removal of settable solids. This can be done with hydrocylones or by residence time in a Heavy Solids Tank. Adjustment of the flows can be by adjustment of timer system for sludge discharge. 2. 2. Greasy Wool Opening: the greasy wool must be well opened prior to scouring. The more mineral and vegetable matter removed prior to scouring the easier the wool will be to scour. 2. 3. Water Supply: Check the quality of the water.

If the water is hard or high in calcium or iron the wool will be harder to scour. 2. 4. Detergent: make an assessment as to what type of detergent is best for your scour setup. Modern woolscours use non ionic surfactants. Meter the detergent into the scour rather than bucket it in. Ensure that the temperatures of the bowls are hot enough and set correctly. 2. 5. Squeeze Press; Ensure maximum pressure is on the squeeze press. This is especially important in bowl number 1 where you want as much of the contamination or wool grease held as possible. 20ton squeeze presses are what should be aimed for. . 6. Bowl Temperatures; For “Coarse Wools” using a Flowback system. Bowl 1 = 70 Degrees Celsius Bowl 2 = 65 Degrees Celsius Bowl 3 = 60 Degrees Celsius Bowl 4 = 20 Degrees Celsius Bowl 5 = 20 Degrees Celsius Bowl 6 = 60 Degrees Celsius For “Fine Wools” using a Flowback system. Bowl 1 = 65 Degrees Celsius Bowl 2 = 60 Degrees Celsius Bowl 3 = 60 Degrees Celsius Bowl 4 = 20 Degrees Celsius Bowl 5 = 20 Degrees Celsius Bowl 6 = 60 Degrees Celsius 2. 7. pH Control; -7- Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease

The control of acidity or alkalinity in the first wash bowl is very important. Generally wool washes better in an alkaline situation: i. e. bowl would generally have a pH 8. 0 to 8. 5. 3. 0 TUNGALAG WOOL SCOUR The local wool scouring company called the “Tungalag Wool Scour” is in my opinion a very strategic local asset for the Zavkhan Soum. It is the only woolscour in the Zavkhan Region and it is my understanding that if the woolscour was working, then almost all of the wool produced in the Zavkhan Region would be washed at the Tungalag Wool Scour as freight is so expensive to Ulan Bataar.

The condition of the scouring unit in Ualistai was good and there is approximately 1,400,000 greasy kilograms of wool available in the Zavkhan Region to be washed so this is an excellent base to start from. Every assistance should be given to the owners of this factory to ensure that it is working at all times when there is wool available in the Zavkhan Region. 3. 1. Wool Grease Recovery Potential, Zavkhan While there is some recoverable wool grease contained in the local greasy wool, the recoverable percentages look to be quite low.

Almost all of the Zavkhan regions wool comes from the Sartuul Breed of sheep which does not contain high levels of wool grease. It may not be commercially viable to recover the wool grease at this point but for other processing considerations I would still look to fit separators to the Tungalag woolscour. If a breed change happens in the Zavkhan Province and 50. 0% of the stock were changed to the Merino breed of sheep with an average micron of wool at 18. 0 micron, then the recoverable wool grease would be at least 4. 0% of the total greasy wool weight. I. e. 500,000 Merino sheep each are producing 4. 0 greasy kilograms of wool per year.

This is a total of 2,000,000 greasy kilograms of wool. The wool grease recovery would be 80,000 kilograms of wool grease. Wool grease is currently selling for approximately $3. 00 USD per kilogram. Sales from Woolgrease could have a gross value of USD $240,000. 00. Wool grease returns from Merino Wool Grease returns from Sartuul Added Value Potential from Wool Grease USD $240,000. 00 USD $21,000. 00 USD $219,000. 00 The added value returns from the wool grease sales alone from Merino would fund the costs of making the breeding change very easily. -8- Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease 4. . WOOL GREASY RECOVERY 4. 1. Introduction; The subject of wool grease recovery from woolscour liquor is complex and there are many interacting factors that will affect the recovery rate of wool grease from Wool Scour Liquor. While the subject of wool grease recovery is complex, the actual process of wool grease recovery using modern equipment is relatively straight forward and simple provided the scouring plant is equipped and operated correctly. To begin with we must start by understanding what breed of sheep the wool or fibre will come from as not all wools or fibre will contain recoverable wool grease. Well grown wool showing wool grease

Poorly grown wool containing little wool grease 4. 2. Oxidised and Unoxidised Wool Grease; ? Wool grease is of two types – unoxidised and oxidised. ? During wool growth near the tips of fibres becomes chemically degraded (oxidized) ? Newer grease on the fibres at the base of the staple is unoxidised. ? Oxidised wool grease is harder to remove. ? Residual grease left on the fibre after scouring is mostly oxidised grease. Wool grease recovery is very much determined by the breed of sheep that the wool comes from. Wool grease recovery rates can be considerably affected by seasonal conditions and geographical regions.

Not all sheep breeds will produce “Wool Grease” i. e. Sheep Breeds such as Karakul or Drysdale are generally very low in wool grease but Merino and Fine Wools are generally very high. -9- Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Wool grease recovery is a complex subject and to successfully extract wool grease from scour liquor, other factors must be taken into account as well. Having wool grease recovery equipment will not automatically result in wool grease recovery. The wool grease must be present on the fibre in the first place.

Wool grease recovery is balanced between animal breed type, scouring conditions within the woolscour and the wool grease recovery methods. 4. 3. Stages in the Development of the Primary Follicle; 4. 4. The Three Types of Impurities in Wool; ? Natural (wax and suint) ? Acquired (mineral and vegetable) ? Applied (branding ink, paint, insect treatments) The waxy secretion produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin of sheep is known as ‘wool wax’. When it is recovered from the greasy fleece by aqueous scouring followed by extraction from the wash water using various techniques, it is known as ‘woolgrease’. 10 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease At this stage it may contain small quantities of certain other materials from the fleece or the washing process such as detergent (fatting acid from soap), sheep dip or spray residues, dirt, some suint components, and moisture. This woolgrease is sometimes called ‘wool fat’ but this is a misnomer as the material is not chemically a fat, i. e. , it does not contain triglycerides. 4. 5. The Sequence of Wool Grease Removal; ? Detergent is added to the scour liquor and is evenly distributed through it. Detergent molecules completely surround the fibre and the oil seeking end of the detergent molecule attaches to the grease droplet. ? The detergent molecules get under the film of the grease and dirt, the grease then rolls up into droplets. ? Grease droplets are detached from the fibre surrounded by a layer of detergent molecules. ? The water-seeking end of the detergent molecules point outwards into the water, so the wool grease droplet is less likely to be re-deposited onto the fibre. ? Agitation by the rakes and the liquor flow circulating within the scour bowls causes the grease droplets to float away from the fibre.

Scouring process The carboxylate end of a soap dissolves in water; the hydrocarbon end dissolves in oil or is attracted to other molecules of similar composition – 11 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Scouring process Step 1 Step 2 4. 6. The WRONZ Loop: The WRONZ Loop is a control system that balances the liquor flows through the scour bowls and wool grease recovery loop. If you are operating a multi bowl scourline then some bowls will be “Wash Bowls” and others will be “Rinse Bowls”. The wash bowls are generally where woolscourers main costs are generated.

This includes heating costs, detergent costs and effluent disposal costs. It is also in the wash bowls where woolscourers main benefits can be derived from. These benefits maybe from extra throughputs per hour, improved quality of wool, higher percentages of wool grease recovery, lower detergent costs and lower costs for water usage, power and the likes. The WRONZ Loop is linked to the main wash bowls, clean water is continually feed into say bowl number two, and this liquor flows to bowl 1 and is then pumped into the centrifuges where the wool grease is extracted. The liquor is separated into A) Clean liquor and B) dirty liquor.

The clean liquor is pumped back to bowl number one for reuse and the dirty liquor is pumped to drain. Wool Grease Recovery, having a wool “grease recovery loop” incorporated into a well set up wool scour will not only help to recover wool grease but will aid the following; ? Reduce water total consumption ? Minimise heavy flow effluent streams ? Increase the plants kilograms per hour productivity ? Reduce detergent consumption ? Lower heating costs ? Substantially improve the scouring quality, ie lower residual grease measurements, Ash levels and improve the base colour of the wool. 12 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease 4. 7. Wool Grease Recovery Methods in the Wool Scour: the removal of wool grease from the scour liquor can be done within the primary centrifuge. This is an effective way to remove woolgrease. However the number of separators employed the feed rate of flow to the separator, the gravity disk size and the size of the jets within the separator bowl will largely determine flow rates. Once the recovery of wool grease has started at the separator, the primary cream is then pumped into storage tanks.

Because the cream from the primary centrifuges will still be carrying a high percentage of moisture the primary wool grease must then be further processed to remove moisture. Very few markets for wool grease will accept high moisture wool grease or if they do the wool grease will be discounted for price. 4. 8. Centrifuging; the principal method of extraction is by centrifuging aqueous scouring liquors. During this process a fractionation occurs, with the centrifuge removing the relatively unoxidised fraction of the woolgrease while the unrecovered material which is more polar, oxidized, and very well emulsified.

It is harder to capture and generally remains in the wash waters. Centrifuging can also have an important effect on scouring technology since the unoxidised (recoverable) grease can cause problems by re-depositing on the wool if it is not continuously removed from the wash waters. Wool grease recovery is done in one, two, or three recovery stages depending upon the quantity and quality of the grease and the equipment that is available. Stage 1 is Primary Centrifuging; generally the first pass through a separator which will split the primary wool grease cream, the dirt liquor and the clean liquor.

The wool grease may be sent to the holding tanks from the separator in an emulsion at a ratio of 20% wool grease and 80% moisture. Stage 2 is called Concentrating; this stage only relates to the wool grease cream of emulsion from the Primary Centrifuge. This Centrifuge removes impurities and moisture. The wool grease emulsion is cleaned from an 80% moisture down to approximately a 20% moisture. This process usually only occurs when large volumes of wool grease are being processed. Stage 3 is Purifying or Secondary Separating; this is the same as stage two but taking the moisture down from 20% to less than 1. %. It is possible to go from stage 1 to stage 3 without needing stage 2. Most modern plants re-refine their wool grease via a “Secondary Separator” which has purposely been set up to refine wool grease. The aim is to get the wool grease below 1. 0% moisture. The three simple principals of a Primary Separator or Primary Centrifuge; 1) Flow down or Jet Phase 2) Cream Phase 3) Recycle Phase 1) Flow down or Jet Phase In the simplest form the scouring liquor is fed to a centrifuge, usually of the disc type. Sludge discharge is usually done from the jets in the outer bowl.

This will give a constant – 13 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease flow of liquor from the nozzles. This is generally referred to as the “Flowdown” or “Jet Phase” and is generally sent to the drain as effluent. 2) Cream Phase A woolgrease emulsion is discharged as the Cream Phase. The woolgrease emulsion obtained can be further refined by being passed through ‘concentrator, a purifier or secondary’ centrifuges while being washed with hot water. 3) Recycle Phase The recycle phase is the cleaner liquor from within the Separator split.

This clean liquor does carry some wool grease and detergent so it is sent back to bowl number one for reuse. An alternative method if no Secondary Separator is available: If a “Secondary Separator” is not available for refining wool grease then the primary cream can be heated to 95 to 100 degrees and “Thermally cracked” for 24 hours then let to cool to about 60 degrees. The wool grease floats on top of the water so the water can be drained out and then the wool grease drummed up and sold. The downside to this is that a very inconsistent product quality is achieved. 4. 9.

Effluent Discharge: as I have described most modern woolscours generally operate a flowback system between the bowls, i. e. the liquor enters bowl 3, flows back to bowl 2 then back to bowl 1 and through the wool grease recovery loop and then back to the scour for reuse or to the drain as effluent. For this system to work successfully it is best that there is metering equipment and control systems such as flow meters to monitor the flows. The advantages of Process Controls: Savings in energy usage Savings in Detergent usage Increased productivity Reduced effluent Increased wool grease recovery 5. 0.

WOOL GREASE END USES Woolgrease has an enormous diversity of uses; the material recovered from the scouring process is generally referred to as Wool Grease. The refined material is called lanolin. Woolgrease has had a number of historical end-uses including: ? anti-corrosive coatings or additives ? leather processing aids ? Inert barriers in diverse applications such as release agents, tree wound dressing, and the like. The major components of woolgrease are high-molecular-weight esters formed from a mixture of sterols, aliphatic alcohols, and diols combined with straight chain, branched chain, and hydroxyl fatty acids.

Minor constituents are free alcohols and acids. – 14 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease The crude woolgrease can be refined to lanolin (by a process of deodorization, bleaching, and neutralizing) to yield a lighter coloured material with little odour and low free fatty acid and moisture contents. As such as it is widely used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations or as the starting material for preparing lanolin derivatives. Anhydrous lanolin is produced by a number of refiners in a range of grades. These grades nearly always conform to some pharmacopoeia specifications, e. . , BP (British), USP (United States), DAB (German), though these specifications are not comprehensive. Thus manufacturers often produce or require products with additional with additional specifications. The most common parameter differentiating grades is colour. High-grade lanolin’s, such as those used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications, are very light in colour while the lower grades (sometimes called technical or commercial) are darker in colour and so are used where this parameter is of less importance. Lanolin and its derivatives have been used in hair shampoos and dressings.

The anticorrosion properties of lanolin have been well known and utilized over a considerable period, especially by the petroleum industry. The lubricating properties of the calcium, magnesium, and heavy metal soaps of lanolin fatty acids have also been appreciated for a considerable period. Lanolin is used to a limited extent in printing inks, the textile, leather, and fur dressing industries. 6. 0. SHEEP BREEDING PLAN 6. 1. Background: If the wool industry is to progress in Mongolia, then there needs to be a greater understanding of what is being done in other countries to improve sheep flock production, i. . , high fertility sheep, sheep breeds that produce high wool weights and also have rapid growth of lambs. Fine Wool Breed Orkhon The main breed of sheep found throughout the Zavkhan Province is the “Sartuul Breed” While the wool in the Zavkhan Province was extremely white and contained almost no hard colour or yellowing it is very high in medulated fibre (essentially this is dead fibre with a hollow core). – 15 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease

Medulated fibre showing hollow core The wool from the Sartuul sheep has a lot of long guard hairs and a fine base of secondary follicles. The long guard hairs do not take up dye well, they are brittle and prickly. In my opinion this type of wool is not worthy of further development as it is not good carpet wool, nor is it fine enough to be a specialty type. As a hand knitting yarn its texture is quite harsh and prickly. Typically each Sartuul animal is only producing 1. 0 to 1. 4 greasy kilograms of wool per year which by modern standards is very low. You could say that it’s a waste of grass trying to produce Sartuul wool.

When speaking to the Nomadic herders they complained of a lack of development of the Sartuul breed and lots of cross and interbreed animals. Lambing percentages are very low, between 60 – 70%. We found infestations of “Lice” in the wool which suggests that there are no pesticides being used. This in itself could create an opportunity to market the wool as “Organically Grown” I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the levels of Vegetable (VM) matter were quite low. The wool from some regions has sand in it, so consequently the yield was low. The locals believe that the wool yields approximately 70% which is wrong.

With the help of Damdin Enkhjargal and her contacts at the Wool Testing Centre at the Mongolian Textile Institute in UB, she has managed to “Commercially Test” some of the wool that we collected on our visit to both Zavkhan and Darkhan. The test results confirm our visual assessments that the wool is a lot coarser than the local experts/processors believe it to be. – 16 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Khangai sheep Darkhad Kazakh Tsigai Barga Gobi-Altay Karakul Baidrag Bajad Khalkha sheep its wide distribution in Mongolia

Distribution of sheep breeds around Mongolia. 6. 2. Mean Fibre Diameter of Mongolian sheep; Sartuul, Zavkhan Micron: 34. 97 Orkhon, Selenge 24. 89 Fine Wool, Darkhan 30. 73 We can see from the micron test results done on the Sartuul wool, that it is coarse wool at 34. 97 micron. – 17 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease To make informed decisions about breed change we must first understand about the ability of the breed to withstand the harsh conditions throughout the long Mongolian winter months. We must also be mindful and respectful of the local Mongolian customs.

Meat is an important part of the Mongolian lifestyle and therefore meat breeds of sheep and especially those breeds that can carry and store large growths of fat will always remain an integral part of Mongolian culture. While breeding for meat is virtually an integral part of the Mongolian lifestyle, I believe that breeding solely for meat sheep has been the driving factor in Mongolian culture since the 1990’s. I have concluded that no new breeds of sheep have been introduced to Mongolia since the early 1990s and possibly no thought has been given to the uses of mixed use breeds that provide both wool and meat.

I also suspect that at the moment there is no infrastructure within Mongolia that is capable of instigating a sheep breeding program. 6. 3 Fine Wool Price Indicator: the following is a wool price report on “Fine Wool” These prices were less than three weeks old at the time of writing this report and are from the New Zealand and Australian Wool Auctions. Note: Quoted below as a Clean Price. Wool Type 18 mic combing 18. 4 mic carding 20 mic combing 22 mic combing 24 mic combing 26 mic combing 28 mic combing Cost in NZD$ NZD $15. 00 NZD $11. 20 NZD $11. 00 NZD $10. 40 NZD $10. 30 NZD $7. 0 NZD$5. 45 Cost in USD$ USD $10. 50 USD $7. 90 USD $7. 70 USD $7. 30 USD $7. 28 USD $5. 20 USD $3. 90 Cost in MNT 12,180 9,164 8932 8468 8444 6032 4524 Sheep Breeds: I have identified that there is the potential to re-introduce the “Merino” breed of sheep to the Zavkhan and Darkhan regions. , Merino Rams 6. 4. Merino Breeding Feasibility Study: I believe that a feasibility study needs to be done to look at the benefits of re-introducing the “Merino Breed” of Sheep to the area. This must be done with an open mind as the there are many different types and strains of the – 18 –

Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Merino Breed of Sheep. The modern Merino breed is a lot different to the old strain of Merino breed. For example one strain of Merino has a high fertility gene bred into it called (Booroola Gene) What I found very interesting is that the Merino breed of sheep has previously been farmed throughout Mongolia and that some flocks still exist in the Orkhon, Eroo and Khangai Soums. Some of the native flocks that we viewed clearly had been cross bred with Merino sheep at some stage in the past as they still displayed some of the Merino charterstic.

I was pleased to learn that Merino sheep are still being farmed in Mongolia. This proved to me that the Merino can withstand the winter conditions in Mongolia. ? Having purebred Merino Ewes (female sheep) available already in Mongolia would help fast track any new breeding program. ? Semen or embryos from high fertility, high growth New Zealand Merinos could be imported. I would suggest that the target Micron should be approximately 18 Micron. ? Merino Rams could be purchased from New Zealand or Australia.

However this is more complicated due to transport requirements (please note that I have been involved with the Kyrgyzstan Sheep Breeders Association in the past and through the efforts of “Aus Aid” 500 high fertility Merinos were exported to Kyrgyzstan live to improve the gene pool of the Kyrgyz Merino). The Merino breed of sheep is found and grown widely throughout Central Asia and Russia. If a small “Elite” flock of Merino were to be established in Uliastai then this flock could be used to test that the sheep would withstand the winter conditions in that region.

If successful then the breed could be widely grown throughout Mongolia within ten years. Taking into account the need for a traditional meat breed in the Zavkhan Province, I would only propose that half of the sheep population be changed to the Merino Breed. 6. 5. Income potential and added value from Merino Wool: the following projection is based on half of the sheep population in the Zavkhan Province being Merino and the balance of the sheep population being a traditional meat breeds. Main points for the projection model: ? 500,000 head of Merino sheep ? The average Micron of the wool is 18. and grown to a combing length ? Each animal clipped an average of 4. 0 greasy kilograms of wool per year ? Traditionally Merino Wool is well sought after by international wool traders. ? Ulaan Baatar Bazaar – Merino Ewes were selling for approximately 80,000 MNT or USD $69. 00 each. ? Current Market value per kilogram (greasy at 50. 0% yield) is USD $5. 25 per greasy kilogram or $10. 50 per kilogram clean. 500,000 x 4. 0 = 2,000,000. 00 greasy kilogram, x $5. 25 per kgs = $10,500,000. 00 – 19 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease

The next projection is to compare wool returns from the Sartuul breed against the equivelent number of Merino sheep: 500,000 head of Sartuul Sheep Each sheep producing 1. 4 greasy kilograms of wool Current Market value per kilogram (greasy at 50. 0% yield) USD $0. 44 per greasy kilogram or USD $0. 88 per kilogram clean 500,000 x 1. 4 = 700,000. 00 greasy kilograms, x $0. 44 per kgs = $308,000. 00 As can be seen by these basic figures, a breed change to Merino would add approximately $10,192,000. 00 to the income of the Zavkhan Province. This is substantial and cannot be ignored.

Summary of financial benefits from a breed change to Merino: Added value from wool (using my example above) Add value from wool grease sales Total Added Value Potential USD $10,192,000. 00 USD$219,000. 00 USD $10,411,000. 00 6. 6. Possible downsides: I asked the question of local herders “why have herders moved away from the Merino Breed” the answer was that the “Merino have trouble having Lambs at lambing time”. Since my return to New Zealand I have checked up about lambing difficulties with Merinos and it seems that it is not a problem here in New Zealand.

I can only conclude that the breed of Merino that is found throughout Central Asia originated from sheep in South Australia. These Merinos were widely exported to Russia, Central Asia and I suspect Mongolia during the former Soviet times. The Merino’s from South Australia were large animals, very long legs and quite coarse in Micron 20 -22 micron. They were high fertility but very big boned and this maybe why some had difficulty in lambing. 7. 0 FARMING PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS Some of the grazing practices I observed while traveling through to provinces were unusual by modern standards.

For example: ? Farmers trying to maintain the same number of sheep throughout the winter months as through the summer. ? The male sheep are not “Castrated, Docked or Neutered” soon after birth. Consequently all male sheep seem to be able to breed within the flocks unchecked. ? If a male sheep is castrated at a young age it will grow fatter and become a bigger animal. ? Castration will also stop the male sheep trying to mate with other male sheep. This will also help with growth rates and retention of fat. Male sheep that are left “intact as rams” will continually mate with each other. Brucellosis is a very common disease spread by rams mating each other (essentially it’s a sheep’s version on AIDS). Female sheep that are infected by Brucellosis will still rear a lamb but the lamb will be poor and never do as good as it should or could. ? The tails are not docked nor are ear marks used. Instead paint is applied to the sheep’s wool. This is an extremely bad practice. – 20 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease ? ?

Sheep are kept to 7 – 8 year olds and breed from through this period. I would not keep a sheep on my farm any longer than 6 years as its productivity drops in its later years of life. The young female sheep (hogget’s) are mated and breed from in their first year. This practice has a serious effect on that sheep’s productivity for the rest of its life. If a female hogget is not breed from in its first year then it will generally grow to be a much larger animal and it will produce 25% more lambs throughout its life span than if it is bred from in its first year.

While the farming methods in New Zealand may differ to that of Mongolia due to the severity of the winter in Mongolia, some basic errors in farming practice are being made in Mongolia in my opinion. 7. 1. New Zealand farm model: Throughout my lecture tour I used this very basic example of a typical farm in New Zealand: ? A typical farm with 3000 breeding ewes (female sheep). Live weight at least 50 kilograms. ? It will have approximately 50 breeding rams which are changed every two years by rotation. The Rams are only run with the ewes at mating time then they are separated off to their own paddock away from the main flock. Will have approximately 800 replacement Hogget’s (young female sheep not ready to breed from in there first year). ? When the old ewes get to 6 years old they are sold (approximately 800 per year). ? So each year there are 800, 6 year old ewes leaving the flock and 800 young ewes entering the flock. ? Most farmers would expect to breed at least 1 lamb from every ewe each year so expect to have 3000 lambs each year. ? Lambing is timed to start and coincide when the grass starts growing again growing after winter. This is “Spring Time” in New Zealand. ? After Lambing is complete the stock population will be 3000 ewes and 3000 lambs.

This excludes the 800 Hogget’s and the 50 rams. ? On an intensely farmed property it would not be generally possible to produce enough grass to feed all of these animals throughout the winter. Most farmers would therefore try to fatten the lambs as quickly as possible and sell them or get them off the farm as quickly as possible. ? The lambs are separated from their mothers at about six weeks old and are forced to eat grass. This allows the ewe or the mother to recover her weight more quickly than if she was feeding her lamb milk for a longer period. ? If the farm has a 100% lambing percentage then it will produce 3000 lambs per year.

Of these 3000 lambs, approximately 50% of them will be male and 50% will be female. We know that we need 800 female lambs to go back into the main flock of sheep as replacements for the old sheep. The best 800 female lambs are kept for this purpose. The balance of the lambs, 1500 male lambs and the 700 worst female lambs will be fattened and sold as quickly as possible. This allows the pasture to recover before the onset of winter and allows the farmer to get his main breeding flock into a very healthy condition before mating. ? Winter grass is also saved. – 21 –

Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease ? Lambs are progressively sold after about four months of age when they reach 35 to 38 kilograms live weight. As a rough guide the meat yield is approximately 40% of live weight. To improve lambing percentages and maintain healthy stock, Mongolian farmers need to be looking at their farming methods (please note that the above is a basic example only). 8. 0 WOOL COLLECTION AND PACKAGING Wool collection and packaging: almost all of the Zavkhan regions wool (that is the wool that is not used locally) is transported to Ulaan Baatar.

The cost of Transport per greasy kilogram is 197. 54 MNT or USD $0. 17 cpk/gsy. The wool is nearly always transported “Loose” or in light weigh bales that weigh approximately 110 kilograms. The average weight of the “Loose” wool is 7. 0 tons. I could not establish if there is a maximum legal road weight for large trucks or not but it was communicated to me that up to 20,000 kilograms can be loaded onto bigger trucks and that this is a legal road limit. Having no woolscouring facility operating in the Zavkhan Province means that all wool is transported “Greasy”.

With the average greasy wool yield being 50. 0% then is means that 50. 0% of the transport costs could be reduced by scouring or by USD $8. 50 cents per kilogram greasy. Financial Projections, Packaging: Approximately 1,400,000. 00 greasy kilograms of wool is produced in the Zavkhan Province per year. Transport costs are USD $0. 17 cpk/gsy. Total Transport costs for the regions wool = USD $238,000. 00 Potential savings by washing the wool before transporting = $119,000. 00 The other option for freight savings is to press all of the wool into Wool Bales.

This would require the purchase of a modern electric Wool Press. It would also require the setting up of a Central Wool Facility where all wool went for classification, sorting and then pressing. Generally wool bales should be able to be packed on modern equipment to achieve approximately 190 to 200 greasy kilograms per bale. The price for a new automatic wool press is approximately USD $15,000. 00. The cost of a new wool pack is approximately USD $4. 20 or 2. 22 greasy cents per kilogram. A good presser can press approximately 60 bales in an eight hour day by himself.

The press could be worked on a rotating shift basis working 3 x 8 hour shifts to give a maximum capacity of 180 greasy bales per day or 34,200 greasy kilograms packed per day. On this basis it would take 41 days to pack all of the wool processed in the Zavkhan Province. This is a good option for saving money on packaging. It would be a good idea to include this as part of the “Wool Scour” restructure. – 22 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Transporting wool, Mongolia New Zealand 9. GREASY WOOL OPENERS IN MONGOLIA I was horrified to see the “Greasy Wool Openers” in Mongolia. Unfortunately I saw the same style of greasy wool openers at four different locations. This style of wool opener is very wrong for opening greasy wool and is just entangling the wool before it is being scoured. Ideally wool must travel through a greasy wool opener laying the fibre in a parallel way. The wool openers that I saw were rolling the wool through the openers feeding in at 90 degrees and the wool exiting at 90 degrees. This could not be a worse situation for damaging the fibre. – 23 –

Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Showing wool flow through an opener in a parallel motion and possible felting. – 24 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease 10. 0. VARIOUS 10. 1. Cottage Industries: during the training sessions in Uliastai it was apparent that there is the need for more small wool processing equipment such as Hand Carding Equipment, Spinning Wheels for Spinning Hand Knitting Yarns and even a small hand operated Wool Scour to help wash the wool for the home based business.

Having access to this equipment would improve the productivity of the home based cottage industry. 10. 2. Future Training: it became very obvious to me as I began to understand more about the wool industry in Mongolia that the wool industry leaders and managers that we met had little understanding of the modern wool industry (this excludes Mrs Damdin Enkhjargal who has a good understanding of modern processing equipment). My opinion is that in particular the Zavkhan region would greatly benefit from a study tour to look at Agricultural developments in New Zealand.

If the wool industry is to progress in Mongolia then there needs to be a greater understanding of what is being done in other countries, eg high fertility sheep, sheep breeds that produce high wool weights and also have rapid growth of lambs. The costs associated of traveling to New Zealand for a study tour would be well spent particularly if the tour members all were able to help implement the changes or motivate others to change upon returning to the Mongolia. An Agricultural Study Tour could visit the following places of interest in New Zealand, ?

Two International Wool Testing Laborites, ? Agricultural training facilities and Universities ? The two largest woolscours in the world ? A private wool merchant (wool collectors) ? A wool broker setting up for a wool auction ? A wool auction ? Staying on our family farm – working with the sheep – sheep shearing etc ? Visit Merino farmers ? Visit Carpet Manufacturers ? Tour a yarn making factory ? Meet New Zealand Wool Exporters ? Visit the Agradome in Rotorua ? Forestry and leather processors, local fellmongery (skins and leather) ?

Visit large meat processing facilities (slaughter houses) ? Visit Stud Ram Breeders ? Visit home spinners, weavers and felters (there are many options for this) 10. 3. Shearer training: the shearing methods used in Mongolia are very bad. The way that the shearers are shearing their sheep is slow and must be very hard on both the shearer and the sheep. The shearers I saw were shearing straight on the dirt floor which is a terrible method as the wool gets contaminated with dust and other matter. It takes between 15 and 30 minutes to shear a sheep in Mongolia.

The wool is cut using hand shears. There is an international shortage of shearer’s world wide. Mongolian shearers could come to New Zealand and work through our shearing season and then – 25 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease return home and shear throughout the Mongolian summer. Shearers can earn USD $77. 00 dollars per hundred sheep shorn. Even an average shearer can shear 200 sheep a day, so it’s possible to earn very big money as a shearer as they generally work seven days a week. 0. 4. Shearing Equipment: most sheep are shorn in Mongolia by the blade method “Blades”. While this method is okay, it produces more second cuts and is slow. Small motorized shearing plants are available, this would allow the shearers to use a proper hand piece and mechanically clip the wool from the sheep. I was surprised to see that this was not happening as in Kazakstan and neighboring countries the sheep are shorn using hand pieces. 10. 5.

Wool Collection Uliastai: The wool collectors in Uliastai spoke of wanting to set up a “Central Wool Facility” in the Centre of the town so that they can hold wool auctions. Apparently wool auctions have been held there in the past. I was a little surprised by this news but its worth considering as part of the restructure plan for the relocation of the woolscour. 11. 0. SUMMARY From what I saw, the wool industry is very underdeveloped and consequently suffering from high costs of processing and ineffiency within the supply chain.

The lack of breeding programs and breed development has cost the wool producers dearly over the years. This has a flow on effect to the local wool industry in general as the quality of the local wool clip is very poor. However I believe that there is great potential to improve the returns from wool, woolscouring and wool grease in Mongolia. Some simple and relatively low cost initiatives have the potential to yield substantial financial benefits to the countries economy. Nigel Hales Wool Advisory Services New Zealand Ltd 26 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease 12. 0. KEY STATISTICS Zavkhan Province Main breed of sheep: Number of sheep in region: Number of goats in region: Wool Production: Wool type of Sartuul: “Sartuul” breed 1,000,000 – 1,400,000 1,000,000 1. 45 kgs per sheep per year Crossbred Very coarse primary follicle and very fine secondary follicle, heavily medulated fibre Mean fibre diameter: 30-35 µm Length: 50-110mm Carpet or felting type Mean fibre diameter: 10-16. µm Primary follicle medulated, secondary follicle 7-10mm long Production per goat = 360-720 grams per goat Farmed for 7-8 years before they die First 5 years the goats are more productive 85% of goats are red or black, 15% mixed colour or white White goats have the highest value fibre but are not as strong during the harsh winter months No breeding programs for the last 12 to 15 years Herders complaining of inbreeding, there’s no rams 45-55% depending on percentage of sand 99% of stock fed on pasture, 1% fed supplementary food $1. 00 USD = 1160 MNT 150-200 MNT (USD 0. 17 cents) 1 kgs of Sartuul greasy wool = 500 MNT or 0. 3 cents USD Freight paid by purchaser No greasy wool allowed to be exported from Mongolia, must be scoured first Cashmere goat fibre: Average yield: Pasture: Exchange rate at the time of visit: Transport costs to Ulaan Baatar: Wool sales price: Total wool produced in Zavkhan Province is between 1. 45 million greasy kilograms and 2. 03 million greasy kilograms per year. Total value of wool produced is 725,000,000 MNT or $625,000 USD to 1,015,000,000 MNT or $875,000 USD per year. Cashmere: Yak: 1 kg sells for 30,000 MNT or $25. 86 USD Produces 1 kg of yak wool per year 1 kg sells for between 3,000 and 5,000 MNT or between $2. 8 USD and $4. 31 USD – 27 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Felts: 8-10 felts per Ger Felts last up to 20 years Newly-weds usually presented with brand new Ger as wedding present 80 marriages a year average Customs tax to Russia on a Ger is 450,000 MNT or $420 USD Each Ger felt sells for 45,000 MNT or $38. 79 USD White felts sell for 60,000 MNT or $51. 72 USD In the winter an extra felt can be used Tungalag Wool Scour Scouring: Scouring charge in Uliastai is currently USD $0. 40 cents per greasy kilogram. This is going to be raised to USD $0. 6 cents this year. Mr Zundai is the Director Mr Tserennadmid (Tseeye) The Manager Chinese Manufactured Wool Scour Greasy Hopper Number One Triple Drum Opener Greasy Hopper Number Two Four Bowls and four squeeze presses (5 tonne squeeze) Wet Hopper Flatbed table dryer Rake and harrow type rakes Approximately 4 feet working length Scour appears to have done little work since being installed Approximately 142,000 MNT per month or $122 USD Two shifts, 10 employees, making 18 felts per day (very well run business) Director Otgonbayar One year old 7-10 tonne truck maximum Wages: Felting Company,(Orgiltsagaan)

Transport: Merino breed found in the Bulgan and Selenge regions. Fine wool breed names are Orkhon, Eroo and Khangai. Dehaired wool: Costs 11,000 to 13,000 MNT or $9. 48 USD to $11. 20 USD 22 – 25 micron dyed wool = 18,000 to 20,000 or $15. 51 USD to $17. 24 USD To dye wool in UB costs 8,816 MNT or $7. 60 USD For scouring and combing in UB = 3,500 MNT or $3. 02 USD. This is a total of 12,319 MNT or $10. 62 USD (This excludes the purchase of the wool). – 28 – Wool Collection, Wool Scouring, Wool Grease Recovery and Products made from Wool Grease Purchase of wool in Darkhan Province 22-25 micron = 2,200 MNT or $1. 9 USD per kilogram For coarser wool 25-30 micron is 2,000 MNT or $1. 72 USD per kilogram Fine wool yield 38-45% Medium Micron yield 48-55% Orkhon breed: 2. 5-3. 5 kilograms greasy per sheep per year Well grown, well defined staple at approximately 60-110mm Number of sheep in region: 220,000 Kilograms of wool produced 30,000 kilograms Sheep sale price: 1-2 years old lamb 45,000 MNT or $38. 79 USD Adult Ewe 60,000 MNT or $51. 72 USD Adult Merino Ewe 70,000 MNT or $60. 34 USD Fully grown male sheep 120,000 MNT or $103. 44 USD Erdenet Carpets: Carpet squares, size 5. 5 x 4. 5 metres 3. 5 x 4 metres 2 metres x 3 metres Price for 5. x 4. 5 597,000 MNT or $514. 65 USD Woven Carpets, Semi Wosted and Possibly Woollen? Both fine and coarse wool carpets Nicely made but pilling It is our understanding that all greasy wool must be washed prior to being exported from Mongolia. This is very positive for the woolscouring industry in Mongolia. Greasy Wool Exports: – 29 – Contact details Regional Economic Development Programme: Component 1 Ulaanbaatar Bayanzurkh district Janjin Lkhagvasurengiin street Building 5, 1st floor Ulaanbaatar – 210351, Mongolia Tel/Fax: +976-11- 457504 Tel: +976-11-70157504 E-mail: red1ubgtz@yahoo. e Orkhon aimag Governor’s office, 1st floor, room 108 Erdenet city, Orkhon aimag Tel: +976 -1352 -28615 Fax: +976 -1352 -28915 E-mail: red1_erdenet@yahoo. de Darkhan-Uul aimag Administration Building of Darkhan-Uul aimag, Room 2, Darkhan, Mongolia Tel/Fax: +976 -1372- 28159 E-mail: red1darkhan@yahoo. de Zavkhan aimag Regional Economic Development Programme office Uliastai, Zavkhan Aimag, Mongolia Tel/Fax: +976-1462-21625 E-mail: red1zavkhan@mongol. net