Banana fiber

banana fiber in textile

1. Banana Fiber

2. Banana plant or plantain plant not only gives the delicious fruit but it also provides textile fiber , the banana fiber. Banana fiber is natural fiber. Natural fibers present important advantages such as low density, appropriate stiffness and mechanical properties and high disposability and renewability. Moreover, they are recyclable and biodegradable. Banana Fiber

3. There has been lot of research on use of natural fibers in reinforcements. Banana fiber, a ligno -cellulosic fiber, obtained from the pseudo-stem of banana plant (Musa sepientum ), is a bast fiber with relatively good mechanical properties . Banana plant is a large perennial herb with leaf sheaths that form pseudo stem. Its height can be 10-40 feet (3.0-12.2 meters) surrounding with 8-12 large leaves. The leaves are up to 9 feet long and 2 feet wide (2.7 meters and 0.61 meter ). Banana plant is available throughout Thailand and Southeast Asian, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Hawaii, and some Pacific islands.

4. Appearance of banana fiber is similar to that of bamboo fiber and ramie fiber, but its fineness and spinnability is better than the two. The chemical composition of banana fiber is cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. It is highly strong fiber. It has smaller elongation. It has somewhat shiny appearance depending upon the extraction & spinning process characteristics of banana fibers

5. It is light weight. It has strong moisture absorption quality. It absorbs as well as releases moisture very fast. It is bio- degradable and has no negative effect on environment and thus can be categorized as eco-friendly fiber. Its average fineness is 2400Nm. It can be spun through almost all the methods of spinning including ring spinning , open-end spinning, bast fiber spinning, and semi-worsted spinning among others.

6. properties of banana fibers Tenacity 29.98 g/denier Fineness 17.15 Moisture Regain 13.00% Elongation 6.54 Alco-ben Extractives 1.70% Total Cellulose 81.80% Alpha Cellulose 61.50% Residual Gum 41.90% Lignin 15.00%

7. Banana fiber is similar to that of bamboo fiber, but its fineness and spin ability is better. The chemical composition of banana fiber is cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. It is highly strong fiber. It has smaller elongation. It has got shiny appearance depending upon the extraction & spinning process. Properties of banana fiber

8. It is light weight. It absorbs as well as releases moisture very fast. It is bio- degradable and has no negative effect on environment and thus can be categorized as eco-friendly fiber. It can be spun through almost all the methods of spinning including ring spinning, open-end spinning, bast fiber spinning, and semi-worsted spinning among others.

9. Composite building materials such as cements, concrete. Reinforced plastics such as fiber reinforced polymer. Metal composites. Ceramic composites (composite ceramic and metal matrices). Synthetic composites: composite materials made of artificially produced materials. Examples: Glass reinforced plastic, Thermo-plastic composites. Types of composites

10. Plant fibers are usually consists of cellulose: examples cotton, jute, bamboo, flax, ramie, hemp, coir and sisal. Cellulose fibers are used in various applications. 1. Silk fibers (Kapok and cotton) 2. Fruit fibers (Banana and coconut) 3. Stalk fibers (Rice, bamboos, wheat) 4. Leaf fibers (Agave and sisal) 5. Skin fibers (Obtained from the skin of the stems) Plant fibers

11. Required materials are: Banana fiber Resin (Polyester, can be used many) Hardener (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, many others can be used as hardener) Filler (silicon powder, many other type of fillers can be used) Releasing agent Method of preparation

12. The banana fiber is obtained from banana plant. The extracted banana fiber firstly sun dried and then dried in oven to remove water content present in the fiber. Then banana fiber of different length is mixed with matrix mixture with their respective values by simple mechanical stirring and mixture are slowly poured in different moulds . Releasing agent is used on mould sheet which gives ease to removal of composite from the mould . After pouring in to the mould it is heated to 30°C for approximately 24 hours. A constant load is applied on to the mould . After curing is done, the specimen is taken out from the mould . Steps involved

13. Resin-60% Hardener -10% Filler- 30% Composition of materials

14. Banana Fiber Extraction Processing, Yarn Spinning & Weaving: The extraction of the natural fiber from the plant required certain care to avoid damage. In the present experiments, initially the banana plant sections were cut from the main stem of the plant and then rolled lightly to remove the excess moisture. Impurities in the rolled fibers such as pigments, broken fibers, coating of cellulose etc .

15. were removed manually by means of comb, and then the fibers were cleaned and dried. This mechanical and manual extraction of banana fibers was tedious, time consuming, and caused damage to the fiber. Consequently, this type of technique cannot be recommended for industrial application. A special machine was designed and developed for the extraction of banana fibers in a mechanically automated manner. It consisted mainly of two horizontal beams whereby a carriage with an attached and specially designed comb, could move back and forth.

16. The fiber extraction using this technique could be performed simply by placing a cleaned part of the banana stem on the fixed platform of the machine, and clamped at the ends by jaws. This eliminated relative movement of the stem and avoided premature breakage of the fibers. This was followed by cleaning and drying of the fibers in a chamber at 200 C for three hours. These fibers were then labeled and ready for lamination process. After fiber is collected, the process goes to yarn spinning . The researcher investigated the traditional process, which use the filament yarns in weaving banana fabric.

17. The finding showed that the convention process was very time-consuming, thus not appropriate for today’s use. Therefore, this research explored open-ended spinning process for yarn development. The fiber was cut in to 3-centimeter length for spinning process. After yarn spinning, weaving is done in the looms as per normal process like any other material.

18. Waste portions of banana stem

19. Removal of sheaths

20. Sheaths

21. Fibre Extraction process

22. Extraction

23. Banana Fiber Extraction Processing

24. 1st Quality Rs . 60-80 2 nd Quality Rs.40-60 3 rd Quality Rs.25-40 Market Price

25. Extracks 15 kg fiber in 8 hours. Consumes less Electricity, That is 0.75 units per hour Provides fiber of superior quality in terms of length softness , Strength, and colour Less Maintenance, Easy and safe to operate. Clean work Environment Reduces Drudgery. Advantage of the Machine

26. The mechanical behavior of the banana fiber based epoxy composites depends on fiber parameters The tensile strength of banana fiber reinforced composites increases with increase in fiber length and loading. Influence of Fiber Parameters on Tensile strength

27. When fiber length increases the flexural strength of the fabricated composites first increases up to 10 mm length and then decreases . When fiber loading increase then flexural strength increase up to fiber loading 15% then decreases . The maximum flexural strength is observed when fiber length is 10 mm and loading is 15%. Influence of Fiber Parameters on Flexural Strength

28. The impact energy is increases with increase in fiber length. It also show that the impact energy increases with increases in fiber loading. The maximum impact energy absorbed by the material 15 mm length of fiber and 20% fiber content. Influence of Fiber Parameter on Impact Strength

29. The hardness value increases with increase in fiber length and it is maximum at 10 mm fiber length. However, with increase of fiber loading hardness value increases up to fiber loading 15% then the hardness value decreases. Influence of Fiber Parameters on Hardness

30. To make currencies, bond papers , and speciality papers which can last for 100 years As a very good replacement for wood pulp in paper industry, as it has high cellulose content,thus reducing the Environmental impact of deforestation In making composite materials as a replacement for fiber glass Uses of Banana Fiber

31. For manufacturing mattresses, pillows and cushions in the furniture industry . In handicraft, extensively for making bags, purse, mobile phone cover, door mats, curtains, and yoga mats etc . In the manufacture of textiles Research is underway to find out other uses of this fiber

32. In the recent past, banana fiber had a very limited application and was primarily used for making items like ropes, mats, and some other composite materials. With the increasing environmental awareness and growing importance of eco-friendly fabrics, banana fiber has also been recognized for all its good qualities and now its application is increasing in other fields too such as apparel garments and home furnishings. Applications of Banana Fiber

33. . However, in Japan, it is being used for making traditional dresses like kimono, and kamishimo since the Edo period (1600-1868). Due to its being lightweight and comfortable to wear, it is still preferred by people there as summer wear . Banana fiber is also used to make fine cushion covers , Necties , bags , table cloths , curtains etc. Rugs made from banana silk yarn fibers are also very popular world over.

34. Applications of Banana Fiber

35. Thank You