Natural fibers or natural fibres (see spelling differences) are fibers that are produced by plants, animals, and geological processes.[1] They can be used as a component of composite materials, where the orientation of fibers impacts the properties.[2] Natural fibers can also be matted into sheets to make products such as paper or felt.[3][4]
The earliest evidence of humans using fibers is the discovery of wool and dyed flax fibers found in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia that date back to 36,000 BP.[5][6] Now, natural fibers can be used for high-tech applications, such as composite parts for automobiles. Compared to composites reinforced with glass fibers, composites with natural fibers have advantages such as lower density, better thermal insulation, and reduced skin irritation. Further, unlike glass fibers, natural fibers can be broken down by bacteria once they are no longer in use.[7]
General Information
editNatural fibers are made from plant, animal and mineral sources. Natural fibers can be classified according to their origin.
Plant fibers
edit| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Seed fiber | Fibers collected from seeds or seed cases. e.g. cotton and kapok |
| Leaf fiber | Fibers collected from leaves, e.g.,abaca, date palm, pineapple, banana and agave.[8] |
| Bast fiber | Bast fibers are collected from the outer cell layers of the plant's stem. These fibers have higher tensile strength than other fibers. Therefore, these fibers are used for durable yarn, fabric, packaging, and paper. Some examples are flax, jute, kenaf, industrial hemp, ramie, rattan, and vine fibers.[9] |
| Fruit fiber | Fruit fibers are collected from the fruit of the plant, e.g. coconut fiber (coir). |
| Stalk fiber | Stalk fibers are from the stalks of plants, e.g. straws of wheat, rice, barley, bamboo and straw.[8] |
Cellulose
editCellulose is a polysaccharide with glucose units. It is naturally occurring more than other natural fibers.[10] Cellulose is a component in cotton and other plant fibers.[11]
Mineral fibers
editOne example of a mineral fiber is natural basalt mineral. It is used to strengthen asphalt because the mineral fiber is an environmentally friendly fiber option.[12]
Notes
edit- ^ John, Maya Jacob; Thomas, Sabu (2008-02-08). "Biofibres and biocomposites". Carbohydrate Polymers. 71 (3): 343–364. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2007.05.040.
- ^ Sousa, Fangueiro, Raul Manuel Esteves de; Sohel, Rana (11 February 2016). Natural fibres : advances in science and technology towards industrial applications : from science to market. ISBN 9789401775137. OCLC 938890984.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Doelle, Klaus (2013-08-25). "New Manufacturing Method for Paper Filler and Fiber Material". doi:10.2172/1091089. OSTI 1091089.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Gillick, T. J. (1959-08-01). "Natural and Synthetic Fiber Felts". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. 51 (8): 904–907. doi:10.1021/ie50596a025. ISSN 0019-7866.
- ^ Balter M. (2009). Clothes Make the (Hu) Man. Science,325(5946):1329. doi:10.1126/science.325_1329a PMID 19745126
- ^ Kvavadze E, Bar-Yosef O, Belfer-Cohen A, Boaretto E,Jakeli N, Matskevich Z, Meshveliani T. (2009).30,000-Year-Old Wild Flax Fibers. Science, 325(5946):1359. doi:10.1126/science.1175404 PMID 19745144 Supporting Online Material
- ^ André., Meyers, Marc (2014-01-01). Biological materials science : biological materials, bioinspired materials, and biomaterials. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107010451. OCLC 905324595.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Fuqua, Michael A.; Huo, Shanshan; Ulven, Chad A. (2012-07-01). "Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites". Polymer Reviews. 52 (3): 259–320. doi:10.1080/15583724.2012.705409. ISSN 1558-3724. S2CID 138171705.
- ^ Summerscales, John; Dissanayake, Nilmini P. J.; Virk, Amandeep S.; Hall, Wayne (2010-10-01). "A review of bast fibres and their composites. Part 1 – Fibres as reinforcements". Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 41 (10): 1329–1335. doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2010.06.001.
- ^ Azizi Samir, My Ahmed Said; Alloin, Fannie; Dufresne, Alain (2005-03-01). "Review of Recent Research into Cellulosic Whiskers, Their Properties and Their Application in Nanocomposite Field". Biomacromolecules. 6 (2): 612–626. doi:10.1021/bm0493685. ISSN 1525-7797. PMID 15762621.
- ^ Fangueiro, Raul; Rana, Sohel (2016). Natural Fibres: Advances in Science and Technology Towards Industrial Applications. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
- ^ Hao, Meng Hui; Hao, Pei Wen (2014-01-01). "Natural Mineral Fiber Improved Asphalt Mixture Performance". Applied Mechanics and Materials. 638–640: 1166–1170. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.638-640.1166. ISSN 1662-7482. S2CID 109348381.