Major Cellulosic Fibres

FABRIC KNOWLEDGE FOR MERCHANDISERS

Presentation On

Major Cellulose Fibers By: Arpit Gandhi Ankit Mittal Sneha Manohar

CELLULOSE Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula (C6H10O5)n.

• Cellulose is the structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants. • Cellulose was discovered in 1838 by the French chemist Anselme Payen. • About 33 percent of all plant matter is cellulose.

MAJOR CELLULOSE FIBERS The fibers with high cellulose content are called Major Cellulose Fibers. • PROPERTIES: • • • • •

Good Absorbents hence are skin friendly. Good heat and electricity conductors. Damaged by mineral acids, resists alkalis. alkalis Moderate sunlight and heat resistant. Damaged by some insects, moths, mold and mildew.

THE 3 MAJOR CELLULOSE FIBRES JUTE FIBERS

FLAX FIBERS

COTTON FIBERS

COTTON Cotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant. (sp.Gossypium barbadense) It is a Seed-hair fiber where each fiber is a single cell growing from the seed in the “boll”. The cellulose content of cotton is 90

Gossypium Barbadense

EXTRACTION OF COTTON FIBER • PICKING: The process of plucking cotton bolls from cotton plant is called picking.

• SPOTTING: After seed cotton is collected immature bolls are discarded.

• GINNING: The process of separating lint from the seed is called Ginning. It is performed most often by mechanical means.

• BAILING: After ginning, staple fibers are compacted by mechanical means. This is called Bailing.

SPINNING: It is the process of making yarns from unbundled fibers.

The process of Spinning consists of the following steps: • Upon arrival at the spinning mill, cotton bales are sampled according to lint quality and origin to ensure yarn homogeneity. • They are then opened to make the lint fluffy by passage though bale-openers. • Cleaning: Bale fibres are usually fed to air-jet (vortex) cleaners to remove extraneous matter from cotton lint. • Carding separates fibres from each other, straightens fibres, aligns and condenses them into a single continuous strand, and removes impurities. • A sliver of approximately one-meter width is then obtained which is fed to several rubber rollers rotating at increasingly higher speed. • Bleaching: It done using either hypochlorite or peroxide. • Several slivers are drawn and twisted together to form the final yarn.

FURTHER FINISHING PROCESSES • Mercerization: It is a finishing process used to produce high quality fabrics. – It consists essentially of impregnating stretched cotton with caustic soda. – The treatment enhances the lustre of cotton. – It also increases the fiber strength and affinity for dyes.

• Gassing: Gassing refers to passing a cotton thread at high speed through a flame to eliminate the fluff. • Twisting: In this process Many fine filaments or yarns are plied together (by inserting S or Z twists) to increase the diameter and tensile strength.

Total Cotton production in 2007: 480 million pound bales

MAJOR COTTON PRODUCING COUNTRIES 1.

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (35.8 million pound bales)

2. 3.

INDIA (25.3 million pound bales) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (19.2 million pound bales)

PROPERTIES OF COTTON FIBER Shape: • Fairly uniform in width, 12-20 micrometers. • Staple length varies from 1 cm to 6 cm (½ to 2½ inches). • Typical length is 2.2 cm to 3.3 cm (⅞ to 1¼ inches).

Luster: • Low

Tenacity (strength): • Dry: 3.0-5.0 g/d • Wet: 3.3-6.0 g/d

Resiliency • Low

Density • 1.54-1.56 g/cm³

Moisture absorption • • • •

raw conditioned: 8.5% Saturation: 15-25% mercerized conditioned: 8.5-10.3% Saturation: 15-27%

Dimensional Stability • Good

Resistance to • • • • •

Acids: Damage, weaken fibers Alkali: Resistant; no harmful effects Organic solvents: High resistance to most Sunlight: Prolonged exposure weakens fibers. Microorganisms: Mildew and rot-producing bacteria damage fibers. • Insects: Silverfish damage fibers.

Thermal reactions • To heat: Decomposes after prolonged exposure to temperatures of 150˚C or over. • To flame: Burns readily.

USES OF COTTON It is used to make the following textiles • Terrycloth: used to make highly absorbent bath towels and robes. • Denim: used to make blue jeans. • Chambray: popularly used in the manufacture of blue work shirts • Corduroy, seersucker, and cotton twill. • Socks, underwear, and most T-shirts are made from cotton because of its property of high absorbency.

LINEN

INTRODUCTION • Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. • Textiles made of cotton, hemp, and other linen fibers have also sometimes been referred to as "linen“. • The collective term linens is still often used generically to describe a class of woven and even knitted bed, bath, table and kitchen textiles.

• It is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather and is thus superior to cotton in this regard. • Linen was used in the Mediterranean in the pre-Christian age. • Linen was sometimes used as currency in ancient Egypt.

• Strength: Linen is a durable fiber, as is two-three times as strong as cotton. It is second in strength to silk. • Elasticity: Elasticity is the extent to which a fiber can be elongated or stretched and the then returned to its normal condition and size. Linen is the least elastic natural fabric. • Resilience: Resilience refers to the extent to which a fabric can be deformed by crushing or compressing it, and finally returning it to its original condition. Linen is quite stiff and wrinkles easily.

• Absorbency: Absorbency refers to the extent to which moisture can penetrate into a fiber. The fiber absorbs moisture and dries more quickly. It is excellent for manufacturing towels and handkerchiefs. • Heat Conductivity: Heat conductivity refers to the extent to which heat can be conveyed through a fiber. It is most suitable for use in summers, as the fiber allows the heat to escape, leaving a cool effect.

• Linen is also used for cloth, canvases, sails, tents, and even for books. For eg; Liber Linteus. • Irish Linen is the best wrap of pool/billiard cues, due to its absorption of sweat from hands. • Linen was probably never used as material for the Hoplite cuirass because of its price. • It should be ironed when damp. • The natural color of unbleached linen is ecru.

• Linen will withstand washing in hot water and scrubbing. • It can be bleached by spreading it in the sun to dry. • Due to its strength, in the Middle Ages linen was used for shields and gambeson. • Its uses were collectively called “body linen”. • Linen is also used for cloth, canvases, sails, tents, and even for books. For eg; Liber Linteus. • Irish Linen is the best wrap of pool/billiard cues, due to its absorption of sweat from hands. • Linen was probably never used as material for the Hoplite cuirass because of its price.

JUTE •Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. •It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae. •Jute is one of the cheapest natural fibres and is second only to cotton in amount produced and variety of uses. •Jute fibres are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose (major component of plant fibre) and lignin (major components wood fibre). •It falls into the bast fibre category (fibre collected from bast or skin of the plant) along with kenaf, industrial hemp, flax (linen), ramie, etc.

• The industrial term for jute fibre is raw jute. • The fibres are off-white to brown, and 1–4 meters (3–12 feet) long. • Jute plants (Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis) • Jute fibre is often called hessian; jute fabrics are also called hessian cloth and jute sacks are called gunny bags in some European countries. The fabric made from jute is popularly known as burlap in North America.

Bundles of jute, showing the fibres of Corchorus olitorius (tossa jute fibre) and Corchorus capsularis (white jute fibre)

Jute plants (Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis)

FEATURES • Picture of cutting lower part of the long jute fibre. The lower part is hard fibre, which is called jute cuttings in Bangladesh and India (commonly called jute butts or jute tops elsewhere). Jute cuttings are lower in quality, but have commercial value for the paper, carded yarn, and other fibre processing industries. Jute fibres are kept in bundles in the background in a warehouse in Bangladesh. • Jute fibre is 100% bio-degradable and recyclable and thus environmentally friendly. • It is a natural fibre with golden and silky shine and hence called The Golden Fibre. • It is the cheapest vegetable fibre procured from the bast or skin of the plant's stem.

Picture of cutting lower part of the long jute fibre. The lower part is hard fibre, which is called jute cuttings in Bangladesh and India (commonly called jute butts or jute tops elsewhere). Jute cuttings are lower in quality, but have commercial value for the paper, carded yarn, and other fibre processing industries.

USES OF JUTE used chiefly

Jute is to make cloth for wrapping bales of raw cotton, and to make sacks and coarse cloth. •The fibres are also woven into curtains, chair coverings, carpets, area rugs, hessian cloth, and backing for linoleum. •The fibres are used alone or blended with other types of fibres to make twine and rope. •Jute butts, the coarse ends of the plants, are used to make inexpensive cloth. •Jute is also used in the making of ghilie suits. Which are used as camoflauge and resemble grasses or brush. •

Jute matting being used to prevent flood erosion while natural vegetation becomes established. For this purpose, a natural and biodegradable fibre is essential.

THANK YOU