Pineapple Leaf Fibers: ECO Souvenir

 

Sangeeta Bansal¹, Preeti Sodhi²

 

ABSTRACT:

Homo sapiens creative minds have always amazed the field of innovation with their novice ideas. One of these amazing innovations was Pineapple Leaf Fibers and for this pineapple plantation is widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world. The leaves of pineapple plant enclosed with approximately 3% of strong white silky fibers. Philippines and Taiwan is the leader producer of the pineapple leaf fiber tracked by Brazil, Hawaii, Indonesia, West Indies and India. The yield of fibers could be about 6 lacks tones a year if proper extraction method is adopted in India only. Pina fiber has wonderful mechanical properties and it is 10 times stronger than cotton fibers. Realizing the need to explore more on this issue, author made an endeavor to know about Pineapple Leaf Fibers. It also endorses structural analysis of the same. Further it highlights the fibers’ properties panorama with the package of its extraction process. At the end, it pin points applications of PALF.

 

 

1. INTRODUCTION:

Pineapple, an edible tropical plant (Figure 1) belongs to family of Bromelia .although most Bromeliads grow on trees, the pineapple is a ground fruit and native to the southern part of Brazil and Paraguay. The class and quality of the pineapple which is used for extraction of fiber is dissimilar from what is grown as a fruit. With long leaves, the pineapple plants specifically cultivated for its fiber which gives the finest quality of fiber. In comparison to any other vegetable fibers, pineapple fiber is more delicate in texture [1]. 

 

2. Materials and Methods:

For the purpose of in depth study the contents have been taken from relevant books and articles from Journals. The approach followed in this paper is purely based on secondary data. The materials used have at times been drawn from the website and extreme case has been taken to be objective in approach.

3. Results and Discussion:

3.1    Pineapple Leaf Fibers 

Innovation tag has been given to man’s creative deeds and when talking about textile fibers, human being has when talking of textile fibers; man has made natural fibers from plants. One such invention is Pina, a textile fiber obtained from pineapple leaves for making fabrics. Many years ago, tracing to Hispanic times it happened in the Philippines, the people used to extract fibers from pineapple leaves and through hand spinning, made a soft, sheer and a little stiff fabric- the pina fabric. Pina fiber is white, creamy and lustrous as silk fiber and is 10 times as coarse as cotton, even though it is fine with well separated filaments.  Some of the characteristics of the pineapple fiber are:

·        Very hygroscopic in nature

·        High cellulose content

·        Low microfibrillar outlook

·        When wet fiber bundle strength decrease by 50%

·        When wet yarn strength increase by about 50%

·        Due to high coarseness (Figure 2) difficulties arises in dye penetration [1,23]

·         

 

3.1.1 Chemical Composition of Pineapple Leaf Fiber

The pineapple leaf fiber is multi cellular lingo cellulosic fiber extracted from the leaves of the plant. The chemical constituent of pineapple leaf fiber could be more explicable with Table 1 given beneath:

 

 

 

Table 1: Chemical Composition of Pineapple leaf Fiber [21]

 

Table 3.1.1 depicts the chemical composition of pineapple leaf fiber. More than 30% gummy matter was found in the leafy fiber. This gummy stuff chiefly comprises of lignin, pentosan and pectin’s which makes them steep in nature. 

 

3.1.2 History of Pineapple Leaf Fiber

Ananas comosus (Linn) Merr is pineapple plant from which pina fiber is pulled out. A number of tests in Brazil, India, Florida and the Philippines have shown its exceptional resistance to salt, traction and vapour. It is reported that pineapple fabrics were first created in Philippines, the pineapple plantation actually originated in the region of Paraguay (South America). Spaniards invaded the Northern Philippines in the 16^th century and started pineapple plantation which they had discovered in the America since they deemed them to do well in the tropical climate. The Spanish settlers had a long list of demands to set up a clothed from head to toe. Among the native Filipino population, one of them being that all should be fully clothed from head to toe. Through experimentation, they realized Weaving of the pineapple leaves into this graceful fabric (Figure 3) continued, and swiftly mounted in fame among European fashion spheres by the 19^thcentury. Parisians in exact coveted the concerned textile, and in 1850 Filipino officials gifted a petticoat and undergarments made from pineapple fabric to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of the British Empire [5, 8].

 

 

This fabric was griped in favour until the cheaper and more effortlessly accessible alternative of cotton overhauled the textile industry by the end of the 19^thcentury. Since pineapple yarn is extremely delicate, working and weaving with it entails precision, serenity and patience. The consequential fabric is a glossy but slightly stiff, ivory-colored material that is measured one of the finest supplies by the Philippines, and specially used for their ceremonial Barong Tagalog (Figure 4) outfits.

 

 

3.1.3 Structure

It has a ribbon-like construction and is paved together by lignin, pentosan-like materials, which contribute to the strength of the fiber [2]. Figure illustrates that the PALF is a multi-cellular fiber like other vegetable fibers. Mukherjee et al (1986) study also initiates that the cells in this fiber have average diameter of about 10 μm (Figures 5 and 6) and mean length of 4.5 mm with aspect ratio of 450 [4,20]. The thickness of the cell wall (8.3 μm) lies between sisal (12.8 μm) and banana leaf fiber (1.2 μm). The excellent mechanical properties of PALF are associated with this high cellulose and low microfibrillar angel.

 

 3.1.4 Properties

Table 2: Physical Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fiber [21]

 

Table 2 makes it evident that fiber tenacity and L/B ratio of the pineapple leaf fiber recommends that it is overhead to jute and for that reason stringer and finer yarn (finer than 100% jute yarn) could be spun using pineapple leaf fiber. The digits of porosity and swelling of pineapple leaf fiber shown in table 4.1 signifies its aptness for excellent dyeing, moisture absorption (12% -higher in comparison with cotton fibers) and feel.

 

3.1.5 Extraction Process

Selection of pineapple leaves-

It is the opening step and imperative in the preparation of fibers predominantly for textile application. Young leaves generally gives soft and weak fibers. Consequently in order to attain the stronger and pliable fibers, reasonably mature leaves from the plants are selected which have been grown partially suitable for extraction of fibers. Out of 25 varieties grown, 11 are quite popular in India. Kews is one amongst the popular varieties which are reported to have longer, wider, heavier leaves and specifically well-liked in southern area of India. It is therefore important to select the right category of leaves [22,23].

 

Process of extraction –

The extraction process of pineapple leaf can be done either way manually or with the help of machines. The manual process engrosses stripping off the fiber from the retted leaf. The whole process is very labourious and a lot of fiber is lost, the yield is around 2-3% of dry fiber, which is about 20-27 kg of dry fiber from 1 tonne of pineapple leaf. The route which utilizes machines is slower than the manual process; conversely it eases the further production process. Around thirty people are involved from the commencement to the end of the process. Fibers of the leaf are scrapped by means of a broken plate (Figure 7) or coconut shell and a fast scraper can extract fiber from over 500 leaves per day after which the fibers are washed and dried in the open air [19].

 

 

Following drying, the fibers are waxed to confiscate the entanglements and the fibers are knotted. For the duration of the knotting process, each fiber is extracted singly from the bunch and knotted end to end to form a long continuous strand. Then the fiber is sent for wrapping and weaving.  In the mechanical process, the green leaf is crushed in a raspador machine. The soft green parts of the leaves are crushed and washed in water and the thread is taken out. The thread is then brushed with a comb and fine threads are alienated from the spongy ones. The last step is knotting of the threads by hand and spinning the threads with the help of a charkha. This final product is one thread (Figure 8), which can be used for preparation of fabric and clothes. The longer threads are used for making fabric, while the smaller ones can be use for making carpets, sponge seats, and ropes, amongst others [19, 23].

 

 

The South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) has developed a model for extracting pineapple fiber. The plant comprises of the decorticating machine, fiber cleaner, carding machine and a single ply machine in addition a rope-making machine. The plant is capable of yielding 35 kg of leaf-fiber per 8 hour shift. The construction rate increase very drastically with the machine and it is possible to extract 70-80 kgs of fibres per 8 hours. No evidence of damage to the fibers during the extraction produces. Manual requirements for the extraction on process are less. Conventional decorticator machine can be seen in the picture (Figure 9) [21].

 

4. Applications

Pina fabric is trivial, light weight, trouble-free to care for and elegant in appearance. It can also blend with other fibers such as cotton, silk and polyester to make fabrics having utmost qualities. Pineapple silk is considered as the queen of Philippine fabrics. Following are few capsules in which PALF can be used and proves its versatile nature.

 

·        Textile products like table linens, bags, mats and many other clothing items.

 

 

 

·        Marine cordage’s are also manufactured from 100% pineapple leaf fiber [1].

·        Shoe laces and air bag tying cords were manufactured by converting pineapple leaf fiber yarn by nylon filament through braiding [1].

·        Using pineapple leaf fiber/Jute blended yarn of 3s Ne MOP cloth can be produced [1].

·        Handicrafts from pineapple leaf fibers  like fans coasters, hats, etc

·         

 

·        Fashion designers are turning towards natural fibers like pineapple following are evidences.

·        Furniture crafted from Pineapple leaf fibers

 

·        Handmade paper products crafted from  pineapple leaf fibers

 

5. Conclusion:

Pineapple leaf fiber is known for its strength, tensile properties and tagged under the shade of eco-safe fibers. With the new methods, machines and technologies this queen fiber of Philippines history can achieve more heights when allied with other fibers. Pina fibers have shown their versatility from textiles to handicrafts, from fashion to furniture. Time has come for researchers and experts to explore new horizons with this fiber to reach the more altitudes.

 

6. References:

1.       Dr. Thirumal, Advantages of pineapple fibers retrived from www.fibre2fashion.com ,7, (2),(2010).

2.       George J., Bhagawan S.S., Prabhakaran N. and Thomas S., Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 57, 843 (2000).

3.       http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ananas_comosus,_Dole_Pineapple_Plantation,_Oahu,_Hawaii,_USA3.jpg

4.       http://ecosalon.com/fiber-watch-its-ripe-time-to-pull-out-the-pineapple-leaves/http://inhabitat.com/pineapple-paper-furniture-by-yothaka/

5.       http//en//wikipedia.org

6.       http://everythingspossible.wordpress.com/tag/pineapple-fibre/

7.       http://forum.playdom.com/showthread.php?56693-Study-Abroad-Suggestion-The-Philippines!/page7,

8.       http://fashiontrendzguide.blogspot.in/2009/03/pineapple-fiber-for-healthy-eco.html

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10.     http://jubanitex.blogspot.in/p/materials.html

11.     http://livinginthewoodsandmakingstuff.com/2010/08/30/a-pineapple-roll/

12.     http://ssingh2301.blogspot.in/2011/07/fibres.html

13.     http://whileiwork.wordpress.com/category/green/

14.     http://www.beimports.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/product_full/18%20temp.JPG

15.     http://www.hiwtc.com/buy/pineapple-leaf-fibre-extracting-machine-86767/

16.     http://www.japanlivingarts.com/?cat=1&paged=2

17.     http://www.labocoop.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=3http://www.etsy.com/listing/114292207/pina-colada-woven-straw-hat?

18.     http://www.thaitambon.com/Collection/PineapplePaper.htm,http://www.salayhandmade.com/material.html

19.     Kannojiya R., Kumar Gaurav, Ravi Ranjan , Tiyer N.K. and Pandey K.M , Journal of Environmental Research And Development , 7,April-June,2, (2013).

20.     Mukherjee, P.S. and Satyanarayana, K.G. (1986), Journal of Materials Science, 21,( 51), (1986).

21.     Pardeshi S,Mirji M J and Goud V, Textile Review Magazine, (8),3,(2012) retrieved from www.fibre2fashion.com.

22.     Mokhtar M, Rahmat R ,Hassan A and Samat S A  ,Characterization And Treatments Of Pineapple Leaf Fibre Thermoplastic Composite For Construction Application,12,(2007) retrieved from http://eprints.utm.my/2853/1/75147.pdf

23.     Ministry of Textiles ,Other Natural fibers , govt. of India,6 (54) (2011) retrieved from texmin.nic.in

24.     www.sciencedirect.com

25.     www.starpulse.com

26.     www.tradeaid.org.nz