Analysis of Water Absorption of Different Natural Fibers

By A Mystery Man Writer

The demand for natural fibers has always been high due to their unique characteristics like strength, lightweight, availability, bio-degradability, etc. In every phase of life, from clothing to technical textiles, natural fibers are used. Water absorption of fibers is considered really important in many aspects, e.g., Sportech, Medtech, Geotech, etc. This work analyses water absorption of raw and alkali-treated cotton, arecas, pineapple leaves, and banana fibers. Fibers were scoured with different concentrations of alkali (2, 4, 6 gm/L NaOH), washed and neutralized with the dilute acetic acid solution, then dried. Later on, the fiber samples were immersed into distilled water, and water absorption percentages of the fibers were determined every 10 minutes within 1 hour in total. It appeared that at untreated conditions, the areca fiber has the highest water absorption capacity compared to the other fibers. Alkali-treated cotton shows the highest water absorption, and areca fibers show approximately 60% water absorption of cotton.

Type of fibers vs % of water absorption rate in 24 h, percentage

Comparison of water absorption in natural cellulosic fibres from

Effect of water absorption on the mechanical properties of cotton

Comparison of water absorption in natural cellulosic fibres from wood and one-year crops in polypropylene composites and its influence on their mechanical properties - ScienceDirect