Rambans Fibre: Extraction, Processing and Product Development

Manufacturing of textiles in the modern era causes pollution to considerable extent. For this reason, there is a need to search for non-conventional renewable resources for textiles to give an effective solution. Therefore the need for natural fibres has increased greatly. Among natural fibres, plant fibres have been used for making paper and clothing for a long time and are used as raw material for many vital industries. Out of this 90 per cent are of vegetable origin and among them 80 per cent is constituted by cotton and the remaining by other long vegetable fibres like flax, jute, hemp, sisal, ramie, coir, abaca, banana and pineapple fibres which are classified as minor fibres. Among the minor fibres, leaf fibres (fibres extracted from leaves) are of great commercial value, which could be analysed and evaluated for their use in textile and paper industries. These are used in large quantities for making ropes and cordage, and for the production of textile products. Rambans fibre (Agave americana) which is available in very large amount in the Uttarakhand State was selected on the basis of colour and luster. Experiments were carried out to determine the best method of retting for obtaining the fibre from the leaves of Rambans plant. On the basis of results obtained, decortication method was chosen for fibre extraction. Dyeing of Rambans fibre was carried with four natural dye sources namely walnut bark, kilmora roots, hamelia leaves and jatropha flowers which are easily available in Uttarakhand state using different concentrations of four mordants (alum, copper sulphate, ferrous sulphate and stannous chloride) and the samples of dyed fibres were tested for colourfastness. An attempt has also been made to develop various handicraft items using extracted fibres of Rambans leaves.