11.08.2015   Innovative Biofibers from Renewable Resources

Fibers from Sorghum Stems and Leaves

Natural Cellulose Fibers from Renewable Resources

Keywords

Sorghum stalk • Sorghum leave • Fiber extraction • Fiber properties • Single fiber

Unlike corn stover where only the husks and stalks have been used for fiber production, fibers have been produced from both the leaves and stalks of sorghum plants [07Red]. As seen in Table 4.1, fibers obtained from sorghum stalks and leaves have similar properties. Tensile properties of the sorghum fibers were similar to that of jute, but the elongation was lower than that of linen or cotton fibers. About 20 % fibers were obtained from both the stems and leaves, and the fibers had relatively shorter lengths compared to fibers obtained from cornhusks.

Table 4.1 Tensile properties and moisture regain of sorghum leaf and stem fibers compared with cotton and linen fibers

Sorghum

Fiber properties

Leaf

Stem

Cotton

Linen

Fineness [Denier]

65-105

59-95

3-8

1.7-17.8

Length [cm]

4.5-9.5

4-11.5

1.5-5.6

20-140

Strength [g/den]

2.4 ± 0.6

2.3 ± 0.5

2.7-3.5

4.6-6.1

Elongation [%]

2.6 ± 0.7

2.6 ± 0.6

6.0-9.0

1.6-3.3

Modulus [g/den]

114 ± 9.9

113 ± 10.3

55-90

203

Moisture regain [%]

9.8

9.5

7.5

12.0

Errors are ±one standard deviations. Reproduced from [07Red]

Reference

[07Red] Reddy, N., Yang, Y.: J. Agric. Food Chem. 55, 5569 (2007)