Waseem Shahri, Inayatullah Tahir, and Burhan Ahad

Contents

3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 48

3.2 Morphology of Abaca (Musa textilis) Plant………………………………………………………………. 49

3.3 Abaca Cultivation………………………………………………………………………………………………. 49

3.4 Harvesting of Abaca Fiber and the Recommended Varieties……………………………………………… 51

3.5 Applications of Abaca Fiber…………………………………………………………………………………… 53

3.6 Potential Areas of Abaca-Fiber Application…………………………………………………………………. 56

3.7 Abaca Market Demand and Supply…………………………………………………………………………… 57

3.8 Ecological Implications………………………………………………………………………………………… 57

3.9 Conclusions and Future Prospectus…………………………………………………………………………. 58

References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 59

Abstract Of the various fibers obtained from natural sources, fibers obtained from abaca offer a great potential to be used as a renewable bio-resource for various industrial or extra-industrial applications due to their high mechanical strength, durability, flexibility, and long fiber length. The fiber is obtained from the leaf sheaths or petioles of the abaca plant (Musa texitilis), a plant native to Asia (Philippines). The plant grows well in shady and humid areas (altitude below 500 m and temperature 27 °C) and requires well-drained loamy soil for cultivation. It can be propagated by seeds, suckers or corm, or through tissue culture techniques. Since the cultivation of abaca is mainly confined to Philippines and other adjacent areas, it has also been introduced to other regions like Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. The top­most producer of abaca fiber is Catanduanes province. As far as its extent of cultiva­tion is concerned, it is being grown on about 172,524 ha providing employment to a large number of farmers and other associated traders, exporters, or manufacturers.

W. Shahri (*) • I. Tahir • B. Ahad

Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar,

Jammu and Kashmir 190 006, India

e-mail: waseem. bot@gmail. com

K. R. Hakeem et al. (eds.), Biomass and Bioenergy: Processing and Properties,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-07641-6_3, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

The harvesting and extraction of fiber from abaca is laborious process which involves many operations like tuxying, stripping, drying, and final processing. Stripping and drying of fibers is either done manually or mechanically. After extraction, different grades of fibers are obtained which are then accordingly used for different set of industrial activities. Abaca fiber is chemically composed of cellulose, pectin, lignin, and significant quantities of glycerides, ketones, fatty acids, and other compounds. Being regarded as the strongest natural fiber in the world, it can be put into various modern sophisticated technologies like automobile industry and as a raw material for other important industries like paper and pulp industry, textile industry, and fur­nishing industry, besides being used as a fuel. Now-a-days, abaca-reinforced poly­mers are used and preferred over synthetic polymers. In the ecological perspective, the products obtained from abaca fibers are eco-friendly and the production of abaca-fiber composites is energy-efficient as it has been found to save 60 % energy besides reducing CO2 emissions. Moreover, abaca plantations are used to prevent soil erosion and in promoting biodiversity rehabilitation. Waste material produced from abaca plants is also used as organic fertilizers to replenish the soil fertility.

Keywords Bio-resource • Cordage • Eco-friendly • Fiber • Polymer • Propagation • Textile

3.1 Introduction

Today we are familiar with a number of natural fibers obtained from various plant sources like cotton, jute, cannabis, pineapple, sisal, bamboo, coconut, etc. These fibers because of their extraordinary mechanical and tensile properties find their use in many industries for the production of numerous commodities like fabrics, carry bags, and also as filling material for furniture items (Pothan et al. 2003). Despite the advantages of using these natural fibers, their mechanical degradation or thermal degradation during processing makes them unsuitable for various applications and thus limits their utility (Espert et al. 2004; Majid et al. 2008). Of the various fiber — yielding plants, abaca is one of the potential candidates that offer a good quality fiber with high mechanical strength and durability and is regarded as the strongest natural fiber in the world (Umali and Brewbaker 1956; Hadi et al. 2011). Keeping in view the applications of natural fibers like abaca fibers in various industrial and miscellaneous activities, there is a need to present a comprehensive review on the various aspects of abaca ranging from its morphology, cultivation, fiber extraction, applications, and other related aspects. In the present chapter, we therefore attempt to consolidate the information scattered in various research papers, conference pro­ceedings, and FIDA (Fiber Industry Development Authority, Philippines) annual reports to discuss the role of abaca as a potential renewable bio-resource for various applications of industrial and other domestic importance.