Investigations on Structural, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Banana Fabrics for Use in Leather Goods Application

ABSTRACT

Leather, a unique bio fabric, is obtained by a process called tanning of the raw hides and skins. The insufficient supplies and high cost of genuine leather has brought about the demand for synthetic leather. Nowadays, consumers are becoming more and more aware of environmental issues and hence there is an urgent need for eco-friendly biodegradable materials. Banana fiber has been found to be a potential reinforcement in thermoplastic, thermoset, and rubber matrices. In this study, three types of banana fabric have been chosen and analyzed for physical, morphological and thermal properties. It was found that most of the physical properties of banana-based fabrics are comparable to that of buffalo shrunken grain leather used for leather goods application. The rub and light fastness properties of banana fabrics are better than that of buffalo shrunken grain leather. Scanning electron microscopic analysis and FT-IR provided convincing evidence for characteristic fiber pattern in the individual fiber bundles (yarn). The thermal decomposition behavior of banana fabrics seems to have uniform weight loss during decomposition. The results of this study suggest that the identified banana fabrics can be used for making a variety of products in combination with leather for several applications.

摘要

皮革是一种独特的生物织物，是通过一种叫做原始皮和皮的晒黑过程获得的. 真皮供应不足，成本高，导致对合成皮革的需求. 如今，消费者对环境问题越来越了解，因此迫切需要环保的可生物降解材料. 香蕉纤维在热塑性塑料、热固性塑料和橡胶基质中具有潜在的增强性. 本研究选择并分析了三种香蕉织物的物理、形态和热特性. 结果发现，香蕉织物的大部分物理性能与用于皮革制品的水牛皮皮革相当. 香蕉织物的擦和轻牢度性能优于水牛收缩谷物皮革. 扫描电子显微分析和FT-IR为单个纤维束（纱）中特有的纤维模式提供了令人信服的证据. 香蕉织物的热分解行为在分解过程中似乎有均匀的减肥. 这项研究的结果表明，已识别的香蕉织物可用于制造多种产品与皮革结合，用于多种应用.

KEYWORDS:

• Leather
• collagen
• natural fibers
• banana fiber
• combination products
• physical properties

关键词:

• 皮革
• 胶原蛋白
• 天然纤维
• 香蕉纤维
• 组合产品
• 物理属性

Acknowledgments

The authors thank CSIR for providing financial support under CLRI MLP 1118 project-Leather lifestyle accessories and ergonomically designed products.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the CSIR CLRI [MLP 1118 Project].