Title : Technical aspects of Areca fibres
Abstract:
Betel nut is one of the important fruits cultivated in tropical parts of the world. It generates a huge quantity of husk, which is a source of areca fiber. Both fine and coarse fibers are available in the husk. Different properties of fine areca fiber have been analyzed for qualifying its ability to convert into spun yarn. Fine areca fiber has good physical properties in terms of length, water absorption, maturity which makes it suitable for spinning. However, in case of strength and fineness it showed ordinary value compared to cotton fiber. Areca/cotton 50:50 blend 48 tex ring and rotor yarn has been produced and yarns showed tenacity 7.1cN/tex and 6.88 cN/tex accompanied by 6.81% and 6.35% elongation, respectively. The water absorption of areca/cotton blend yarn showed 4.8 times higher value than 100% cotton yarn.
All over the world people are now thinking about better utilization of natural resources. Areca fiber is a sustainable source of natural fibers which is also biodegradable, highly water absorbent and eco-friendly. In this research, the physical, mechanical and chemical properties of fine areca fiber have been analyzed and it was found that areca fiber has sufficient characters, which guarantees to manufacture yarn by both ring and rotor spinning system using cotton processing line. The length property of areca fiber is comparably high and excellent. The maximum length of areca fiber is near about 35mm where the effective length is 28mm and short fiber percentage is only 15%, which makes its suitable to manufacture spun yarn by cotton processing line. The water absorption is more than 200% which is very high compared to other natural fibers. Treatment with acid and alkali shows normal behavior like other vegetable fibers. This fiber shows the properties which are suitable for the application of breathable, absorbable medical and hygienic textiles that can bring humanity one forward step toward green environment.
