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Analysis of Water Absorption of Different Natural Fibers

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Analysis of Water Absorption of Different Natural Fibers

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Yathish Kumar
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Journal of Textile Science and Technology, 2021, 7, 152-160

https://www.scirp.org/journal/jtst
ISSN Online: 2379-1551
ISSN Print: 2379-1543

Analysis of Water Absorption of


Different Natural Fibers

Hosne Ara Begum, Tanima Rahman Tanni, Md Abul Shahid

Department of Yarn Engineering, Bangladesh University of Textiles, Dhaka, Bangladesh

How to cite this paper: Begum, H.A., Tanni, Abstract


T.R. and Shahid, M.A. (2021) Analysis of
Water Absorption of Different Natural Fi- The demand for natural fibers has always been high due to their unique cha-
bers. Journal of Textile Science and Tech- racteristics like strength, lightweight, availability, bio-degradability, etc. In
nology, 7, 152-160. every phase of life, from clothing to technical textiles, natural fibers are used.
https://doi.org/10.4236/jtst.2021.74013
Water absorption of fibers is considered really important in many aspects, e.g.,
Received: September 3, 2021 Sportech, Medtech, Geotech, etc. This work analyses water absorption of raw
Accepted: November 1, 2021 and alkali-treated cotton, arecas, pineapple leaves, and banana fibers. Fibers
Published: November 4, 2021 were scoured with different concentrations of alkali (2, 4, 6 gm/L NaOH), washed
and neutralized with the dilute acetic acid solution, then dried. Later on, the
Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
fiber samples were immersed into distilled water, and water absorption per-
This work is licensed under the Creative centages of the fibers were determined every 10 minutes within 1 hour in to-
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial tal. It appeared that at untreated conditions, the areca fiber has the highest
International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). water absorption capacity compared to the other fibers. Alkali-treated cotton
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
shows the highest water absorption, and areca fibers show approximately 60%
Open Access
water absorption of cotton.

Keywords
Water Absorption, Alkali Treatment, Areca Nut Husk Fiber, Pine Apple Leaf
Fiber, Banana Fiber

1. Introduction
This work aimed to determine the water absorption characteristics of different
natural fibers: banana fibers, Pineapple Leaf Fibers (PALF), and areca nut husk
fibers, at raw and alkali-treated conditions to assess their suitable application areas
with the feeling of expectation that the three latter mentioned fibers might rival
the textile giant, cotton, with increased water absorption property. The reason
behind this expectation was the surface study of the fibers.
Natural fibers are in great demand in today’s world because of their superior
properties. Water absorption is one of the most important properties of textile

DOI: 10.4236/jtst.2021.74013 Nov. 4, 2021 152 Journal of Textile Science and Technology
H. A. Begum et al.

fibers, which determines comfort, strength, elongation, and many other fabric or
end-product properties. Researchers have been looking for natural replacements
of synthetic fibers, which will be easily available, green, renewable, and sustaina-
ble resources at the same time. Areca fibers, Pine Apple Leaf fibers (PALF), and
banana fibers are three natural vegetable fibers that have a great prospect and
potential in the textile field. Banana, areca, and pineapple are widely grown agri-
cultural commodities of Bangladesh. The banana plant stems, areca nut husks, and
pineapple leaves are considered agro-wastes here, and the proper disposal facility
of these huge amounts of waste is neither adequate nor practiced. These items
are easily available in good amounts, and most importantly, they can provide nat-
ural textile fibers rich in cellulose. Therefore, these three fibers have generated in-
terest for performing this work. Cotton has been used as a reference or standard
to compare with.
Fibers from cottonseeds, areca nut husks, pineapple leaves, and banana pseu-
dostems are cellulosic fibers and contain a very good amount of cellulose in their
structures. To be specific, in cotton fibers 80% - 94%, in areca fibers 53.20%, in
pineapple leaf fibers 67% - 81%, and in banana fibers 65.112%, which has been
mentioned in Table 1. The constituents of these fibers, especially the cellulose
being glucose, have hydroxyl groups (-OH). The presence of hydroxyl makes
them a polar group, which is liable for water absorption. The cellulose content in
fiber positively influences the water absorption, whereas the outer layer of natu-
ral oil, wax, and fat hinder water molecules from penetrating inside the fiber. Hence,
NaOH treatment was done on each of the fiber samples with different concen-
trations in this work.
Water absorption leads to swelling of the fiber. Natural fibers are prone to
water absorption due to their chemical composition rich in cellulose, hydrophil-
ic in nature. Water absorption of natural fiber is more likely to increase with the
increase in cellulose content of the fiber due to the increase in the number of free
hydroxyl groups existing in the fiber. If closely observed, it will be clear that the
chemical compositions of the four fibers (which have been given in Table 1) are
more or less rich in cellulose, having other components also in their structures.
Cotton is a seed fiber belonging to the genus Gossypium. Cotton can absorb
water up to 24 - 27 times its own weight [5]. The fiber is almost pure cellulose
and is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable
textile. Oil, wax, protein, pectin, and some coloring contents are also present in
cotton. The standard moisture content of this fiber is 7.34%.
Areca nut or betel nut is the fruit of the Areca palm tree (Areca catechu). The
fiber extracted from areca nut is known as Areca Nut Husk Fiber as well as Betel
Nut Husk Fiber. Areca nut fruits are divided into three types of maturity levels,
i.e., raw, ripe, and matured fruits. From different analyses, it has been seen that
areca fiber has a lumen in its cross-section, and the surface is rough and perfo-
rated, and porous [6]. Areca fiber is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin,
and pectin at varying compositions. The moisture content of this fiber in the
dried condition is 14% - 16% [7].

DOI: 10.4236/jtst.2021.74013 153 Journal of Textile Science and Technology


H. A. Begum et al.

Table 1. Chemical composition of cotton fiber, areca fiber, PALF and banana fiber.

Fibers
Cotton [1] Areca [2] PALF [3] Banana [4]
Components (%)
Cellulose 80 - 94 53.20 67 - 81 65.112
Hemi cellulose - 32.98 9 - 19 17.325
Lignin - 07.20 4 - 15 08.018
Oil & wax 0.5 - 0.1 00.64 3-4 02.502
Ash 0-1 01.05 0.9 - 3 -
Pectin 0 - 1.5 - 1-3 02.124
Mineral & other matters 1 - 1.5 03.12 - 04.919

The tropical perennial pineapple is a member of the family Bromeliaceae. The


quality of pineapple, which is used for fiber extraction, is different from what is
grown as a fruit. It is white, creamy, and lustrous as silk fiber and is 10 times as
coarse as cotton but as fine as jute with well-separated filaments [1]. Pineapple
fiber extraction can be done both manually and mechanically. PALF consists of
high cellulose content, a large amount of hemicellulose, and some lignin, too.
The moisture content of this fiber is 10% - 11% [8].
Banana fiber, a lignocellulosic natural bast fiber, is obtained from the pseudos-
tem of the banana plant belonging to the genus Musa. Its physical appearance is
similar to ramie fiber. It is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, etc.
The moisture content of this fiber is 10% - 11.5% [9].
The water absorption property of the above-mentioned fibers has been focused
on in this study.

2. Material & Methods


2.1. Materials
Cotton fiber, areca fiber, PALF, and banana fiber are the raw materials for this study.
These fibers were collected from villages nearby Dhaka and conditioned in stan-
dard atmospheric conditions for 24 hours. No other treatment was performed
on the fibers before conditioning. After conditioning, scouring was done. Chemi-
cal components used for scouring were sequestering agents (Optavon Mex Liq)
to remove the hardness of water, wetting agent (Imerol PCLF), and detergent
(Hasulyn NOF) to lower the surface tension of water, NaOH for scouring, and
distilled water. Acetic acid was used for neutralization. Electric balance, rotady-
er, oven dryer, test tubes, beakers, glass rod, pH paper, filter paper, etc., were
needed.

2.2. Methods
The fibers were prepared for water absorption by the alkali treatment process,
which included scouring of the fibers, rinsing, neutralization, and finally drying,
which has been shown in Figure 1. Then water absorption was measured.

DOI: 10.4236/jtst.2021.74013 154 Journal of Textile Science and Technology


H. A. Begum et al.

Figure 1. Alkali treatment process.

2.2.1. Scouring
After collecting and conditioning, three samples (each weighting 10 gm) were
made for each of the four fibers. Scouring liquor was prepared with the seques-
tering agent, wetting agent, detergent, NaOH, and distilled water as per concen-
tration shown in Figure 1, and samples were then scoured. pH 8 - 9 was main-
tained in the whole process and was checked using pH paper.

2.2.2. Drying
The scoured fiber samples were placed inside the oven dryer for 1 hour at 98˚C
to dry the excess water out of the fibers. After the fibers had been taken out of
the drier, they were kept at standard atmosphere for 24 hours for conditioning.

2.2.3. Water Absorption Measurement


Scoured samples were immersed in separate containers filled with distilled water
for 10 minutes time intervals within 1 hour at room temperature. For this process,
each sample size was 5 grams. After every specific time interval (every 10 minutes),
samples were taken out of the container; the fiber samples were kept between a
pair of filter papers and a pair of circular disks, each weighting 15 grams (as shown
in Figure 2). As a result, the filter paper absorbed their surface moisture and by
the pressure of one circular disk weighting 15 grams. Then sample weights were
taken using a precise digital balance machine to calculate water absorption per-
centages of the samples.
weight after immersion − weight before immersion
Water Absorption % = × 100%
weight before immersion

3. Result
3.1. Water Absorption % of the Raw Natural Fibers
If Figure 3 is closely observed, it can be seen that water absorption of cotton is

DOI: 10.4236/jtst.2021.74013 155 Journal of Textile Science and Technology


H. A. Begum et al.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. (a) Fiber position on filter paper; (b) Surface water absorption by filter paper.

900

water absorption %→
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
10 min 20 min 30 min 40 min 50 min 60 min
Time→
Cotton Areca Banana Pine apple

Figure 3. Water absorption % of raw fibers.

wavering between 32.5% to 50.5%. Water absorption of PALF wavers from 188%
to 201%, banana fiber from 495% to 448.5%. Water absorption of raw areca fiber
remains from 698% to 851%.

3.2 Water Absorption % of the Alkali Treated Natural Fibers

3.2.1. Effect of 2 gm/L Alkali Treatment on Water Absorption % of the


Natural Fibers
In the case of 2 gm/L alkali treatment shown in Figure 4, water absorption of
cotton fiber is the highest at each time interval. At 10 minutes, water absorption
is about 1200%. As time goes, water absorption keeps on reducing. Then it main-
tains almost a flat line indicating very little change. The water absorption diagram
of areca fiber starts with 631% and keeps on changing direction in an up and
down fashion. Similar is the case of banana fiber, but it starts with 480% water
absorption. PALF starts with 211.5% water absorption and shows a little change
in water absorption; hence diagram remains almost flat within the whole work.

3.2.2. Effect of 4 gm/L Alkali Treatment on Water Absorption % of the


Natural Fibers
In the case of 4 gm/L alkali treatment shown in Figure 5, cotton fiber shows the
highest water absorption, too. Just like 2 gm/L alkali treatment, after cotton comes
areca fiber, then banana fiber, and PALF sequentially. Areca fiber diagram still
remains the same, starting with 519% water absorption; the graph slightly in-

DOI: 10.4236/jtst.2021.74013 156 Journal of Textile Science and Technology


H. A. Begum et al.

creased and then slightly decreased and continued in this manner. Banana fiber
and PALF diagrams overlap each other after 20 minutes.

3.2.3. Effect of 6 gm/L Alkali Treatment on Water Absorption % of the


Natural Fibers
In the case of 6 gm/L alkali treatment shown in Figure 6, again cotton fiber shows
the highest water absorption. Next to that comes areca fiber, banana fiber, and PALF
consecutively. Areca fiber’s diagram starts with 540% water absorption, banana
fiber with 394%, and PALF with 249%. After 50 minutes, banana fiber and PALF
diagrams cross each other, and a slight change in their directions is seen.
To put it briefly, in alkali-treated conditions, water absorption of cotton fiber
wavers from 890% to 1165.5%, areca fiber from 417.5% to 631%, banana between
248.5% to 480%, and PALF 175% to 300.5%. So, it can be said that for any con-
centration (2, 4, or 6 gm/L NaOH) of alkali treatment (Figures 4-6), cotton shows
the highest water absorption than other fibers. Just after cotton comes areca fi-
ber. Then come banana and PALF. Banana fiber and PALF diagrams seem to
show a similar attitude.
The summary of the results has been displayed in Table 2.

1400
Water Absorption %→

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
10 min 20 min 30 min 40 min 50 min 60 min
Time→
Cotton Areca Banana Pine apple

Figure 4. Water absorption % of NaOH (2 gm/L) treated fibers.

1200
Water Absorption %→

1000
800
600
400
200
0
10 min 20 min 30 min 40 min 50 min 60 min
Time→

Cotton Areca Banana Pine apple

Figure 5. Water absorption % of NaOH (4 gm/L) treated fibers.

DOI: 10.4236/jtst.2021.74013 157 Journal of Textile Science and Technology


H. A. Begum et al.

1400

water absorption %→
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
10 min 20 min 30 min 40 min 50 min 60 min
Time→
Cotton Areca Banana Pine apple

Figure 6. Water absorption % of NaOH (6 gm/L) treated fibers.

Table 2. Water absorption percentages obtained in the experiment.

Water absorption Water absorption of alkali


Fibers
of raw fibers (2, 4 & 6 gm/L) treated fibers
Cotton 32.5% to 50.5% 890% to 1165.5%
Areca 698% to 851% 417.5% to 631%
Banana 495% to 448.5% 248.5% to 480%
Pineapple 188% to 201% 175% to 300.5%

4. Discussions
4.1. Water Absorption % of the Raw Natural Fibers
It can be seen that water absorption is the least in the case of cotton. The most
possible reason behind this is that cotton fiber is coated with natural oil and wax
to such an extent that it hardly can uptake any water; it behaves completely hy-
drophobic in its raw state. Raw PALF and banana fiber show higher water absorp-
tion than untreated cotton. This may be because of the less amount of oil and wax
present in them than cotton, as well as due to the removal of hydrophobic lignin
from their fiber structure and the presence of unaffected hydrophilic hemicellu-
lose in their structure. Among the four fibers, raw areca fiber acts completely dif-
ferent regarding water absorption; the highest. It may be due to the presence of a
lot of pores both on the surface and inside the fiber structure, which can hold
water molecules inside the space even in an untreated condition. Another reason
is that areca fiber contains the highest amount of hemicellulose among the four
fibers.

4.2. Effect of 2, 4, and 6 gm/L Alkali Treatment on Water


Absorption % of the Natural Fibers
Alkali-treated cotton shows the highest water absorption than other fibers. This
may be due to the increased removal of oil and wax from the cotton fiber sur-
face, which allows the fiber to absorb more water. However, cotton cellulose has
not been affected by any of the concentrations 2, 4, or 6 gm/L NaOH. So, it could
easily absorb water. Alkali treated areca fiber comes in second place, showing less

DOI: 10.4236/jtst.2021.74013 158 Journal of Textile Science and Technology


H. A. Begum et al.

water absorption, about 60% of the cotton fiber. The reason behind the reduced
water absorption capacity of treated areca fiber, PALF, and banana fiber than
untreated state might be the removal of hemicellulose from their structures to
some extent.
Water is a strong polar compound, and it is easily attracted by the polar -OH
groups of all cellulosic fibers. But the outer layer of cotton fiber is oil and wax,
which does not let the water molecules enter into the cotton polymer. Cotton fi-
ber remains unaffected and undamaged in alkali solution, and alkali treatment
can clear the waxy layer efficiently. So, cotton is supposed to withstand different
alkali concentrations without affecting the cellulose, which absorbs water.
Major portions of areca fiber, PALF, and banana fiber are composed of cellu-
lose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Oil, wax, and pectin are also present in a small am-
ount. Cellulose and hemicellulose are responsible for the water absorption of the
fibers, whereas lignin, oil, wax, and pectin are hydrophobic in nature. Alkali treat-
ment leads to the removal of oil and wax, and an increased amount of alkali con-
centration breaks down lignin. So, the relative percentages of hydrophobic com-
ponents are decreasing. Therefore, an increased accessibility to the surface of fi-
ber can be expected. Hemi-cellulose of areca, PALF, and banana fiber is also af-
fected to some extent by increased alkali concentration.
Here one thing puts the claim to be clarified that the test results do not neces-
sarily have any link with the standard moisture content of the fibers. The ratio of
the mass of moisture in a material to the total moist mass is called its moisture
content which is an inherent property of the fibers. When materials are kept in
the environment, they slowly absorb moisture from the air in order to go into an
environmental equilibrium. However, in this work, the assessment of water ab-
sorption has been carried out by dipping or immersing the fibers into the water,
and after a certain time, the amount of water absorption is only calculated. This
absorption occurred in direct contact with water.
Finally, a recommendation may be put forward from the findings that areca
fiber has a significant water absorption percentage and may be used in technical
textiles due to its porous construction, especially in the untreated stage. As water
absorption percentages of banana fiber and PALF are lower, they may be used
where water absorption is required at comparatively lower levels.

5. Conclusion
In this work, water absorption percentages of four natural fibers: cotton fibers,
areca fibers, PALF, and banana fibers have been studied. It appears that at un-
treated conditions, areca fibers have the highest water absorption capacity. Then
come banana fibers, PALF, and cotton fibers consecutively. After scouring with
different concentrations of alkali, cotton shows the highest water absorption per-
centage among the four fibers. Alkali-treated areca fibers show less water absorp-
tion than cotton, which is more than fifty percent of cotton fibers. Alkali-treated
PALF and Banana fibers show quite similar behavior. Their water absorption per-
centages are lower than cotton fibers and areca fibers. The porous structure of

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H. A. Begum et al.

areca fiber and its water absorption behavior can be an asset to the technical tex-
tiles sector. At the same time, PALF and banana fibers can also be the center of
attention in the field where less water absorption is required. The result of this
study may grow interest among researchers to find out suitable application areas
of these fibers and may favor further researches in the future.

Acknowledgements
The authors are extremely thankful to Micro Fiber Group and Textile Testing
& Quality Control Laboratory and Wet Processing Laboratory of the Bangladesh
University of Textiles for their co-operation and selfless support to conduct the
work.

Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this pa-
per.

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