Comparative Evaluation of Physical and Structural Properties of Water Retted and Non-retted Flax Fibers

Flax stems of Modran variety were subjected to water retting under laboratory conditions and its physical properties were compared with non-retted fibers. Physical properties including percentage of impurities, weighted average length, linear density, tenacity and elongation were analyzed and the re...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vijaya Raghavan, Gopu Raveendran Nair, Malgorzata Zimniewska, Ashutosh Singh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2013-10-01
Series:Fibers
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2079-6439/1/3/59
Description
Summary:Flax stems of Modran variety were subjected to water retting under laboratory conditions and its physical properties were compared with non-retted fibers. Physical properties including percentage of impurities, weighted average length, linear density, tenacity and elongation were analyzed and the results were compared. The analysis of retted and non-retted flax fibers showed that retting is the most important step in the processing of flax fibers and it directly affects quality attributes like strength, fineness, and homogeneity. Scanning Electron microscope images of fibers were also analyzed and the retted fibers showed much cleaner surface when compared to decorticated non-retted fibers.
ISSN:2079-6439