| Title |
Nontraditional biofibers for a new textile industry |
| ID_Doc |
33546 |
| Authors |
Huda, S; Reddy, N; Karst, D; Xu, WJ; Yang, W; Yang, YQ |
| Title |
Nontraditional biofibers for a new textile industry |
| Year |
2007 |
| Published |
Journal Of Biobased Materials And Bioenergy, 1.0, 2 |
| DOI |
10.1166/jbmb.2007.022 |
| Abstract |
In this review, we elucidate the need for a new biotextile industry and provide an overview of the sources, availability, properties, and potential applications of nontraditional biofibers; for such a new industry. The textile industry in this country cannot be competitive against the industries in developing countries for low value and labor intensive commodity products that do not have any intellectual property protections (IPP). In addition, we do not have advantages in price and availability of traditional raw materials or technological advances to produce the commodity products compared to the competing countries. However, we do have advantages in natural resources required for producing nontraditional biofibers with the help of the strongest agriculture, biotechnology, and biofuel industry in the world. Indigenous availability of cheap and abundant raw materials, innovations in biofiber development and applications, novel production technologies and IPP are crucial for a profitable and sustainable textile industry in the United States. The presence of strong agriculture and biofuel industries are capable of providing us cheap and abundant raw materials for the new nontraditional biofibers. In addition, the leading biotechnology industry in this country can help us to adopt novel and green technologies for fiber and textile manufacturing. The byproducts of the agriculture and biofuel industry can be used to develop novel cellulose, protein and synthetic fibers for textile, composite and biomedical applications. Natural cellulose fibers from cornhusks and switchgrass, protein fibers from soybeans and wheat gluten and synthetic fibers from corn are some examples of such new biofibers; that have already been developed. Using the indigenously available raw materials will not only provide a cheap and sustainable source for fibers but will also help to add value to agriculture, reduce the costs of biofuel production, benefit the environment, and reduce our dependence on foreign sources for fibers and textiles. |
| Author Keywords |
textile; biofiber; protein fiber; renewable resources; medical textile |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:000253339900002 |
| WoS Category |
Chemistry, Applied; Energy & Fuels; Materials Science, Biomaterials |
| Research Area |
Chemistry; Energy & Fuels; Materials Science |
| PDF |
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