Design and fabrication of combined fiber extracting machine for banana stems and pineapple leaves

Abstract

Banana and pineapple are one of the rhizomatous plants and currently grown in 129 countries around the world. It is the fourth most important global food crop. Historically, banana stems had been used as a source of fiber with the earliest evidence around the 13th century. In banana plantations, after the fruits are harvested, the trunks or stems will be wasted. Billion tons of stems and leaves are thrown away annually. Natural fibers possess several advantages over synthetic fibers such as low density, appropriate stiffness, and mechanical properties and also high dispersibility and renewability. Also, they are recyclable and biodegradable.The extraction of fiber from the banana stems is not a common practice and much of the stems are not used for the production of fibers. This is reflected from the relatively expensive price of banana fibers when compared to other natural fibers. Textile production processes are now shaping the concept of environmental-friendly and sustainable development. The progress has been improving ranges of natural and environmental eco-friendly textile processes.One particular characteristic of the banana stem fiberand pineapple leaf fiber over all other fibers of its class is the great strength and resistance to the action of water, therefore its particular adaptability for marine ropes. A literature survey reveals that the fibers which are now extracting with the characteristics of thread roughness, thread winding, dust along with the thread and breakage of the thread. Though fibers are too hard and rough so that fibers are not appropriately stable that’s why it causes windings which results hard to work with the naked hand. The roughness, hardness, and toughness of the fiber hurt for making handicrafts items. When the fibers are under the working condition, too much dust occurred from the fiber. A literature survey also reveals that the alignment of the machine is not perfect which causes machine vibration. This research proposes an option of natural fiber, by-product from banana and pineapple fruit cultivation, by suggesting use of leftover banana stems and pineapple leaf as a fiber source in the textile process. The fiber content of the above material is around 54.3% and can be effectively used as a source of natural fibers. According to environmental concerns, recently, natural fibers play an important role as reinforcing fillers in polymer composites.