Patent Application
20080090078
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a textile fiber, and more particularly to a tree bast fiber, as well as to a method for processing tree bast.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wood is a natural resource of enormous significance to the survival and development of human beings. It has a wide range of application fields, and is close to people's daily lives. At present, most applications involve the utilization of tree lignin thereof, and tree bark is usually discarded in the process. How to make full use of bark, so as to improve utilizing value of the trees and change waste into a commodity, would be of great importance.
Chinese patent number ZL95117638.2 discloses a mulberry fiber, a method for producing thereof and some of its applications. As described in the patent, planting area of mulberries in China is very wide, but an objective of plating mulberries is to produce mulberry leaves for the sericulture industry instead of providing wood, therefore it is impossible for the market to provide a large amount of cheap mulberry barks for producing fiber. Fast-growing forests, pollard and wild bush for producing paper widely exist on the market, but the bark thereof is also generally discarded.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a natural textile fiber made of branches, along with bark of fast-growing trees and bushes, which has wide applications and features good textile performance and great market prospects.
One objective of the invention is to provide tree bast fiber that features low price, wide applications, abundant source, and high economic benefits.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a method for processing tree bast fiber that features a feasible process route and a stable product quality.
In one aspect of the invention provided is a tree bast fiber, wherein the fiber is a natural textile fiber made from tree bark. The length of the fiber is 5 mm-65 mm. The fineness of the fiber is 0.3-2.5 D. The intensity of the fiber is 0.275-0.582 N/tex. The breaking elongation rate of the fiber is 3%-7%. The tree bark is collected from branches of perennial trees, fast-growing trees, and bushes.
In other aspects the invention provides a method for processing tree bast fiber, comprising the steps of: peeling, sorting, degumming, skimming, drying, preserving, tanning, grinding, carding, baking, boxing and classifying, and packaging. Degumming is achieved using 20-60° C. warm alkaline water with surfactant to immerse for 12-48 hours, and tanning is performed with a tanning agent containing a surfactant, a plant oil, a mineral oil and water.
The invention provides a textile fiber having a cheap price and wide applications for the textile industry. The fiber has similar performance to bast fiber, higher intensity than cotton fiber, good dyeing properties, and wide application prospect. It can be blended with other natural fibers, manual fibers and reproductive fibers to form fiber yarn for different purposes. This changes waste into a commodity, and brings about great economic and social benefits.
Detailed description will be given below in conjunction with accompanying drawing and embodiments, but will not constitute any limitation to the invention.
As shown in
Peeling: The step of peeling comprises for perennial trees, mechanically removing aged bark on the surface of the bark, separating bast layer from trunk; and for branches or bushes growing within one year, directly peeling the bark manually or with a peeler.
Sorting: The step of peeling comprises sorting and stacking according to dimension and type of tree bark.
Degumming: The step of degumming comprises immersing tree bark in 20-60° C. alkaline warm water with an added surfactant for 12-48 hours, so as to isolate pectin component in the fasciculate long fiber. The alkali can be sodium hydroxide at a concentration of 3-12 g/L. The surfactant is selected from various common-used anions, cations and nonionic surfactants.
Skimming: The step of skimming comprises cleaning impurities of tree bast.
Drying: The step of drying comprises drying via a dryer or in a shade.
Preserving: The step of preserving comprises using a humid preservation method and an emulsion, so as to improve moisture content, intensity and softness of the fiber.
Tanning: The step of tanning comprises processing with a tanning agent containing a surfactant, a plant oil, a mineral oil and water. The surfactant is selected from various commonly-used anions, cations and nonionic surfactants. Different types of surfactants are preferably employed simultaneously to improve the tanning result.
Grinding: The step of grinding comprises mechanically cutting or crushing the tree bast so as to open the fasciculate fibers.
Carding: The step of carding comprises carding the opened fasciculate fiber several times through a carding machine, so as to separate fibers into tree bast fiber suitable for spinning.
Baking: The step of baking comprises baking the tree bast fiber.
Boxing and classifying: The step of classifying comprises classifying tree bast fibers into different grades with the help of an air classifier.
Packaging: The step of packaging comprises packaging fibers into fiber packages with fixed weight according to fiber dimensions.
In this example firtrees were used. Aged bark was manually removed from the surface of the trees. Tree bark was separated from trunks, paying attention so as to avoid introducing a hard lignified fiber layer within the trunk. Tree bark was immersed in a water pool comprising sulfuric acid at a concentration of 12 g/L, and 0.5% by weight of common laundry powder. The temperature was maintained at 60° C. for 12 hours. The obtained product was taken out and dried, and then put into a humidifying bin. Silicon oil-water emulsion was uniformly sprayed thereon, and it was covered and preserved with a canvas for 18 hours. The preserved tree bast fiber was placed into a tanning agent containing Lamepon A, JFC, peanut oil, engine oil and water for tanning. The tanned tree bast fiber was cut into pieces with a size of approximately 70 mm. The cut fiber was opened with a commonly-used fiber opener and then carded 3-5 times through a carding machine. The carded fiber was collected and put into a dryer for drying. The tree bast fiber was finally separated into different dimensions using an air separator. The performance of the fiber prepared according to this example is shown in Table 1.
In this example ficus trees were used. Tree bark was manually separated from trunks. Tree bark was immersed in a water pool comprising sulfuric acid at a concentration of 3 g/L, and 1% by weight of common laundry powder. The temperature was maintained at 20° C. for 48 hours. The obtained product was taken out and dried, and then put into a humidifying bin. Silicon oil-water emulsion was uniformly sprayed thereon, and it was covered and preserved with a canvas for 24 hours. The preserved tree bast fiber was placed into a tanning agent containing Lamepon A, JFC, peanut oil, engine oil and water for tanning. The tanned tree bast fiber was cut into pieces with a size of approximately 70 mm. The cut fiber was opened with a commonly-used fiber opener and then carded 3-5 times through a carding machine. The carded fiber was collected and put into a dryer for drying. The tree bast fiber was finally separated into different dimensions using an air separator. The performance of the fiber prepared according to this example is shown in Table 1.
In this example nerium indicum mill were used. Tree bark was manually separated from trunks. Tree bark was immersed in a water pool comprising sulfuric acid at a concentration of 8 g/L, and 1% by weight of common laundry powder. The temperature was maintained at 50° C. for 24 hours. The obtained product was taken out and dried, and then put into a humidifying bin. Silicon oil-water emulsion was uniformly sprayed thereon, and it was covered and preserved with a canvas for 24 hours. The preserved tree bast fiber was placed into a tanning agent containing Lamepon A, JFC, peanut oil, engine oil and water for tanning. The tanned tree bast fiber was cut into pieces with a size of approximately 70 mm. The cut fiber was opened with a commonly-used fiber opener and then carded 3-5 times through a carding machine. The carded fiber was collected and put into a dryer for drying. The tree bast fiber was finally separated into different dimensions using an air separator. The performance of the fiber prepared according to this example is shown in Table 1.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200510034203.3 | Apr 2005 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/CN2006/000585 with an international filing date of Apr. 3, 2006, designating the United States, now pending, and claims priority benefits to Chinese Patent Application No. 200510034203.3 filed on Apr. 19, 2005. The contents of the aforementioned specifications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2006/000585 | Apr 2006 | US |
| Child | 11875076 | Oct 2007 | US |
