BIOAGROTEX

Development of new agrotextiles from renewable resources and with a tailored biodegradability

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Increasing oil-prices, a growing threat of oil-shortages, Kyoto agreements on green house gases, environmental effects and climate changes, are all elements that contribute to the concern for the future of our oil based economy. Not only the search for biofuels but also for bio-based polymers and a more extensive use of the natural resources by upgrading the value of natural fibres and side products will be needed to cope with these problems. Techno-economic studies predict an important growth for the bio-based polymer industry in the coming decennia. This will only be possible if new high end applications are developed. Textiles and especially agrotextiles offer a very attractive end market. Volumes in this market area are high and fast growing. At present, products are mainly based on Polyolefin’s (> 200Ktonnes/annum in Europe). Bio-based polymers in combination with natural fibres and side products can offer a good alternative, if biodegradation can be modelled and adapted according the specific end applications. Intrinsic positive properties of the bio-based polymers such as low flammability and high light fastness can boost technological advantages, leading to major economic and technologic benefits in industrial implementation. The proposed project envisages the research and development of new 100% renewable agrotextiles, via combination of natural fibres, bio-based fibres and bio-based functional additives. This requests: • new and optimised extrusion processes into fibres, yarn, monofilament or tape • processing into knitted, woven or non-woven structures and new finishing process • tailor-made mechanical and functional characteristics • a controlled and predictable biodegradation adapted to the application envisaged • a proven performance for a number of test/demonstration cases. This type of project can take a large share of the agrotextile market (up to 50%) by creation of alternatives for oil-based products and new applications.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Natural fibres have been used in textiles for thousands of years and are an attractive alternative to petroleum-based polymers for textile manufacture. Researchers have recently developed a range of textiles made from biopolymers that have a drastically reduced environmental impact without sacrificing durability.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Climate change and changing attitudes have made petroleum-based manufactured products more expensive and less desirable in the modern world. Biological or biologically-derived polymers are a petroleum-free source of fibres for the textile industry, and may even offer cost and durability benefits over synthetic textiles.

The EU-funded 'Development of new agrotextiles from renewable resources and with a tailored biodegradability.' (BIOAGROTEX) project was set up to investigate the production of textiles from natural fibres and bio-based polymers. The project focused on agricultural textiles as alternatives to current petroleum-based textiles.

European natural fibre sources such as flax, hemp, hop wastes and nettle were investigated. The most promising options were flax and hemp, which provided high-fibre yields with desirable properties. The project also investigated cheap alternatives for processing these fibres in the field, which improved their usefulness by decreasing processing costs. Also recycled jute proved to offer a good economical alternative natural fibre source.

A furan-based bioresin coating proved useful as a treatment for natural fibres. This treatment drastically increased the durability of the fibres without affecting flexibility or strength.

Biopolymers, including PLA, were processed into fibres, mono- and multifilament yarns. Based on these intermediates, several textiles were also developed in partnership with various small businesses for agricultural applications. These included knitted cloth for covering crops and several ground cover textiles for different purposes. All products underwent rigorous field testing, and either matched or out-performed comparable petroleum-based products.

BIOAGROTEX has developed and tested useful bio-based alternatives for agricultural textile production, some of which are now commercially available to farmers in Europe. The development of safe and durable biopolymer-based textiles is an important achievement that will decrease our dependence on fossil fuels in the long term.