Abaca

Abaca. The abaca fiber is obtained from the leaves of the banana-like plant (same genus) Musa textilis (banana family, Musaceae). The fiber is also called Manila hemp from the port of its first shipment, although it has no relationship with hemp, a bast fiber. The mature plant has 12—20 stalks growing from its rhizome root system the stalks are 2.6—6.7 m tall and 10—20 cm thick at the base. The stalk has leaf sheaths that expand iato leaves 1—2.5 m long, 10—20 cm wide, and 10 mm thick at the center the fibers are ia the outermost layer. The plant produces a crop after five years, and 2—4 stalks can be harvested about every six months. 

In the Philippines, the principal suppHer of abaca fiber, the fibrous layer ia the sheath is separated with a knife between the layers, and the strips of fiber-containing layers, called tuxies, are pulled off and cleaned by hand to remove the pulp. In Indonesia and Central America these operations are performed mechanically. Hand- and spiadle-stripped fiber is graded for braids, fine textiles, and cordage decorticated fiber is another class. A cross-sectional view is shown ia Figure 4a. The abaca fiber has a large lumen and the presence of siUcified plates is not unusual. 

Fig. 4. Cross sections (500x) of leaf fibers (a), abaca and (b), sisal.

Uses Abaca Cantala Henequen Sisal Flax Hemp jute Kenaf Ramie Suim Kapok Coir... 

Potential resources of xylans are by-products produced in forestry and the pulp and paper industries (forest chips, wood meal and shavings), where GX and AGX comprise 25-35% of the biomass as well as annual crops (straw, stalks, husk, hulls, bran, etc.), which consist of 25-50% AX, AGX, GAX, and CHX [4]. New results were reported for xylans isolated from flax fiber [16,68], abaca fiber [69], wheat straw [70,71], sugar beet pulp [21,72], sugarcane bagasse [73], rice straw [74], wheat bran [35,75], and jute bast fiber [18]. Recently, about 39% hemicelluloses were extracted from vetiver grasses [76]. 

Tea bag paper is generally made from a mixture of wood cellulose (30 to 40%) and abaca fiber (60 to 70%). The latter is derived from the plant Musa texitilis grown in Madagascar and the Philippines. 

Production of pulp from textiles (e.g., rags), cotton linters, flax, hemp, tobacco, and abaca to make cigarette wrap papers and other specialty paper products... 

AATCC Buyer s Guide, 9 359 Abaca, 11 295 uses of, 11 299t Abalone, aquaculture, 3 189 Abbe, Ernst, 16 471-473, 489 Abbe constant, of vitreous silica, 22 432 Abbokinase, 5 177... 

Plant fibers such as cotton, abaca, agave, flax, hemp, kapok, jute, kenaf, and ramie are still in use but even cotton is no longer king. ... 

Metabolism - Abaca / r is not significantly metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes. 

Fig. 2.9 Upper Model of the two structural components of ferri-hydrite. Left defect-free ABACA phase Right two defective ABA and ACA phases. Open circles represent vacant Fe sites.

Leaf Fibers Abaca Musa textilis plants... 

Hemp is made from the bast fibers of Cannabis sativa. This is a larger plant than flax, and produces much coarser fibers. Abaca or Manila hemp is very different from plain hemp. Abaca is made from Musa textilis, commonly called the fiber banana plant. The core fibers of the leaf sheaths of this plant are resistant to salt water, which makes them useful for rope and fabric to be used at sea. It is also used to make handicrafts such as hats and household items. Paper made from abaca has a wide variety of uses, including paper currency (i.e. Japanese yen notes), sausage casings, industrial filters, and tea bags. The finest grade abaca is woven into a cloth called pinukpok. 

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