Manufacturing geotextiles from natural fibres

Geotextiles are manufactured from both namral and synthetic fibres. However, the market is dominated by synthetic polymer-based geotextiles and related products these account for more than 90% of the market share (Elwood, 2004). The success of synthetics is mainly due to cost and customized properties. Unlike natural fibres harvested by farmers, synthetic fibres are generally mass produced from petrochemicals to achieve uniform strength, length and colour, and can easily be customized for specific applications. 

Non-woven geotextiles are fibrous sheets in which the fibres can be almost randomly orientated. These materials may be manufactured from either staple fibres (synthetic or natural) or continuous filaments of PP or PET which are randomly distributed in layers onto a moving belt to form a web of assembled fibres blends of PP and PET staple fibres are also used. 

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