Other Bast and Hard Fibers

Like flax, jute, hemp, and ramie also belong to the family of hard fibers and had been used for a long time, but their importance declined in favor of first cotton and later chemical fibers. Today, they are becoming more and more important again as regenerative raw materials. 

with an annual production of around 3 million T, is second in production volume only to cotton. Jute fibers are primarily used for packaging material. Kenaf (330,000 T) and hemp (80,000 T) are of lesser importance and mainly used for technical applications. Ramie (120,000 T) is used for textiles and gives products a special luster. 

In comparison to other hard fibers, the breaking up of the ramie fiber is very complex. The raw fiber is separated from the stem immediately after harvest, which has to be done manually. The ramie fiber is used in wovens, laces, knits, technical products, ropes, and sewing threads. 

For the production of sisal fibers, the freshly harvested leaves of the agave plant are pressed in machines to separate out the fibers. Subsequently, the separated fibers are washed, dried in the sun, bleached, and combed with rotating brushes. The sisal fiber is used in ropes, mats, carpets, packaging, and Ailing materials. 

Owing to the versatility of potential uses of the coconut tree, fiber production plays only a minor role. In the coconuts, flhers are oriented between the leather-like exterior fiber cover and the stone. Coconut fiber is used as carpet and Ailing material. 

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Satlow, G., Cries, T., Wulfhorst, B. (1995), Fiber tabie eiasthane, Meiiiand Textilberichte, 76, pp. 980-990 Sallow, G., Zaremba, S., Wulfhorst, B. (1994), Fiber tabie flax and other bast and hard fibers, Che-miefasern/Textilindustrie, 44 (96) pp. 765-785... 

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