Synthetic glass and jute fabric reinforced soy-based biocomposites: Development and characterization

In this work, both glass fabric and jute fabric reinforced nanoclay modified soy matrix-based composites were developed and characterized. Glass fabric (60 wt.%) reinforced composite showed maximum tensile strength of 70.2 MPa and thermal stability up to 202°C, which are 82.8% and 12.2% higher than those observed with corresponding jute composite. Water absorption and contact angle values of glass-soy specimens were tested, and found composites are water stable. Biodegradation study of composites under soil burial condition revealed that glass-soy composite with 40 wt.% glass fabric lost maximum 32.6% of its original weight after 60 days of degradation. The developed glass fabric-soy hybrid composites with reasonable mechanical, thermal, and hydrolytic stability can be used in different sectors as an alternative to the nondegradable thermoplastic reinforced glass fabric composites.

Flame Retardancy Enhancement of Jute Fabric Using Chemical Treatment

This work aims to improve the flame retardancy of jute fabric. Raw and bleached plain weave jute fabric was used in this work. Flame retardants borax, diammonium phosphate and thiourea were applied in different concentrations in a raw and bleached jute fabric with the padding method. The influences of flame retardant finishing on the vertical flammability behaviour and tensile properties as well as wash resistance were inves¬tigated. Flame spread time was found to significantly increase when these simple flame retardant finishing agents were used. It was found that the borax-treated raw and bleached specimens exhibited higher flame spread time among all. The assessment of physical properties such as weight gain percentage and breaking load along warp and weft direction of the control and treated fabrics revealed that the increase of flame retardant finishing weight gain caused a decrease in breaking load. Furthermore, the specimens treated with borax and diammonium phosphate flame retardant showed better results than thiourea for flame retardancy and wash durability. These flame retardant jute fabrics have industrial protective textile applications as brattice cloth in mines and many other potential fields of application, e.g. flame retardant kitchen apron, furnishings for public hall, theatre and hospital, etc.