Introduction of a New Vegetable Fiber for Textile Application

Finding textile applications for a new or underused fiber is always very attractive, especially when the fiber is natural and indigenous. Leafiran fiber is derived form the leaves of a plant called Typha australis, which belongs to the family Typhaceae. The fiber was obtained by chemical retting. Some properties of this fiber, such as its tensile strength, chemical composition, thermal properties, moisture absorption, and IR spectra, were determined. Leafiran is a lignocellulosic fiber having a cellulose content of 54%, a moisture regain of 8-10%, and a tenacity of 29 cN/tex. The results show that Leafiran could be an ideal replacement for some widely used natural textile fibers. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113:3307-3312,2009