Technology renders fibers clean and spinnable

Fibers can be spun from abaca (a type of Philippine hemp), banana and pineapple, but the gum content makes production processes sticky. The Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) has developed pretreatment technologies for these indigenous and sustainable fiber resources that can reduce the gluey byproducts and render fibers clean and spinnable. The processes cut the cost of processing pineapple fibers by 25 percent, reduce pretreatment of abaca fibers by 21 percent and carve 35 percent from processing costs for banana fibers. PTRI held a conference on natural fibers December 2 to get word out about the degumming technologies and other technical assistance provided by the organization—a great way to wrap up 2009, the International Year of Natural Fibers.