Banana plant not only gives the
delicious fruit but it also provides 
textile fiber,
the banana fiber. It grows easily as
it sets out young shoots and is most commonly found in hot tropical climates.
All varieties of banana plants have fibers in abundance. These fibers are
obtained after the fruit is harvested and fall in the group of bast fibers. This
plant has long been a good source for high quality textiles in many parts of the
world, especially in Japan and Nepal.
Characteristics of Banana Fiber
Banana fiber is a
natural bast fiber. It has its own physical and chemical characteristics and
many other properties that make it a fine quality fiber.
- Appearance of banana fiber is similar
to that of baboo fiber and ramie fiber, but
its fineness and spinnability is better than the two.
- The chemical composition of banana
fiber is cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.
- It is highly strong fiber.
- It has smaller elongation.
- It has somewhat shiny appearance
depending upon the extraction & spinning process.
- It is light
weight.
- It has strong moisture absorption
quality. It absorbs as well as releases moisture very fast.
- It is bio- degradable and has no
negative effect on environment and thus can be categorized as eco-friendly
fiber.
- Its average fineness is 2400Nm.
- It can be spun through almost all the
methods of spinning including ring spinning, open-end spinning, bast fiber
spinning, and semi-worsted spinning among others.
Applications of Banana
Fiber
In the recent past, banana fiber had a very limited application and was
primarily used for making items like ropes, mats, and some other composite
materials. With the increasing environmental awareness and growing importance of
eco-friendly fabrics, banana fiber has also been recognized for all its good
qualities and now its application is increasing in other fields too such as
apparel garments and home
furnishings. However, in Japan, it is being used for making traditional dresses
like kimono, and kamishimo since the Edo period (1600-1868). Due to its being
lightweight and comfortable to wear, it is still preferred by people there as
summer wear. Banana fiber is also used to make fine cushion
covers, Necties, bags, table
cloths, curtains etc. Rugs
made from banana silk yarn fibers are also very popular world over.
Innovation in Extraction
Process of Banana Fiber
The essentially hand driven process of
extracting banana fiber is now set to change with the invention of the Banana
Fiber Separator Machine. One more interesting fact associated with the
development of this machine is that it uses the agriculture waste of banana
harvests to produce silk grade fiber. These silk grade fibers are of immense
help to the handicrafts and textile
industry. What was
previously considered an agricultural waste is now converted to a raw material
for good quality silk grade fiber yarn.
