Sabai grass: Possibility of becoming a potential textile

Abstract

Clothing made up of natural fibres has prompted growing interest among users over time. It is environmentally friendly and benign from a health perspective especially when compared with synthetic materials and those natural fibres that are prone to degrade. Besides the development of routine natural fibres such as cotton, hemp, silk and wool, research has been directed towards developing technologies and optimizing new ways of utilizing some unconventional plant fibres. These plant fibres not only enrich the textile materials domain, but also bring certain economic and social benefits. Sabai grass (Eulaliapsis binata), a perennial plant belonging to the family Poaceae is grown in many Asian countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Since it’s thin and long leaves possess high-quality fibre, it is used as a major raw material for the paper industry as it is superior to most other available grasses. In India, it is being used for paper making since 1870. For their flexibility and strength, the leaves are utilized for making ropes and other rope-based utility items. Most importantly, sabai grass has a prominent role to play in the sustainability of tribal economics of some regions of various countries. The very survival of tribal people completely depends on sabai grass processing in some parts of India. The components of Eulaliopsis binata are reported to have cellulose contents up to 52 %, which is more than sisal and palm. The fundamental characteristic of this fiber is that it is better with a lignin content close to 18.5 %. At present (as of 2016) the fibre and the way it is processed has not been fully developed, because it is mainly used to make paper, conserve soil and fabricate yarn for knitting. It is used in making of many tribal products, craft items and pulp. Some recent research, aimed at developing degumming and bleaching in a single bath using an ultrasonic-assisted process, concluded that the fiber deserves to be developed further as a means of deriving cellulose. It holds a lot of promise both for apparel and technical textiles. This chapter will discuss the history and socioeconomic importance, chemical constitution, fibre properties, recent research and potential applications.