FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relates to the palm textile industry, in particular to a method for facilitating fiber extraction by degumming of date palm leaves. Furthermore it relates to a method for utilization of fibers obtained from date palm leaves to textile manufacture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Synthetic fibers, due to their high stiffness and strength, are widely used in the textile industry. However, synthetic fibers show some disadvantages in terms of biodegradability, processing costs, recyclability, energy consumption and machine abrasion. Thus, there is a growing demand for sustainable and renewable textile materials are increasing the interest in natural fibers. Natural fibers are not only environment friendly but also have high precision properties due to their light weight characteristic. Currently date palm is considered as one of the source of natural fibers. Fiber can be extracted from different parts of the date palms (https://textijeie3rner.net/date-paim-fiber-properties-chemi caj-treatments-applications/)· Date palm fiber is a promising alternative substitute to synthetic fibers in textile industries for both advanced structural and semi-structural application. The date palm, belongs to the family Palmae (Arecaceae) is grown in tropical and subtropical regions since ancient period.

Natural fibers are the major classification of fibers, and can be further classified into vegetable, animal, and mineral fibers. Depending on their origin, plant fibers can be generally classified as bast, leaf, or seed-hair fibers. In plants, bast and leaf fibers provide mechanical support to the stem or leaf, respectively, as in the case in date palm, flax, hemp, jute, or ramie. The advantages of natural fibers over synthetic fibers include their low cost, light weight, local availability, and their outstanding mechanical properties (Bismarck et al. 2005). Basically, a natural fiber is composed of rigid crystalline cellulose microfibrils embedded in an amorphous matrix of lignin and hemicelluloses. In most pf the paint fibers, the cellulose microfibrils are at an angle to the cell axix called the microfibrillar angle (MFA). MFA is considered as a key factor to explain the mechanical properties of fibers, especially their stiffness (Tahri, et al. 2016). Tahri , I. et al. 2016, discloses that fibers can be extracted from leaflet, empty fruit bunch, leaf shealth, and spath of palm tree using chemical and/or enzymatic methods but it fails to discloses the most efficient way of fiber extraction from date palm leaves using the condition of biological degumming process and manual combing process. It also fails to disclose retting in warm water using the biological enzyme Laccase for biological degumming of date palm leaves. As a consequences, the availability of date palm fibers with required quality for textile industry is an important issue to fulfill the demand.

Moreover, the palm leaves are characterized by high stiffness, lack of elasticity, lack of resistance on bending and lack of flexibility. For this reason, any known mechanical method could not be applied to extract the fibers. The fiber parameters necessary to determine their usefulness for the spinning process are basically linear density, length and strength parameters of the fibers. These parameters are important to design technological processes and final application of the textile fibers. The fine fibers with linear density below 0.5 tex are the most suitable to clothing purpose. The date palm fibers linear density is very high, the fiber is very stiff and coarse without any elasticity, and they are not flexible. However, Textile fiber is defined as "a generic term for any one of the various types of matter that form the basic element of a textile". Textile fiber is characterized by a high fiber diameter to length ratio and flexibility (Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles: Number 126, "Textiles and Fashion Materials, Design and Technology", Edited by Rose Sinclair, 2015, UK.).

The initial researches have been adopted by irthi contemporary crafts council, exploring the possibilities of creating bio-textiles from date palm. For this, Dr. Sandra Piesik was commissioned to research the date palm prior to the creation of textile. Many literatures have reported on cultivation of date palm fiber, their usage and purposes of utilizing date fruit and oil production. However, very little information available on the proper utilization of wastes of date palm trees particularly the leaves. Particularly, fails to disclose an efficient method of fiber extraction from date palm leaves and their utilization in textile industry.

General methods of isolation of clean fibers include a variety of degumming processes (water retting, chemical and enzymatic processes). In these methods, the glue that holds the fiber together need to be loosened by retting technique. For example, the conventional degumming process is a high-temperature caustic soda smelting, which requires a large amount of water washing, which not only cause serious pollution, but also causes deterioration of fiber quality and involves violent, hazardous chemicals like caustic soda. Shandong University and other units have developed a degumming process based on pectinase, but there are defects such as long degumming time and high residual glue. It needs to be washed with high temperature and dilute alkali, and it cannot be degummed efficiently, which is difficult to meet the needs of industrial production.

A number of solutions have been introduced in order to solve the abovementioned problems. In one of the closest prior art, CN109537064 discloses a preparation process of palm leaf fiber. The palm leaves are processed in the following steps: pretreatment -> acid immersion treatment -> water washing -> alkaline oxygen one bath treatment -> water washing -> mechanical opening treatment -> ternary copolymer silicone oil treatment. However, the prior art involves violent, hazardous acid immersion treatments (using concentrated sulfuric acid 98%) that can cause deterioration of the fiber quality. Moreover, the prior art does not disclose a new kind of efficient method for facilitating fiber extraction from date palm leaves with properties making possibility to use them for textile industry.

Accordingly, there remains a need for milder process for extracting fibers from date palm leaves that involves environmentally friendly and/or biodegradable agents and results in an efficient method of fiber extraction from date palm leaves. Moreover, date palm fibers presents several applications such as in textile, in production of artistic floor and table mats, baggage/containers for dry products, house thermal and acoustic insulation, thatched roofs, geotextiles for agricultural and garden plant cultivation, small garden architecture, in production of artistic tapestries/ art installations, artistic baskets, flower convers and other ecological goods. Date palm fibers possess comparable mechanical and physical properties with respect to other natural fibers, making it suitable for its broader applications. All the problems, disadvantages and the limitations of the above-mentioned relevant conventional arts are being overcome by the method disclosed in the present invention, which has various technical advancements and certainly economic benefits over the conventional arts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, the objective of the present invention is to provide a method for facilitating fiber extraction from date palm leaves using textile technology.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the disclosed method of fiber extraction from date palm leaves is able to solve the above technical complexities. The present method is able to facilitate easy fiber extraction from date palm leaves with properties making possibility to use them for textile industry.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the disclosed method of fiber extraction from date palm leaves that are selected from the different varieties of palm leaves including sultana, lulu and farth.

In another embodiment, the present method of fiber extraction discloses a biological degumming process employed to loosen the date palm leaves structure. The degumming process comprises the steps of: retting in warm using a biological enzyme allowing the leaves to degum as a result of bacterial action, that naturally occur on the date palm leaves. The degumming temperature is from 25°C to 60°C and the degumming treatment time is from 2h to

24h. The total amount of the biological enzyme used in the degumming process is 5U/lg dry matter of the date palm leaves. After the degumming process the palm leaves were rinsed in distilled water at room temperature (20°C) and the leaves were dried at room temperature.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the biological enzyme employed in the degumming process is Laccase enzyme having an activity of 0.5U/1 mg. And retting of the palm leaves in warm water was carried out at 32°C for 720 h equivalent to 30 days. The date palm leaves obtained by warm water retting were characterized by light brown color.

In another embodiment, the present invention discloses a manual combing process comprising the steps of: combing the leaves of the palm tree by hand employing combs of different needles. Initially a comb with a rare needle was employed in the manual combing process followed by a comb with thicker one. Combs employed in the manual combing process of the palm leaves were part of the industrial combing machine used for flax processing. The manual combing process was performed on moist palm leaves obtained with the use of the biological degumming process of warm water retting for achieving the most efficient results. Separation of fibers from wet leaves biomass was performed by the use of gentle combing process at half- humid condition. The obtained fibers were dried at room temperature.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention there provides a method for utilization of fibers obtained from date palm leaves to textile manufacture. In particular, the present invention discloses a weaving process employing linen yarn as warp for weaving of the date palm fibers. The linen yarn with linear density of about 634 tex was employed as the wrap. And the wet date palm fiber was employed as weft. The linen wrap is stretched on vertical frame at the nails spaced evenly at about 1cm apart and the weft is interwoven between the wraps creating the pattern and structure of the fabric. The wrap is distributed using a thick cardboard at bottom separating the linen threads. The wrap stretching starts from the left side and finished at the top right side of the frame. In one embodiment the weft was inserted manually between linen wrap threads. In yet another embodiment, hand weaving looms was incorporated to weave date palm fabrics. Two types of loom are deployed for weaving mats from the hard plant fibers: vertical looms applied to weave small/medium-sized fabrics and horizontal looms for larger sized fabrics for example floor mats or bigger tapestries. After completion of the hand weaving process, the fabric is removed from the frame and all threads of the wrap are tied into knots. The excess of linen thread is removed and a part of the tapestry is sewn to the fabric on back side.

The embodiments of the present disclosure have several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for their desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the present embodiments as expressed by the claims that follow, their more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed description" one will understand how the features of the present embodiments provide advantages, which include providing methods for facilitating fiber extraction from date palm leaves using textile technology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers indicate the same or similar elements and in which: FIG. 1 is a flowchart of method illustrating, extraction of fiber from date palm leaves and their utilization in textile manufacture.

FIG. 2 is a photograph of date palm fiber fabric prototype in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of degummed date palm leaves after manual combing process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The description used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the description or explanation should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims. The terms like can be, shall be, could be, and other related terms herein disclosed in the foregoing and later parts of the specification in any means do not limit or alter the scope of the present invention. The terms are provided just for the mere understanding of the main invention and its embodiments.

Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. While examples and features of disclosed principles are described herein, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments.

Various embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein below, which relates to providing methods for facilitating fiber extraction from date palm leaves using textile technology. Moreover, the present method is able to facilitate easy fiber extraction from date palm leaves with properties making possibility to use them for textile industry. In an embodiment of the present invention, the disclosed method of fiber extraction from date palm leaves that are selected from the different varieties of palm leaves including sultana, lulu and farth.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the method disclosed herein includes a biological degumming process employed to loosen the date palm leaves structure. The degumming process comprises the steps of: retting in warm using a biological enzyme allowing the leaves to degum as a result of bacterial action, that naturally occur on the date palm leaves. The degumming temperature is from 25°C to 60°C and the degumming treatment time is from 2h to 24h. The total amount of the biological enzyme used in the degumming process is 5U/lg dry matter of the date palm leaves. After the degumming process the palm leaves were rinsed in distilled water at room temperature (20°C) and the leaves were dried at room temperature.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the biological enzyme employed in the degumming process is Laccase enzyme having an activity of 0.5U/1 mg. And retting of the palm leaves in warm water was carried out at 32°C for 720 h equivalent to 30 days. The date palm leaves obtained by warm water retting were characterized by light brown color.

Table 1. Biological degumming process conditions for fiber from palm leaves.

In another embodiment, the present invention discloses a manual combing process comprising the steps of: combing the leaves of the palm tree by hand employing combs of different needles. Initially a comb with a rare needle was employed in the manual combing process followed by a comb with thicker one. Combs employed in the manual combing process of the palm leaves were part of the industrial combing machine used for flax processing. The manual combing process was performed on moist palm leaves obtained with the use of the biological degumming process of warm water retting for achieving the most efficient results. Separation of fibers from wet leaves biomass was performed by the use of gentle combing process at half- humid condition. The obtained fibers were dried at room temperature.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for assessment of the fiber content obtained. Assessment was performed by gravimetric method. The result is presented as the mass of fiber contained in 100 g of dry matter of the date palm leaf sample (g/100 g) in table 2. The fiber content was calculated according to the formula:

Where :

ZWt - Fiber content, [%],

MW - Mass of fiber sample, [g],

ML - Mass of leaf sample, [g],

WL - Leaf moisture, [%],

WW - Fiber moisture, [%].

Table 2. Percentage of the fiber content in the leaves after retting in warm water, depending on the variety.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention , there provides a method for metrological analysis and assessment of spinnability of the extracted date palm fibers and results depicted in table 3. The base fiber length was analyzed manually by placing them on a black plush fabric and separating them into classes with a width of 20 mm starting from 0-20 mm, 20-40 mm etc. After separation, fibers in each class weighted to nearest 0.001 g and weight in each section was documented. The linear density/ fineness of fibers was analyzed by gravimetric method. For evaluation of linear density of date palm fibers, samples were prepared by cutting sections of 10 mm length from the middle portion of the fibers. Exactly 100 pieces of fibers with length of 10mm created one bundle. To the test, 10 numbers of bundles are required to ensure high accuracy of measurement. The bundles were weighed with accuracy to 0.1 mg. the parameters of static tension (breaking force, elongation and tensile strength) was analyzed by STATIMAT ME testing machine. Bundles of fibers were prepared in the way ensuring the weight of the bundle at the clamps 400 tex and measuring length 30 mm (i.e. the length between the clamps). Test was occurred automatically.

Table 3. Date palm fiber parameters:

In accordance with one of the embodiment of the present invention, there provides a method for utilization of fibers obtained from date palm leaves to textile manufacture. In particular, the present invention discloses a weaving process employing linen yarn as warp for weaving of the date palm fibers. The linen yarn with linear density of about 634 tex was employed as the wrap. And the wet date palm fiber was employed as weft. The linen wrap is stretched on vertical frame at the nails spaced evenly at about 1cm apart and the weft is interwoven between the wraps creating the pattern and structure of the fabric. The wrap is distributed using a thick cardboard at bottom separating the linen threads. The wrap stretching starts from the left side and finished at the top right side of the frame. In one embodiment the weft was inserted manually between linen wrap threads. In yet another embodiment, hand weaving looms was incorporated to weave date palm fabrics. Two types of loom are deployed for weaving mats from the hard plant fibers: vertical looms applied to weave small/medium-sized fabrics and horizontal looms for larger sized fabrics for example floor mats or bigger tapestries. After completion of the hand weaving process, the fabric is removed from the frame and all threads of the wrap are tied into knots. The excess of linen thread is removed and a part of the tapestry is sewn to the fabric on back side.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of method 100 illustrating, extraction of fiber from date palm leaves and their utilization in textile manufacture, according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. The method 100 describes extraction process for fiber extraction from date palm leaves. At step 102, date palm leaves are collected followed by drying the collected date palm leaves at step 104. The step 104 proceeds to step 106. At step 106, biological degumming of date palm leaves using Laccase enzyme having an activity of 0.5 U/lmg is carried out. The degumming process is employed to loosen the date palm leaves. The degumming process comprises the steps of: retting in warm using a biological enzyme allowing the leaves to degum as a result of bacterial action, that naturally occur on the date palm leaves. The degumming temperature is from 25°C to 60°C and the degumming treatment time is from 2h to 24h. The total amount of the biological enzyme used in the degumming process is 5U/lg dry matter of the date palm leaves. After the degumming process the palm leaves were rinsed in distilled water at room temperature (20°C) and the leaves were dried at room temperature. At step 108, manual combing process is deployed at half-humid condition. The manual combing process comprises the steps of: combing the leaves of the palm tree by hand employing combs of different needles. Initially a comb with a rare needle was employed in the manual combing process followed by a comb with thicker one. The manual combing process of step 108 is performed on moist palm leaves obtained with the use of the biological degumming process of warm water retting for achieving the most efficient results. At step 110 the obtained fibers are dried at room temperature. At step 112, the date palm fibers obtained are subjected to weaving process employing linen yarn as warp for weaving of the date palm fibers. The linen yarn with linear density of about 634 tex was employed as the wrap. And the wet date palm fiber was employed as weft. The linen wrap is stretched on vertical frame at the nails spaced evenly at about 1cm apart and the weft is interwoven between the wraps creating the pattern and structure of the fabric. At step 114, the fibers are made into a floor mat employing textile innovation technologies.

FIG. 2 is a photograph of date palm fiber fabric prototype 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 3 is a photograph of degummed date palm leaves 300 after manual combing process comprising the steps of: combing the leaves of the palm tree by hand employing combs of different needles. Initially a comb with a rare needle was employed in the manual combing process followed by a comb with thicker one.

Therefore, as may be seen, various embodiments of the present invention, as herein described above, provide several advantages, such as , for example, but not limited to disclosing a method for extraction of fiber from date palm leaves in a very efficient way. Moreover, various embodiments of the present invention are aimed at providing a method that is able to facilitate easy fiber extraction from date palm leaves with properties making possibility to use them for textile industry.

While there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the instant invention it is to be appreciated that the invention may be embodied otherwise than is herein specifically shown and described and that within said embodiment, certain variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements may be made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from the underlying ideas or principles of this invention as set forth in the claims appended herewith.

Therefore, the present invention describes a method of fiber extraction. Particularly, the method for facilitating fiber extraction from date palm leaves using textile technology. The present method is able to facilitate easy fiber extraction from date palm leaves with properties making possibility to use them for textile industry. The present invention has many advantages over the prior art in this domain and the present extraction method has its application in the field of textile technology. Moreover, date palm fibers presents several applications such as in textile, in production of artistic floor and table mats, baggage/containers for dry products, house thermal and acoustic insulation, thatched roofs, geotextiles for agricultural and garden plant cultivation, small garden architecture, in production of artistic tapestries/ art installations, artistic baskets, flower convers and other ecological goods. Date palm fibers possess comparable mechanical and physical properties with respect to other natural fibers, making it suitable for its broader applications.

Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to one or more preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for the purpose of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications or equivalent arrangements, the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof.