Browsing by Author "Kholiya, Ruchi"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
ThesisItem Open Access Extraction, processing and utilization of Rambans (Agave Spp.) and malu (Bauhinia vahlii) fibers for industrial uses(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2009-08) Kholiya, Ruchi; Goel, AlkaPlant fiber can be termed as god’s one of the most precious gift to mankind. Today fiber yielding plants are regarded as most important crop after cereals. In fact, plant fibers are the raw material for many industries sustaining the economy of our nation. Unconventional fibrous plants are one of the largely neglected resources of the Uttarakhand. There was no available record regarding the total number of NGOs working on unconventional fibers in Uttarakhand therefore in order to assess the work being carried out on unconventional fibers in Uttarakhand, all the Non Government Organizations (NGOs) working on unconventional fibers were visited and information was collected by the researcher. It was found that most of the NGOs used rambans fibers followed by wool fibers. During the course of study it was noticed that majority of NGOs faced several problems regarding availability of raw materials, extraction of fibers, cost of raw material, fiber processing, problems during production of articles, lack of workers, lack of infrastructure, marketing of products and unavailability of proper extraction and processing tools. So to overcome these problems, three commonly available species of Agave in Uttarakhand (Agave cantala, Agave sisalana and Agave americana) and a soft fiber from the bark of the plant i.e. malu (Bauhinia vahlii) were extracted from eleven different retting methods (decortications or scraping, water retting, fungal retting, acid and alkali retting with different concentrations and durations). A series of experiments were conducted to soften the rambans fibers and to optimize the procedure for extraction and application of natural dye obtained from French marigold flowers on rambans fibers. After opening and carding malu-viscose rayon and rambans-viscose rayon fibers were blended thoroughly in three different ratios i.e. 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75. On the basis of satisfactory physical properties and aesthetic view, one woven sample of malu-viscose and one woven sample of rambans-viscose were prepared on Kumaoni handloom. These blended fabrics were than evaluated for different physical properties. The traditional technologies for harvesting and fiber processing were assessed by the investigator and intervention of improved technologies was done. Results of different extraction methods revealed that in case of malu fibers, alkali retted fibers had superior properties as compared to other methods. Results of different extraction methods on physical properties of three species of Agave indicates that Agave cantala fibers posses superior properties followed by Agave sisalana species. While Agave americana species posses inferior properties as compared to other two species. Out of these fibers, decorticated sisal (Agave sisalana) fibers were purposively taken for the present study due to easy availability. After visual evaluation of softened rambans fibers it was observed that fibers treated with 100% NaOH concentration were softer as compared to the rambans fibers obtained from other treatments. The optimum dyeing condition of rambans fibers were-aqueous extraction medium, 2 g concentration of dye, 75 minutes extraction time and 60 minutes of dyeing time. In case of mordants the selected concentrations were 3 g, 2 g, 0.05 g and 0.01 g of pomegranate rind, tea leaves, stannous chloride and ferrous sulphate respectively. After opening and carding malu-viscose rayon and rambans-viscose rayon fibers were blended thoroughly in three different ratios i.e. 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75. Single ply yarns of these blends were prepared on Bageshwari Charkha and evaluated for different physical properties. Results of yarn testing indicated that as the content of viscose rayon increases, breaking strength, tenacity, elongation per cent and yarn evenness of the respective blends also increases. Whereas yarn count reduced as the viscose content was increased in blends. Results of fabric testing revealed that fabric count, weight per unit area, thickness, abrasion loss, crease recovery angle and elongation at break were maximum in malu-viscose blended fabric, while bending length, flexural rigidity, overall flexural rigidity, and pilling resistance was maximum in case of rambans-viscose blended fabric as they were stiffer than malu-viscose blended fabric. Beside these, rambans-viscose blended fabric also showed higher drape coefficient, thermal conductivity, and breaking strength. A rambans (sisal) fabric reinforced phenolic composite was prepared by compression molding method. Tensile strength and tensile modulus of the rambans phenolic composite was 24.61 MPa and 207.77 GPa respectively, while flexural strength and flexural modulus of the rambans phenolic composite was 31.1 MPa and 104.55 GPa respectively. On the basis of respondents’ requirement a leaf cutter and a decorticator machine was designed by the investigator. Results indicated that ergonomically designed leaf cutter caused minimum physiological cost of work as compared to the traditional heavy weight leaf cutter. The line diagram of the improved decorticator machine was showed to the owners of the NGOs and workers; who expressed satisfaction over the new design and are willing to develop the improved decorticator machine in near future for their use. In view of the large scale unemployment in Uttarakhand and a need for empowerment of backward and tribal areas, village industries focusing on extraction and processing of natural fibers can generate enormous employment without much input. Therefore utilization of plant fibers for employment generation in rural sector will prove to be cost-effective and ecologically sustainable.ThesisItem Open Access Scouring of woollen fabric using enzymes(CCSHAU, 2006) Kholiya, Ruchi; Khambra, KrishnaWool is one of our most versatile fibre. It is such a complex blend of properties that modern science still cannot duplicate it or create a synthetic clone. Scouring through enzymes is a new concept in scouring of natural fibres with an enzyme-based formulation for efficient removal of natural impurities from wool without any fatal damage to the fibre. But recipe optimization, type and suitability of enzymes for different substrates still remain as potential domain for research. So the present study was undertaken under the objectives: to optimize the conditions for enzyme treatment of woollen fabric and to study the physical properties of the treated fabric. Two enzymes namely cellulase (palkosoft super 720) and protease (palkowool LPL) were used for enzyme treatment on pure grey woollen fabric, with different concentrations, time periods, pH and temperatures. Some of the basic fabric properties i.e. weight per unit area, tensile strength, and change in colour were measured for optimization of process conditions for enzymatic scouring. It was observed that with the increase in concentration and duration of enzyme treatment there was increase in weight per unit area loss and tensile strength loss. In case of pH and temperature there was less loss at higher pH and temperature. The optimum conditions for cellulase enzyme treatment were selected as 0.5gpl concentration of enzyme for 30 minutes time at pH 7 and temperature 60oC whereas the optimum conditions selected for protease enzyme treatment were 0.5gpl concentration of enzyme for 30 minutes at pH 8 and temperature 70oC. The selection of conditions was carried out by the objective assessment of colour change, weight per unit area loss and tensile strength loss. Further physical properties of the optimized samples were measured by following standard procedure. The enzymatic scouring with cellulase and protease enzymes results in significant increase in fabric count, crease recovery angle, pilling resistance, abrasion resistance and colour change whereas non significant increase were found in bulk property after enzymatic treatment. Significant decreases were observed in weight per unit area, tensile strength and warp direction elongation of protease enzyme treated woollen fabric. After enzymatic treatment with both enzymes there were significant decrease in weft direction elongation, bending length, flexural rigidity, shrinkage and porosity. Non-significant decreases were observed in case of weight per unit area, tensile strength and warp wise elongation when woollen fabric was treated with cellulase enzymes. There was a non-significant decrease in thickness and drape coefficient after enzymatic scouring with both enzymes. So it is recommended that use of enzymes for the purpose of woollen scouring is more beneficial and eco friendly than conventional scouring of woollen fabric.