Study of extraction and characterization of ultimate kenaf fibres

This study proposed an extraction process of Tunisian kenaf fibres to obtain ultimate fibres with minimum aspect ratio, minimum retention capacity and high yield and high absorption capacity. The extraction process was performed by varying the treatment duration (120–180 min), the temperature (110–130°C), and the sodium concentration (10–40 g/l). After that, a factorial design, that has been built using statistical software Minitab.17, was followed to identify the optimum operating conditions. After the extraction process, kenaf fibres were used to produce dry-laid nonwoven fabrics. Results reveal that mixed treatment improves the absorption properties of fibres. To characterize these fibres, some properties were measured like morphological structure and absorption properties: absorption and retention capacity. The morphology of the cellulose fibres (length and, diameter distribution), obtained from the optimum process, was determined by measuring 300 fibres with «Leica» optical microscopy. Ultimate fibres extracted from kenaf had an absorption capacity of 12.5 g/g and a retention capacity of 0.65 g/g. Finally, the characteristics of the optimum ultimate kenaf were compared to those of other vegetable fibres.