Modification of regenerated cellulose fibres by cork-derived suberin and the cutin fraction from grape skins

Regenerated cellulose fibres from dissolving pulp are a versatile alternative to cotton fibres on the path to the sustainable textile industry. In this study, cellulose fibres obtained by the Ioncell-F® process (Ioncell fibres) were modified by adding 10 % (w/w) of suberin compounds isolated from cork (SUB) or a cutin fraction from grape skins (CUT) in the spinning dope. Although both SUB and CUT modified fibres revealed higher hydrophobicity than unmodified fibres, fibres doped with CUT showed better waterproof performance than those doped with SUB. This was explained by the better retention of CUT than SUB on the regenerated fibres and by the higher hydrophobicity of CUT. Differences in the strength properties of Ioncell fibres obtained by pilot-scale dry-jet wet spinning were related to their physical structure, whereas dirt repellence and susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis depended on the occurrence and amounts of retained CUT or SUB.