Assessment of Pineapple and Coconut Fibers (PICONET) as Natural Geotextile in Mitigating Soil Erosion

Soil erosion is a major environmental issue that negatively influences ecosystems and human activities worldwide. Natural geotextiles have emerged as a viable option for preventing soil erosion, as the need for sustainable and ecologically friendly solutions has grown. The primary objective of this study was to determine the mechanical properties of the pineapple-coconut net (PICONET) geotextile and compare its properties with the standard specification for coconet bio-engineering solutions set by the Department Works and Highways (DPWH). Moreover, it includes an evaluation of the runoff reduction effectiveness and soil loss reduction effectiveness in the miniature slope with or without the PICONET geotextile. The three different types of mesh openings of the PICONET sample were tested for tensile strength using the wide-width strip method (ASTM 4595), nominal thickness (ASTM D5199), and mass per unit area (ASTM 5261-10) at the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Textile Research Institute. The results provided a more realistic presentation of the behavior of nets when applied in the field. The results showed that the smaller mesh opening of the geotextile has a 1004 g/m2 mass per unit area, corresponding to a 10 kN machine direction and 16.1 kN cross-machine direction tensile strength. It also concludes that PICONET has a tensile strength of 268 kN, which is double that of the standard specification for coconet bio-engineering solutions set by the DPWH. Conversely, the PICONET is considered a good erosion control blanket due to the result of the runoff and soil loss reduction effectiveness, which were –105% and +100%. The negative sign on the runoff reduction effectiveness indicates that the PICONET-covered soil absorbed less water, and the positive sign on the soil loss reduction effectiveness implies that the PICONET geotextile acts as a protective barrier in order to control soil loss.