Plant Fibres

Plant fibres can be removed from plant stems by retting. Retting is a microbial process that breaks the chemical bonds that hold the stem together and allows separation of the bast fibres from the woody core. The two traditional types of retting are field and water retting.With field or dew retting, plant stems are cut or pulled up and left in the field to rot. Farmers monitor the process closely to ensure that the bast fibres separate from the inner core without much deterioration in quality. Water retting produces more uniform and high-quality fibres. Stems are immersed in water (rivers, ponds, or tanks) and monitored frequently, however it is very expensive and produces nitrogen rich water that must be treated before discharge.

Uses of Plant FibresFibres form the flax plant is used to make linen clothes. Plant fibres can also be added to other materials to form bio composites which can be made from crops such as cotton, flax or hemp. Bio compositeis a composite material formed by a matrix (resin) and a reinforcement of natural fibres; the advantage is that bio composites are renewable, flexible and there is little waste.

The Eco one sports car increases sustainability as it is made from plants: e.g. the tyres are made from potato starch and this improves fuel economy. Also, the oil is made from plants.

A bio plastic is a plastic that is made partly or wholly from polymers derived from biological sources such as sugar cane, potato starch or the cellulose from trees, straw and cotton. . Plastics bring in enormous advantages, such as thermo-weldability, flexibility in thermal and mechanical properties, lightness, integrated projectsintegrating formingfillingand sealing) and low price.