IDENTIFICATION OF NEW NATURAL FIBRE FROM CHAMAECOSTUS CUSPIDATUS

Fibre identifi cation is a very important element to textile industries, design houses and fashion. The technological changes need to improve the identifi cation methods. In spite of the increase of new technology, the old methods are often the best. The increase in awareness of the damage caused by synthetic materials on the environment led to develop eco-friendly fi bres. This paper covers the distinguishing features of natural textile fi bre from the plant “Chamaecostus Cuspidatus” that had been extracted using water retting method.


INTRODUCTION
The need of eco-friendly new materials improves the environmental quality of products led to the utilization of raw natural fi bres at low cost [1]. Natural fibres are that are produced by plants fabrics are light in weight, soft in texture, and which can be made in various sizes and colors [2]. The Costaceae family native to eastern Brazil is a species of Chamaecostus cuspidatus of herbaceous plant. Because of its use in Ayurvedic medicine in India it is known as insulin plant, for its purported anti-diabetic properties [3]. This plant has been proven to possess various pharmacological activities on diuretics, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-cancerous [4]. The objectives of the study are to identify the new natural fi ber from Chamaecostu Cuspidatus plant (insulin plant) and to extract fi ber from the identifi ed plant.

Selection of plant
The Chamaecostu Cuspidatus plant was collected from Malppuram district Kerala. It is constituted of stems with a cylindrical spiral shape which have a maximum height of about 1-2 feet. The sample was washed with water and cut in small pieces, before extraction.

Extraction of fi ber by water retting
The main purpose of extraction process is to produce stronger and undamaged fi bres, through the elimination of non-cellulosic components such as pectin, lignin and wax. In this study, an eco-friendly technique has been carried out. For more details con-corning this extraction process, let us give the main followed steps.

Procedure
Once the required amount of Chamaecostu Cuspidatus is collected, a preliminary process of cleaning with water is conducted, so as to remove the dirt. Also after washing the deteriorated parts of the plant are removed using a knife. After removing all the unnecessary parts of the plant except stem, the stem is cut into approximately 50-60 cm length.
After that, stems were completely immersed in water in a drum which is having capacity of 250 Litre. Then it was covered by a lid for a period of 35 days and kept in room temperature to undergo natural microbial bio-degradation. After the period of

Combing
The combing process is carried out in order to improve the sliver coming out of the card. Fibres have a distribution of fi bre length ranging from the longest fi bre group to the shortest fi bre group. For these reasons combing operation is done for fi ne and strong yarn. Combed sliver has a better lustre compared with cared sliver because of the improved fi bre alignment.

Figure 10: Samples
Combing the fi bres removes the short fi bres and arranges the fi bre in a fl at bundle. This preparation process is commonly used to spin a worsted yarn.

Procedure
The softened fi bres were placed on the combing board fl at to its surface. The steel hand comb was passed through the fi bres and combed it neatly. By doing this, short fi bres were collected on the face side of the comb as shown in Figure 9. It was collected and repeated until good fi ne getting from the samples.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The result of this study, "Identifi cation of New Natural Fibres from CHAMAECOSTU CUSPIDATUS PLANT" are discussed under the following headings.

Fiber extraction
Water Retting

Water Retting
In water retting, the most used method bundles of stalks are submerged in water. The water, penetrating to the central stalk portion, swells the inner cells, bursting the outermost layer, increasing absorption of both moisture and decay-producing bacteria.
In here about 250 litres of water is taken in a drum, and 20kg of stem were cut in to pieces immersed into it. It is kept it for 35 day. After 35 days the stems are taken out from the water and beaten with hammer for extracting the fi bres separately. The separated fi bres kept for one day on sunlight to remove the moisture from it.

Combing
Combing the fi bres removes the short fi bres and arranges the fi bre in a fl at bundle, with all the fi bres going down the same direction. The softened fi bres were placed on the combing board in fl at to its surface. The steel hand comb was passed through the fi bres and combed it neatly. By doing this short fi bres were collected on the face side of the comb.
Fibre is extracted from Chamaecostu Cuspidatus plant stem by water retting.

CONCLUSION
In this study, the Chamaecostu Cuspidatus plant were collected, then the fi bres from Chamaecostu Cuspidatus stem had been extracted using water retting method. The fi bre was extracted from Chamaecostu Cuspidatus plant by water retting method and fi ne fibres were separated by combing process. Thus we can conclude that the extracted fi bre can be blended with other fi bres for further study.