Investigations on Structural, Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Banana Fabrics for Use in Leather Goods Application

Abstract

Leather, a unique bio fabric, is obtained by a process called tanning of the raw hides and skins. The insufficient supplies and high cost of genuine leather has brought about the demand for synthetic leather. Nowadays, consumers are becoming more and more aware of environmental issues and hence there is an urgent need for eco-friendly biodegradable materials. Banana fiber has been found to be a potential reinforcement in thermoplastic, thermoset, and rubber matrices. In this study, three types of banana fabric have been chosen and analyzed for physical, morphological and thermal properties. It was found that most of the physical properties of banana-based fabrics are comparable to that of buffalo shrunken grain leather used for leather goods application. The rub and light fastness properties of banana fabrics are better than that of buffalo shrunken grain leather. Scanning electron microscopic analysis and FT-IR provided convincing evidence for characteristic fiber pattern in the individual fiber bundles (yarn). The thermal decomposition behavior of banana fabrics seems to have uniform weight loss during decomposition. The results of this study suggest that the identified banana fabrics can be used for making a variety of products in combination with leather for several applications.