Exploration of future prospects of Indian pineapple leaf, an agro waste for textile application

Pineapple leaf fibre of certain varieties is widely used in Philippines for making apparels. In Indian subcontinent, pineapple leaves are wasted after harvesting the fruit, because of technology gap exists in the efficient extraction and lack of knowledge of subsequent processes for value addition to the fibre. Agricultural practices and seed varieties used in Indian subcontinent is also widely different from those of Philippines. An attempt has been made to extract and soften pineapple leaf fibre by decortication of leaves followed by water retting. The retting time was optimized at 7 days. The retted fibres were then degummed and bleached for better processibility and aesthetic look. The physio-chemical properties of fibres were analysed for its different uses. The degummed and bleached fibres were then successfully converted into textile quality thread of 90 tex through suitable mechanical processing system. Mechanical properties of thread were found to be suitable to make sustainable novelty fabrics for apparel.