Natural Cellulose Fibers from Hop Stems for Textiles and Composites

Natural Cellulose Fibers from Hop Stemsfor Textiles and CompositesYiqi YangDepartment of Textiles, Clothing & DesignDepartment of Biological Systems EngineeringUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln234 HECO Building; Lincoln, NE 68583-0802Phone: 402-472-5197; Fax: 402-472-06040Email yyang2@unl.edu

Current Textile Market 70 million tons annual consumptionworldwide 13 million tons in the USA (18% of world) 23 million tons of cotton worldwide $600 billion annual textile market in theUSA Second largest industry

Limitations of Current Fibers Natural Fibers• Land, water and other natural resources• Increase in demand, but decrease in production Synthetic Fibers• 55% of total fibers• Non-Renewable petroleum resources• 230 Million barrels of oil in USA• Increase in price

US Cotton Acreage (~1800 lb/acre)14.514.013.513.012.512.011.511.010.510.0Million Acres99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07*

Chinese Raw Cotton Needs (500 lb/bale)Cotton Use Minus Production20Million bales1816141210864202000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Advantages of Nontraditional Biofibersfrom Agricultural By-ProductsEconomics• Low cost• High value addition• Large availability• Food and fiber from same sourcesEnvironment• No additional water• Save energy• Sustainable fiber sourceFiber industry• High quality and low cost cellulose fibers

Sources for Non-Traditional BiofibersCellulose Protein SyntheticsAgriculturalbyproducts- (Hop, cornstover,ricestraw, wheat straw)Other renewableresources- (Switchgrass, velvetleaves)Cereal proteins- (Wheat gluten,soyproteins, cornproteins)Animal proteins- (Feathers, casein,collagen)Genetic engineering- (“Spider” silk)Renewable resources- (PLA, PTT, PHA)

Worldwide Availability of Raw Materials andPotential Nontraditional Cellulose FibersRaw MaterialAvailability, Million TonsRice strawWheat strawCornstalkCornhuskSoybean strawSorghumPineapple leafSugarcane rindHOPTotalSource580570320642145923329?2069Fiber11611464134312233?388+The potential fiber availability has been calculated based on 20% yield of fibers(10% for pineapple leaf fibers and sugarcane rind fibers)

Nontraditional BiofiberInitiatives at

Nontraditional BiofiberInnovation at UNLAgricultural ByproductsCellulose Fibers- Corn stover-Soybean straw- Wheat straw-Rice straw- Sorghum stalk- HOPProtein Fibers- Soyprotein- Wheat gluten- Corn zein- Feathers

Applications of the Non-Traditional Cellulose Fibers Textiles• Apparel• Carpet Composites• Automotives• Constructions Filters• Industry• Home

Fiber ProcessingRaw Fibers Bleached Fibers Dyed Fibers

Developing TextilesCornhusk/Cotton yarnsCornhusk/Cotton Garment

Developing Automotive CompositesPackage Tray Cargo Liner HeadlinerSeat Structure Door PanelDashboardHood Liner Trunk Liner

Properties of Alternative FibersFiberLengthTenacityElongationModuluscm(g/den)(%)(g/den)Hop6.5-174.7 ± 2.03.6 ± 1.1166Rice2.5-8.03.2-7.31.5-3.8200Cornstalk1.5-8.51.5-4.51.1-3.5127Cornhusk2-202.0-3.010.0-18.070Switchgrass5-72.7-5.52.2-6.870-240Cotton1.5-5.52.7-3.56.0-9.055Linen1.7-175.82.0-3.0203

Automobile HeadlinerComposite PropertiesCompositeOptimized Flexural PropertiesStrengthStiffnessToughness(N)(N/mm)(%)Cornhusk fiber-PP23.32.78168Jute-PP22.45.16115

Fibers from Hop Stems Advantages• Byproduct with limited use• High quality fibers• Potential for textile and composites Economics• Fiber production cost per lb: $0.35-$0.50• Fiber selling price per lb: $1.50-$2.00• Potential sale value per MT: $3.3-$4.4 billion• Potential value addition per MT: $2.5-$3.3 billion

Future Research Develop fiber extraction conditions Determine structure and properties ofthe fibers Evaluate the processability as textilefibers Develop textile products Develop automotive composites

Conclusions Hop stems for fibers• Large availability, low cost• Sustainable and renewable resource• High quality fibers• Suitable for textile and composites• High value addition• Benefit growers, fiber industry andenvironment

Thank You