Effect of Bitumen Emulsion and Polyester Resin Mixture on the Physico-Mechanical and Degradable Properties of Jute Fabrics

Jute fabrics were treated, with different formulations, using various proportions of bitumen emulsion and polyester (PE) resin in combined solutions. Styrene monomer was used as solvent, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide as cross-linking agent and cobalt naphtha as curing agent. The fabric specimens were immersed in the solution for 10-15 min, then pressed by a roller and dried at room temperature for 24 h. According to the percentage of bitumen emulsion and PE resin, the jute samples were obtained as J0 (untreated or raw jute), J1 (20% bitumen emulsion +10% PE), and J2 (10% bitumen emulsion +20% PE). It was revealed that tensile strength (TS) increased with bitumen emulsion and PE resin mixture treatment on both directions of jute fabrics where J2 showed the highest improvement of TS which were 61.4% and 44.7% for warp and weft direction respectively. Tensile strength (TS) decreased for all the samples in both directions after soil degradation. After 90 days, the untreated sample was totally degraded. Treated samples exhibited better stability than untreated ones in soil medium. Weight loss by soil degradation, moisture regain, moisture content and water uptake tests of the treated and untreated jute samples were also performed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was conducted to analyze the fiber surfaces of raw and treated jute fibers, finding significant differences as a result of treatment. Finally, the strategy of combining bitumen emulsion and PE resin for treatment, rather than using only PE resin, was found to produce a jute fabric which was not only better in all the above respects but also would be cheaper to produce.