Extraction and characterization of palm fibers and their use to produce wool- and polyester-blended nonwovens

The aim of this work is the production of new nonwovens materials based on wool, polyester and palm fibers (Washingtonia). The extraction of palm fibers was achieved by the combination of alkaline and bleaching treatments. Chemical composition, mechanical and physical properties of the extracted fibers were first determined. Then, two types of blended nonwovens based on Palm/Wool (P/W) and Palm/Polyester (P/PES) mixtures were produced using the needling technique. The physical and structural properties of produced nonwovens were studied such as surface density, tensile strength, porosity and thermal properties. The results showed that the porosity lies between 83.81% and 86.93% for (P/W) mixtures and between 78.01% and 86.93% for (P/PES) mixtures. The air permeability was found to be between 61.56 m(3).m(-2).min(-1) and 129.01 m(3).m(-2).min(-1) for P/W blend nonwovens and between 22.75 m(3).m(-2).min(-1) and 129.01 m(3).m(-2).min(-1) for P/PES blend ones. The thermal conductivity varies between 36.45 mW/m.K and 43.88 mW/m.K for P/W nonwovens and between 36.45 mW/m.K and 47.70 mW/m.K for P/PES nonwovens. Moreover, the tensile strength of blended nonwovens is found to be higher than that of non-blended ones.