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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Structure and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #163984
Title: NATURALLY COLORED COTTON FOR GEOCOMPOSITES

Author
item CHEN, Y - LSU BATON ROUGE
item SUN, L - LSU BATON ROUGE
item Cui, Xiaoliang
item Calamari Jr, Timothy
item Kimmel, Linda
item Parikh, Dharnidhar

Submitted to: 2003 Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2004
Publication Date: 6/1/2004
Citation: Chen, Y., Sun, L., Cui, X., Calamari Jr, T.A., Kimmel, L.B., Parikh, D.V. 2004. Naturally colored cotton for geocomposites. In: Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences. p. 2750.

Interpretive Summary: An increasing concern for the environment has led to worldwide consumer awareness of environmentally friendly products, including textile products without the need for bleaching, dyeing, and other finishing procedures. Naturally colored cotton is identified as a type of agricultural resource that can be used for manufacturing ecological textile products. Simultaneously, recent emphasis on our national energy policy has encouraged the greater and more economical use of biobased products, such as crops, trees, and agricultural residues. Aiming at developing environmentally friendly, biobased products, naturally-colored cotton and fibrous sugarcane waste, known as bagasse, were combined to make geocomposite textiles. Both airlaid and wetlaid nonwoven techniques were used to fabricate the materials. Tensile strength of the geocomposites was evaluated. Research results demonstrated that the experimental bagasse and colored cotton blend geocomposites featured lighter weight, attractive artificial grass appearance, engineered structure, and sufficient strength for handling and installation. These advantages would be highly desirable for erosion control applications such as embankment re-vegetation for highways, reservoirs/ponds, or landfill sites. Further research work was recommended to examine lifetime performance and economics of these new geocomposites, including weather sustainability, biodegradability, efficiency to promote vegetative cover, and production cost.

Technical Abstract: Aiming at developing environmentally friendly products, naturally-colored cotton and waste bagasse were used for making geocomposites. The airlaid and wetlaid nonwoven techniques were applied for geocomposite fabrication. Tensile strength of the geocomposites was evaluated using a strip test method (ASTM D5035-95). Research results exhibited that the experimental bagasse/cotton geocomposites featured lighter weight, attractive artificial grass appearance, engineered structure, and sufficient strength for handling and installation. These advantages would be highly desirable for erosion control applications such as embankment re-vegetation for highways, reservoirs/ponds, or landfill sites. Further research work was recommended to examine lifetime performance and economics of these new geocomposites, including weather sustainability, biodegradability, efficiency to promote vegetative cover, and production cost.