Development of Mechanical Extractor for Utilization of Pineapple Leaf Agro-Waste for Textile Application

ABSTRACT

In Indian subcontinent, pineapple (Ananas Comosus) leaves are left unused after fruits are harvested resulting in a waste of natural resources that contain textile-graded fibers. The present study intended to develop a pineapple leaf fiber extractor to chip off the waxy layer of the leaf. The machine comprised feeding conveyor, feed rollers, scratching roller, combing roller, frame and motor as a power source with a transmission unit. The performance was evaluated under different independent variables, i.e. rpm of the scratching roller (100, 150 and 200 rpm), types of secondary roller (combing, serration and without secondary roller) and moisture content of leaf (85 ± 3, 78 ± 3 and 71 ± 2%). Response surface method of optimization was employed to optimize the operational parameters. Best combination of operating parameters was found to be 150 rpm scratching rollers, combing type secondary rollers and moisture content of 85 ± 3%. It was found that the retting duration, processing efficiency, and fiber yield were 4 days, 88.9%, and 2.41% at optimized parameters, respectively. Further, throughput capacity and power requirement were found to be 33 ± 2 kg/hand 1.5 kWh respectively. The developed machine found to be effective in extracting waxy layer on leaves with minimal damage to useable fiber.

摘要

在印度次大陆，菠萝（Ananas Comosus）的叶子在果实收获后被闲置，导致含有纺织级纤维的自然资源浪费. 本研究旨在开发一种菠萝叶纤维提取器，以去除菠萝叶的蜡质层. 该机器由给料输送机、给料辊、刮花辊、梳理辊、机架和带传动装置的电机组成. 在不同的自变量下评估性能，即刮花辊的转速（100、150和200rpm）、二次辊的类型（梳理、锯齿和无二次辊）和叶片的含水量（85 ± 3、78 ± 3和71 ± 2%）. 采用响应面优化方法对运行参数进行了优化. 最佳操作参数组合为150rpm刮花辊、梳型二次辊和含水量为85 ± 3%. 研究发现，在优化的参数下，脱胶时间、加工效率和纤维产量分别为4d、88.9%和2.41%. 此外，吞吐量和功率要求分别为33 ± 2公斤/手1.5千瓦时. 开发的机器被发现可以有效地提取叶片上的蜡质层，对可用纤维的损害最小.

KEYWORDS:

• Pineapple leaf
• processing efficiency
• fiber yield
• extractor
• retting
• ANN

关键词:

• 菠萝叶
• 处理效率
• 纤维产量
• 提取器
• 脱胶

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).