Structure and properties of natural cellulose fibers obtained from cornhusks, cornstalks, rice, wheat, soybean straw and sorghum stalks and leaves

Natural cellulose fibers with properties similar to that of cotton and linen have been obtained from the byproducts of all the major food crops. Lignocellulosic agricultural byproducts are cheap and abundant sources that could be used as alternative sources for natural cellulose fibers. Finding alternative sources for fibers will be necessary in the near future due to the issues concerning the price and availability of the natural and synthetic fibers in current use. Corn, rice, wheat, sorghum and soybeans are the major food crops of the world. Cultivation of these crops generates substantial amounts of byproducts that are of limited use at present. These lignocellulosic byproducts could be used to produce natural cellulose fibers for textiles, composite and other industrial applications. Using the byproducts for high value industrial applications will increase the value of these agricultural crops and reduce our dependence on natural and synthetic fibers by providing cheap and sustainable resource for the fibers. For the first time cornhusks, cornstalks, rice straw, wheat straw, sorghum stalk and leaves and soybean straw have been used to produce natural cellulose fibers. Simple fiber extraction methods were developed to obtain fibers from these sources with properties similar to or better than those of natural cellulose fibers such as cotton and linen. The fibers obtained were studied for their composition, morphological and physical structure and properties. This research shows that lignocellulosic agricultural byproducts can be used to produce natural cellulose fibers with properties suitable for textile, composite and other fibrous applications. Studies also show that the fibers are processable on the textile machinery and useful for various applications