Plant Fibres

Question 1

What are plant fibres?

Answer 1

A thread or filament from plants used to form textiles, used in clothing, rope, paper, etc.

Question 2

Define sustainability

Answer 2

Using resources in a way which meets the needs of the current generation without compromising ability of future gens to meet their needs

Question 3

Name reasons to use plant fibres

Answer 3

~ easy to grow in large numbers and renewable
~ lower use of crude oils as fibres can be used to make plastics
~ have many different properties —> strong, flexible, resistant to decay, waterproof, cheaply extracted

Question 4

Give two examples of plant fibre use

Answer 4

Bioplastics = plastics made from plant starch
Bio-ethanol = fuel made from starch

Question 5

Describe how plant fibres are extracted

Answer 5

— plants are taken apart by pulling out fibres, digesting surrounding tissue
— cellulose + lignin resist chemical degradation whilst polysaccharides holding together are dissolved
— more lignin = more difficult to separate fibres
— caustic alkali used to get fibre pulp from trees so bacteria break them down or they are soaked in water