TEXTILE RAW MATERIAL

Different fibres are used as raw material for the textile. These fibers can be classified as under. NATURAL FIBRES MAN MADE FIBRES

NATURAL FIBRES
Natural fibers further can be classified according to their source of production and are as under. VEGETABLE FIBRES ANIMAL FIBRES

VEGETABLE FIBRES Vegetable fibres are that which are obtained from plant. These fibres are obtained from different parts of the plants i.e. seed , leaf, bast etc. The mainly used vegetable fibres in textile industry are as under. Cotton Flex (Linen) Jute Hemp Sisal Abaca Kapok

COTTON
Cotton is the king of fibers. It is used in textile industry since many years. It is obtained from the seed or fruit of the plant. Its plant is bush like. Cotton plant is found in different species. Its species are as under.
1. Gossypium Arboreum 2. Gossypium Hirsutum 3. Gossypium Barbadense 4. Gossypium Herbacium

The textile products produced from cotton are comfortable. Cotton is hydrophilic fibre. Due to its hydrophilicity it is most suitable for summer clothing. Major countries producing cotton are as under. PAKISTAN INDIA USA MEXICO EGYPT BRAZIL SUDAN The worlds best cotton is found in Egypt and Sudan.

COTTON FIBER PROPERTIES

Fibre Fineness
Cotton fiber fineness is its linear density. It is defined as micrograms/inches.

Cotton fiber fineness can be measured with the help of an instrument Shifield Micrinaire. Principle of this instrument is resistance to air flow. Standard laboratory conditions for this test are Temperature = 20 2 C R.H= 65 2 %

Micronaire Reading
6 and above 5-5.9 4-4.9 3-3.9 Below 3

Fineness
Very coarse Coarse Medium Fine Immature

Cotton Fiber Maturity

Cotton fiber maturity is extent of fibre cell wall development. It is explained as related to fiber fineness. If the fineness is above than 6 fibre is over mature. If fineness is less than fibre is immature.