Environmentally Sustainable Fibers from Regenerated Protein
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2008 papers
Abstract
Concerns for the environment and consumer demand are driving research into environmentally friendly fibers as replacements for part of the 38 million tonnes of synthetic fiber produced annually. While much current research focuses on cellulosic fibers, we highlight that protein fibers regenerated from waste or byproduct sources should also be considered. Feather keratin and wheat gluten may both be suitable. They are annually renewable, commercially abundant, of consistent quality, and have guaranteed supply. They contain useful amino acids for fiber making, with interchain cross-linking possible via cysteine residues or through the metal-catalyzed photocrosslinking of tyrosine residues. Previous commercially produced fibers suffered from poor wet strength. Contemporary nanoparticle and cross-linking technology has the potential to overcome this, allowing commercial production to resume. This would bring together two existing large production and processing pipelines, agricultural protein production and textile processing, to divert potential waste streams into useful products.
Related Papers
- → Setting characteristics of natural cellulose fiber reinforced cement composite(2020)79 cited
- → Enhancing the inter-fiber bonding properties of cellulosic fibers by increasing different fiber charges(2016)31 cited
- → Laser surface treatment of regenerated cellulose fiber(2000)14 cited
- Study on β-cyclodextrin Grafting Cellulose Fiber(2005)
- Study on Preparation of Cleansing Fiber and Its Adsorption for Cu~(2+)(2005)