Browsing by Author "Weiner, Jakub"

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    Effect of enzyme and plasma treatments of bark cloth from ficus natalensis : morphology and thermal behavior.
    (The Journal of the Textile Institute, 2015) Rwawiire, Samson; Tomkova, Blanka; Weiner, Jakub; Militky, Jiri
    Utilization of natural vegetable fibers as fillers in polymer composites is on the rise due to numerous advantages such as low specific weight, renewability, greenhouse gas emission mitigation, and less energy requirement in processing compared to synthetic fibers.Bark cloth is a naturally occurring non-woven fabric,produced in Uganda from majorly three tree species: Antiaris toxicaria, Ficus brachypoda, and Ficus natalensis. The most commonly used species is F. natalensis which after various processing routes is used in art and design to produce fashion articles. For efficient processing and mechanical properties of natural fiber-reinforced composite structures, there is a need for fiber surface treatment in order to enhance fiber to matrix adhesion and the wettability of the fibers. Bark cloth being a natural fibrous non-woven fabric, the surface microfibers have plant material in the form of flakes and waxes for which if the fabric were to effectively undergo further processing, there is a need of dissolving the impurities.