Assessment, Evaluation and Acknowledgment of a New, More Controllable Method for Extracting Vegetal Fibers

Abstract

Pure, more homogeneous vegetal fibers are successfully extracted by using osmotic pressure to liberate the fibers (formed of static cells unaffected by water) from the binding tissue (formed of dynamic cells having semi-permeable membranes, deeply affected by water). When dried straw is immersed in enough water, osmotic pressure is generated ONLY inside cells having semi-permeable membranes, as long as a difference in the concentration of the water molecules persists inside and outside the dynamic cells (this is attained by repeated renewal of the outside water). The increase of the osmotic pressure would cause the rupture of the over-pressed membranes, gradually eliminating all the binding tissue and thus, the fibers are extracted smoothly in a pure form, with all their natural textile characteristics unaffected.