Abstract:

Fibers with low gum content were extracted from the bark of mulberry branches by a combination of bacteria and peroxide treatments. The bark of mulberry branches, with 30% cellulose, is a copious and inexpensive source of natural fibers. However, fibers extracted by microwave, enzyme or alkali had a high gum content (15.5% for hemicellulose and 8.6% for lignin), which rendered them difficult to be made into high- value textiles. In this research, strains with high polygalacturonase activities and subsequent hydrogen peroxide decreased the hemicellulose content to 2.5% and lignin content to 2.4%. Mulberry fibers in our study could be spun into yarns with a fineness of 18.2 tex. Compared to flax yarns, mulberry fiber yarns had a tenacity 20% higher, an elongation 18% higher and an unevenness 30% lower. Cotton/mulberry fiber fabrics had softer and smoother hand than cotton/flax fabrics. Overall, the fibers in our study show better potential for industrial textile applications than those in previous studies.