Bamboo Fibres: Processing, Properties and Applications (The Textile Institute Book Series)

Bamboo Fibres: Processing, Properties, and Applications brings together best practices from key stages of bamboo production and application, allowing readers to find new solutions for bamboo fibers. Chapters on bamboo fiber characterization and properties show the full range of functional uses of the material. When used as a replacement for petrochemical-based synthetic fibers, this abundant and cheap material/textile can significantly reduce the environmental impact of textile products. This book is an invaluable resource for fiber chemists, material scientists, fabric technologists, manufacturers, and researchers interested in sustainable textiles.

Bamboo fiber is a cellulosic fibre regenerated from the bamboo plant. It is highly sustainable being fully biodegradable and has strength comparable to conventional glass fibers. It has many other valuable characteristics, being bacteriostatic, antifungal, antibacterial, hypoallergenic, hydroscopic, a natural deodorizer, and resistant to ultraviolet light. Furthermore, it is highly durable, stable and tough and has substantial tensile strength. Due to its versatile properties, bamboo fibers are already used in the textile industry to make garments, in biomedical applications due to its antibacterial qualities, and many other areas.

• Explores special technical properties of bamboo fibers, including antimicrobial, bacteriostatic, antifungal, antibacterial, hypoallergenic, hydroscopic and mechanical properties
• Provides innovative knowledge on the production of bamboo fibers, including the blending of yarns and fabrics
• Explains the broader techno-economics of bamboo fiber production, covering the social as well as environmental sustainability of the material

Dr Babu is Professor and Head of the Department of Textile Technology, and Dean (Public & International Affairs), at the Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology (BIET), Davangere, Karnataka, India. Dr. Babu has been involved in several international assignments. In 2006, he was invited to the University of Oxford in the UK, to join a 1-year research project on silk based biomaterials. From 2007 to 2008, Dr. Babu was involved in advanced research on shape memory textiles and garments, at the Institute of Textiles and Clothing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. In 2014, Dr. Babu was awarded with the prestigious Commonwealth Fellowship by the Association of Commonwealth Universities, based in the UK. Under this fellowship, he was invited to become a Visiting Professor at the University of Maroua, Cameroon, Central Africa, in order to establish and develop the Department of Textiles. His main research areas include silk-based biomaterials, natural fibre based eco-biocomposites, eco-friendly processing, organic cotton processing and eco-management concepts, natural anti-microbial agent based finishing of cotton and other fibres, and bamboo-blended fabric production and characterization.

Dr Chandrsekhara is an assistant professor at the Department of Textile Technology of Bapuji Institute of Engineering and Technology (BIET), Davangere, Karnataka, India. He has more than 20 years of teaching experience and has taught several courses related to natural fibres, fabric manufacturing and chemical processing of textiles. He has carried out extensive research on bamboo fibres, their characterisation and their blends and has published several papers in this area.