_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: Email: emmanuel.akubueze@fiiro.gov.ng, emmauzic@yahoo.com; Journal of Materials Science Research and Reviews 2(4): 1-7, 2019; Article no.JMSRR.45087 Extraction and Characterization of Bast Fibres from Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) Stem for Industrial Application E. U. Akubueze 1* , C. S. Ezeanyanaso 1 , O. S. Muniru 1 , F. C. Nwaeche 1 , M. I. Tumbi 1 , C. C. Igwe 1 and G. N. Elemo 1 1 Department of Chemical, Fibre and Environmental Technology, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, P.M.B. 21023, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Authors’ contributions This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author EUA designed the study and carried out the process and production. Author CSE performed the statistical analysis. Author OSM performed the chemical analysis. Author FCN performed the mechanical analysis of the material. Author MIT sourced and sorted the raw materials. Author CCI edited the first draft of the manuscript and supervised the R&D. Author GNE supervised and approved the R&D. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Article Information DOI: 10.9734/JMSRR/2019/45087 Editor(s): (1) Dr. Yang Qu, Associate Professor, Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, China. Reviewers: (1) Carlo Santulli, Università di Camerino, Italy. (2) Tabe Franklin Nyenty, University of Ngaoundere, Cameroon. (3) M. K. Gupta, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, India. Complete Peer review History: http://www.sdiarticle3.com/review-history/45087 Received 17 September 2018 Accepted 28 November 2018 Published 09 February 2019 ABSTRACT Fibers extracted from Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) stem were investigated as starting raw materials for textile industries, bio-packaging material, pulp and paper products, particle boards and composite material applications. Two extraction methods for obtaining bast fibres from Hibiscus sabdariffa stem such as Bacterial retting (BR) method and chemical retting (CR) method were studied. The Physico-chemical and mechanical properties of Bacterial retted (BR) and chemically retted (CR) Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) fibre was Light brown in colour, with 16.07- 20.2 Diameter(μm), 2.10-2.8 Fibre length (mm), 9.54-11.00% Moisture, 0.93-2.50% Ash, 55.55- 60.40% Cellulose, 33.70-27.04% Hemicellulose, 10.50-11.40% Lignin, 145.60-177.55 MPa Strength, 20.70-24.90 GPa Modulus, 0.5-0.7% Elongation at break for bacterial retting (BR) Original Research Article