Abaca Fibre K.Vijayalakshmi 1 Ch.Y.K.Neeraja 2 Ayuodhya Kavitha 3 J.Hayavadana 4 1,2 Student, Department of Textile Technology, University College of Technology (A) , Osmania University, Hyderabad-7, Telengana. 3 Asst.Professor, Department of Textile Technology, University College of Technology (A) , Osmania University, Hyderabad-7, Telengana. 4 Professor, Department of Textile Technology, University College of Technology (A) , Osmania University, Hyderabad-7, Telengana. Abstract: Abaca is a leaf fibre which belongs to banana family of plants with more tapering the leaves than Banana and is cheap and abundantly available. Known as Manila Hemp Abaca is a hard fibre. Abaca is the strongest of all natural fibres. Abaca fibre is extracted from the leaf sheath traditionally by stripping using either manual or mechanical process. Volcanic areas are suited for abaca cultivation the Philippines tropical climate. It has a lot of applications in household as well as technical areas. Index Terms – Abaca fibre, Natural fibre, Physical and chemical properties I. INTRODUCTION Abaca is a leaf fibre which belongs to banana family of plants with the botanical name of MUSA TEXTILES. These leaves are upright, pointed, narrower, and more tapering than the leaves of banana. Abaca (Manila Hemp) is one among the natural fibre–reinforcing materialsAbaca is a hard fibre and is entirely different from true hemp, which is a soft fibre and is the product of Cannabis sativa. Abaca is superior fibre with its high tensile and folding strength, buoyancy, high porosity, resistance to saltwater damage, and long fibre length up to 3 m. The best grades of Abaca are fine, lustrous, light beige in color and very strong. Abaca is the strongest of all natural fibres. It is use as raw material for cordage, fibre crafts, and pulp for the production of specialty paper products like security papers, tea bags, meat casings, nonwoven materials, and cigarette papers. Table 1:Comparison of chemical composition of Abaca with other Natural Fibres Chemical composition Abaca (leaf) Hemp (bast) Jute (bast) Sisal (leaf) Linen (bast) Cotton (seed) Cellulose 68.32% 77.5% 64% 71.5% 82% 80-90% Hemi cellulose 19.00% 10% 20% 18.1% 2% 4-6% Lignin 12-13% 6.8% 13.3% 5.9% 4% 0-1.5% Moisture content 10-11% 1.8% 1.5% 4% 7.7% 6-8% Ash content 4.8% 3.9% 1.0% 1% 3.4% 1-1.8% Table 2: Comparison of Physical Properties of Abaca with other Natural Fibres Physical properties Abaca Hemp Jute Sisal Linen Cotton Density (g/cm 3 ) 1.5 1.48 1.46 1.33 1.4 1.54 Fibre length 2-4 mtr 1-2 mtr 3-3.5 mtr 1 mtr Upto 90cm 10-65mm Fibre diameter 150-260 microns 16-50 microns 60-110 microns 100-300 microns 12-60 microns 11-22 microns Tensile strength (N/ m 2 ) 980 550-900 400-800 600-700 800 400 Elongation 1.1% 1.6% 1.8% 4.3% 2.7-3.5% 3-10% Moisture regain 5.81% 12% 13.75% 11% 10-12% 8.5% Young's modulus (GPa) 41 30-60 20-25 17-22 50-70 6-10 Techscripts 16 Transactions on Engineering and Sciences ISSN: 2347-1964 (Online) 2347-1875 (Print) Vol.2, Issue 9, September 2014