Utilization of Abaca Fiber as Industrial Raw Material
Utilization of Abaca Fiber as Industrial Raw Material
presented during theWorkshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“March 11 to 17, 2002European Nature Heritage Fundpartners:The Workshop is staged with the kind support of:DaimlerChrysler and Deutsche Lufthansa Airlines
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 2 Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information2PROBLEMIn between only fourty years the primary forests on the Philippines were reduced to about 30 percent. Many endemic animal species like Tarsius, Flying Lemurs and Horn Bill arethreatened to extinction due to the destruction of their natural habitats. An extremely richnatural heritage of the Philippines is therefore endangered. The deforested areas areprimarily today grasslands or are used as coconut plantations.In the Philippines, a total area of about 2 million hectares was planted with coconut palms within the last century, both in the lowlands and along the hillsides. During this period,coconut became one of the main sources of family income by almost 20 million Filipinos.However, nowadays the income of the farmers derived from coconut trees has reducedsignificantly due to declining yields of the old plantations and the very low prices of copraand coconut oil both in the local and the international markets. Despite the support from the Philippine government and loans from the World Bank, thereplanting program of the government to replace old coconut plantations did not succeedbecause of the low revenue expectations from coconut production, in general. Sincelogging was banned in the Philippines in the mid 1990s, the old coconut trees have beencut down and used as construction materials. The tremendous cutting down of coconut trees has created vast open lands that are either left idle for a longer period of time or planted with cash crops like cassava, sweet potato,corn, or upland rice. This type of farming system causes soil erosion problems especiallyalong the hillsides that result not only in the reduction of soil fertility and water holdingcapacity but also causing sedimentation problems in the coastal areas and even flashfloods during heavy rains. In 1991 for example, more than 8000 people were killed by aflash flood in Ormoc City in the island of Leyte.
CHALLENGE
In order to reduce these destructive impacts on the environment, a sustainable farmingsystem, especially on the hillsides, with appropriate agriculture and forestry strategies isurgently required. The most promising farming system is the rainforestation farming whichis already successfully established in some regions of the island of Leyte, thus, ensuringsoil cover throughout the year as well as providing new habitat structures for plants andanimals. A very suitable plant for incorporation in the rainforestation farming system is abaca orManila hemp which can be successfully used as cover crop especially in formermonoculture palm tree plantations. This banana species originates from the Philippines.Besides erosion prevention, the fiber of the plant could be used as industrial raw material, particularly in the automotive industry. Therefore, it can offer a sustainable source ofincome not only for small farmers, but also for the local fiber processing industry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 3
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information3Natural fibers such as cotton, sisal, ramie, hemp, and flax are traditionally used for textiles, mats, ropes, and filling material for upholstery. As industrial raw materials, natural fiberscan replace synthetic fibers in composites that recently become increasingly important forexample in the automotive industry due to numerous economic and ecological advantages. DaimlerChrysler as the pioneer in this development implemented e.g. more than 30 components in some of their cars. Nevertheless, in the automotive industry suchcomposites are only utilized in components of low added value in the interior of cars thatare not exposed to strong mechanical impacts. The fiber of abaca or Manila hemp offers great potential for different industrial applications. Due to the extremely high mechanical strength of the fiber as well as long fiber length of 2 –3 meters, application of abaca even in highly stressed components could be feasible. Despite these advantages, the abaca fiber is currently not used in the industry. Amongother requirements its implementation depends also from standardized fiber quality offered in sufficient quantities with guaranteed continuous supply. Currently, abaca is producedmainly by smallholders in the Philippines, who have neither access to high-yielding anddisease resistant varieties nor have the machinery needed for proper processing of the raw material. FEASABILITYIn view of this situation additional investigations on the production and processing of abaca fiber are necessary. These include selection of suitable varieties, improvement ofproduction conditions, and setting-up a small scale fiber-processing center. Objective of a private-public partnership project carried out in an interdisciplinary approach involving experts and scientists from the automotive industry, textile engineering, plantproduction, agricultural engineering, economics, and tropical ecology could be a feasibilitystudy. Participation of experienced companies from the automotive industry and theGerman Agency for Technical Cooperation GTZ, as well as scientific institutions and localexperts like the National Abaca Research Center based at the Leyte State University, would ensure the success of the project. The European Nature Heritage Fund (EURONATURE)would be responsible for the environmental education, sustainable habitat protection andecological evaluation of production and processing of Manila hemp, as well as for localtraining courses. • Scientific InvestigationsAccording to the technical specifications needed by the industry, optimal abaca varieties will be identified with regard to their fiber strength, processing and decomposition behavior, as well as mechanical properties of the corresponding composites. For the mechanical tests,selected fibers could then be embedded into thermoplastic and duroplastic polymers. Thecharacteristics of the abaca fiber as well as glass fiber composites in components will becompared in economic and ecological terms. With regard to the agricultural and ecological aspects, the selection criteria for suitableabaca varieties include disease resistance, yield, and the vegetation period. These factors influence the production costs of the fiber significantly. Moreover, the optimum time forharvesting has to be identified since the strength of the fiber depends on the stage ofmaturity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 4
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information4• Environmental AspectsThe use of abaca fiber will have numerous ecological advantages. Intercropping of abacawith coconut palms and other tree species on the hillsides will improve the conditions forbiodiversity, prevents erosion, as well as minimize sedimentation problems in coastal areas which are important breeding places for sea fishes. The water holding capacity of the soilwill be improved and floods and landslides will also be prevented. The experiments will be concentrated on areas with mixed cropping of coconut and oilpalm, fruit and rubber trees, as well as hardwood because shading is needed for the abaca plant. In those areas the production of natural fibers does not compete with food production at all. Natural fibers have a high strength in relation to their density. Moreover, the energyrequirements for production of natural fiber composites are considerably lower than forconventional fibers. In addition, the production of natural fibers is CO2neutral. At the end of their lifespan, the composites can either be recycled or decomposed since the fibers.Likewise, the natural fibers can be thermally recycled. • Socio-economic and Sustainability AspectsWithin such a cooperation, a sustainable production and marketing system of abaca fiber or Manila hemp should be developed. Direct utilization of the fiber will increase the income of the farmers due to production of high-quality raw fibers. When organized into cooperatives, the farmers will be able to process those raw fibers as well as produce fleeces, rovings, and other high value products. This will give them the opportunity to market directly theirproducts.For the development of the processing center that is expected to be operated oncooperative level, knowledge gained from the solar processing center established for cocoa and coffee in Indonesia will be applied. In order to obtain high fiber quality, each processing step including preparation of the fiber, drying and production of fleeces and rovings will be optimized. The thermal energy required for the drying process will be generated using solar collectors integrated into the roof of the processing center.In the project area, it is expected that new job opportunities will be created not only in the processing centers but also in the local industry, especially in ancillary companies. Thelocal manufacturers will have access to new technologies for processing and production of abaca fibers. Because of their innovative products, they will be able to enter new markets.• Economic AspectsOne of the expected outcomes of the cooperation is the production of high-quality naturalfibers and composite materials from abaca with high physical properties. These fibers have a high potential to substitute glass fibers in multiple automotive parts. The use of thesenatural fibers might be very beneficial for the car manufacturers because they can besubstantially and thermally recycled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 5
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information5Utilizing these natural fibers will decrease the cost of the components considerably due to the low costs of the raw material. Moreover, production costs of the natural fibers will bereduced by an increased share of locally manufactured components. The local productioncan have an increasing share in the future. • Transferability AspectsEven though abaca is mainly cultivated in the Philippines today, it can be planted in anytropical and humid location. The knowledge and the experience about production andprocessing gained can easily be transferred to other countries. The optimized fiber qualities available could enhance the share of natural fiber composites in automobiles as well as structural parts in other industries. Moreover, the high-quality fiber could be used in other industrial branches, for example for railway systems and ships aswell as for agricultural machinery. CHANCES AND PERSPECTIVESWithin a feasibility study carried out by an interdisciplinary group of experts, thefundamentals of improving the fiber quality as well the processing technology will beinvestigated. Utilization of abaca fiber in composites for highly stressed parts ofautomobiles would result to numerous ecological as well as economic benefits. Replacingglass fibers by natural fibers could reduce the weight of automotive parts and enablesrecycling of these components. Integration of abaca plants into rainforestation systems or intercropping with coconut trees in former monoculture plantations will have a significant contribution in the prevention of soil erosion, flooding, and sedimentation in coastal areas. In addition, the local biodiversity will be protected and even rehabilitated providing habitat for endangered species. Theproduction of high quality fibers and processing by small scale local industry creates jobopportunities, offers access to new markets, and increase the income of farmers andlaborers. The project will not only contribute to the preservation of nature with thefundamental ecosystems but will also stabilize the farm incomes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 6
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information6Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Werner MühlbauerUniversity of HohenheimCenter for Agriculture in the Tropics and SubtropicsGarbenstr. 13, 70593 StuttgartTel.: ++49 (0)711 459 2490Fax: ++49 (0)711 459 3298E-mail: muehlbauer@ats.uni-hohenheim.deInternet: www.uni-hohenheim.deClaus-Peter HutterPresidentEURONATUREEuropean Nature Heritage FundBahnhofstraße 35D – 71638 LudwigsburgTel.: ++49 (0)7141 92 03 21Fax: ++49 (0)7141 90 11 83E-mail: ludwigsburg@euronatur.orgInternet: www.euronatur.orgMarch 2002
source
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:l0ZjC6ROGJQJ:www.euronatur.org/fileadmin/docs/projekte/fibre.PDF+income+from+abaca&hl=en&gl=ph&ct=clnk&cd=4
presented during theWorkshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“March 11 to 17, 2002European Nature Heritage Fundpartners:The Workshop is staged with the kind support of:DaimlerChrysler and Deutsche Lufthansa Airlines
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 2 Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information2PROBLEMIn between only fourty years the primary forests on the Philippines were reduced to about 30 percent. Many endemic animal species like Tarsius, Flying Lemurs and Horn Bill arethreatened to extinction due to the destruction of their natural habitats. An extremely richnatural heritage of the Philippines is therefore endangered. The deforested areas areprimarily today grasslands or are used as coconut plantations.In the Philippines, a total area of about 2 million hectares was planted with coconut palms within the last century, both in the lowlands and along the hillsides. During this period,coconut became one of the main sources of family income by almost 20 million Filipinos.However, nowadays the income of the farmers derived from coconut trees has reducedsignificantly due to declining yields of the old plantations and the very low prices of copraand coconut oil both in the local and the international markets. Despite the support from the Philippine government and loans from the World Bank, thereplanting program of the government to replace old coconut plantations did not succeedbecause of the low revenue expectations from coconut production, in general. Sincelogging was banned in the Philippines in the mid 1990s, the old coconut trees have beencut down and used as construction materials. The tremendous cutting down of coconut trees has created vast open lands that are either left idle for a longer period of time or planted with cash crops like cassava, sweet potato,corn, or upland rice. This type of farming system causes soil erosion problems especiallyalong the hillsides that result not only in the reduction of soil fertility and water holdingcapacity but also causing sedimentation problems in the coastal areas and even flashfloods during heavy rains. In 1991 for example, more than 8000 people were killed by aflash flood in Ormoc City in the island of Leyte.
CHALLENGE
In order to reduce these destructive impacts on the environment, a sustainable farmingsystem, especially on the hillsides, with appropriate agriculture and forestry strategies isurgently required. The most promising farming system is the rainforestation farming whichis already successfully established in some regions of the island of Leyte, thus, ensuringsoil cover throughout the year as well as providing new habitat structures for plants andanimals. A very suitable plant for incorporation in the rainforestation farming system is abaca orManila hemp which can be successfully used as cover crop especially in formermonoculture palm tree plantations. This banana species originates from the Philippines.Besides erosion prevention, the fiber of the plant could be used as industrial raw material, particularly in the automotive industry. Therefore, it can offer a sustainable source ofincome not only for small farmers, but also for the local fiber processing industry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 3
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information3Natural fibers such as cotton, sisal, ramie, hemp, and flax are traditionally used for textiles, mats, ropes, and filling material for upholstery. As industrial raw materials, natural fiberscan replace synthetic fibers in composites that recently become increasingly important forexample in the automotive industry due to numerous economic and ecological advantages. DaimlerChrysler as the pioneer in this development implemented e.g. more than 30 components in some of their cars. Nevertheless, in the automotive industry suchcomposites are only utilized in components of low added value in the interior of cars thatare not exposed to strong mechanical impacts. The fiber of abaca or Manila hemp offers great potential for different industrial applications. Due to the extremely high mechanical strength of the fiber as well as long fiber length of 2 –3 meters, application of abaca even in highly stressed components could be feasible. Despite these advantages, the abaca fiber is currently not used in the industry. Amongother requirements its implementation depends also from standardized fiber quality offered in sufficient quantities with guaranteed continuous supply. Currently, abaca is producedmainly by smallholders in the Philippines, who have neither access to high-yielding anddisease resistant varieties nor have the machinery needed for proper processing of the raw material. FEASABILITYIn view of this situation additional investigations on the production and processing of abaca fiber are necessary. These include selection of suitable varieties, improvement ofproduction conditions, and setting-up a small scale fiber-processing center. Objective of a private-public partnership project carried out in an interdisciplinary approach involving experts and scientists from the automotive industry, textile engineering, plantproduction, agricultural engineering, economics, and tropical ecology could be a feasibilitystudy. Participation of experienced companies from the automotive industry and theGerman Agency for Technical Cooperation GTZ, as well as scientific institutions and localexperts like the National Abaca Research Center based at the Leyte State University, would ensure the success of the project. The European Nature Heritage Fund (EURONATURE)would be responsible for the environmental education, sustainable habitat protection andecological evaluation of production and processing of Manila hemp, as well as for localtraining courses. • Scientific InvestigationsAccording to the technical specifications needed by the industry, optimal abaca varieties will be identified with regard to their fiber strength, processing and decomposition behavior, as well as mechanical properties of the corresponding composites. For the mechanical tests,selected fibers could then be embedded into thermoplastic and duroplastic polymers. Thecharacteristics of the abaca fiber as well as glass fiber composites in components will becompared in economic and ecological terms. With regard to the agricultural and ecological aspects, the selection criteria for suitableabaca varieties include disease resistance, yield, and the vegetation period. These factors influence the production costs of the fiber significantly. Moreover, the optimum time forharvesting has to be identified since the strength of the fiber depends on the stage ofmaturity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 4
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information4• Environmental AspectsThe use of abaca fiber will have numerous ecological advantages. Intercropping of abacawith coconut palms and other tree species on the hillsides will improve the conditions forbiodiversity, prevents erosion, as well as minimize sedimentation problems in coastal areas which are important breeding places for sea fishes. The water holding capacity of the soilwill be improved and floods and landslides will also be prevented. The experiments will be concentrated on areas with mixed cropping of coconut and oilpalm, fruit and rubber trees, as well as hardwood because shading is needed for the abaca plant. In those areas the production of natural fibers does not compete with food production at all. Natural fibers have a high strength in relation to their density. Moreover, the energyrequirements for production of natural fiber composites are considerably lower than forconventional fibers. In addition, the production of natural fibers is CO2neutral. At the end of their lifespan, the composites can either be recycled or decomposed since the fibers.Likewise, the natural fibers can be thermally recycled. • Socio-economic and Sustainability AspectsWithin such a cooperation, a sustainable production and marketing system of abaca fiber or Manila hemp should be developed. Direct utilization of the fiber will increase the income of the farmers due to production of high-quality raw fibers. When organized into cooperatives, the farmers will be able to process those raw fibers as well as produce fleeces, rovings, and other high value products. This will give them the opportunity to market directly theirproducts.For the development of the processing center that is expected to be operated oncooperative level, knowledge gained from the solar processing center established for cocoa and coffee in Indonesia will be applied. In order to obtain high fiber quality, each processing step including preparation of the fiber, drying and production of fleeces and rovings will be optimized. The thermal energy required for the drying process will be generated using solar collectors integrated into the roof of the processing center.In the project area, it is expected that new job opportunities will be created not only in the processing centers but also in the local industry, especially in ancillary companies. Thelocal manufacturers will have access to new technologies for processing and production of abaca fibers. Because of their innovative products, they will be able to enter new markets.• Economic AspectsOne of the expected outcomes of the cooperation is the production of high-quality naturalfibers and composite materials from abaca with high physical properties. These fibers have a high potential to substitute glass fibers in multiple automotive parts. The use of thesenatural fibers might be very beneficial for the car manufacturers because they can besubstantially and thermally recycled.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 5
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information5Utilizing these natural fibers will decrease the cost of the components considerably due to the low costs of the raw material. Moreover, production costs of the natural fibers will bereduced by an increased share of locally manufactured components. The local productioncan have an increasing share in the future. • Transferability AspectsEven though abaca is mainly cultivated in the Philippines today, it can be planted in anytropical and humid location. The knowledge and the experience about production andprocessing gained can easily be transferred to other countries. The optimized fiber qualities available could enhance the share of natural fiber composites in automobiles as well as structural parts in other industries. Moreover, the high-quality fiber could be used in other industrial branches, for example for railway systems and ships aswell as for agricultural machinery. CHANCES AND PERSPECTIVESWithin a feasibility study carried out by an interdisciplinary group of experts, thefundamentals of improving the fiber quality as well the processing technology will beinvestigated. Utilization of abaca fiber in composites for highly stressed parts ofautomobiles would result to numerous ecological as well as economic benefits. Replacingglass fibers by natural fibers could reduce the weight of automotive parts and enablesrecycling of these components. Integration of abaca plants into rainforestation systems or intercropping with coconut trees in former monoculture plantations will have a significant contribution in the prevention of soil erosion, flooding, and sedimentation in coastal areas. In addition, the local biodiversity will be protected and even rehabilitated providing habitat for endangered species. Theproduction of high quality fibers and processing by small scale local industry creates jobopportunities, offers access to new markets, and increase the income of farmers andlaborers. The project will not only contribute to the preservation of nature with thefundamental ecosystems but will also stabilize the farm incomes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 6
Workshop „Sustainable Development, natural Fibres for modern Technology, Subsistence and Biodiversity Improvement Projects in the Philippines“Background information6Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Werner MühlbauerUniversity of HohenheimCenter for Agriculture in the Tropics and SubtropicsGarbenstr. 13, 70593 StuttgartTel.: ++49 (0)711 459 2490Fax: ++49 (0)711 459 3298E-mail: muehlbauer@ats.uni-hohenheim.deInternet: www.uni-hohenheim.deClaus-Peter HutterPresidentEURONATUREEuropean Nature Heritage FundBahnhofstraße 35D – 71638 LudwigsburgTel.: ++49 (0)7141 92 03 21Fax: ++49 (0)7141 90 11 83E-mail: ludwigsburg@euronatur.orgInternet: www.euronatur.orgMarch 2002
source
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:l0ZjC6ROGJQJ:www.euronatur.org/fileadmin/docs/projekte/fibre.PDF+income+from+abaca&hl=en&gl=ph&ct=clnk&cd=4
posted by GeorgeM at
2:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home