• Energy Research

This chapter discusses the present scenario and market trend of some important natural plant fibers such as cotton, flax, jute, and hemp. Production, processing, and applications of these fibers are discussed. The factors influencing the sustainability of these natural plant fibers are presented and various lifecycle assessment studies performed on these fibers to evaluate their environmental impacts and sustainability are discussed.

This chapter discusses the properties of some existing and newly developed biosynthetic fibers such as polylactic acid (PLA), soybean protein, casein, alginate, chitin, and chitosan. Production technologies of these fibers and their impact on various sustainability parameters are also discussed. Existing applications of these biosynthetic fibers are presented. The last section of this paper presents lifecycle assessment studies to assess the environmental impacts and sustainability aspects of PLA fibers.

This chapter discusses the present scenario and market trend of regenerated cellulosic fibers, and the properties of principal fibers existing in the market as well as some new fibers recently developed and yet to be explored. Production technologies of these fibers are discussed and their potential applications are presented. Various sustainability issues related to the production of regenerated cellulosic fibers are dealt within this chapter. The last section discusses the results of research studies conducted to assess the environmental impacts and sustainability aspects of regenerated cellulose fibers.