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| Bast fibre | Flax | Hemp | Jute | Kenaf | Ramie |
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| General information [20–24] |
| Scientific name | Linum usitatissimum | Cannabis sativa | Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius | Hibiscus cannabinus | Boehmeria nivea |
| Plant outlook | Can grow to a height of 80–150 cm in less than 110 days
Fibre flax plants are very tall, with few branches and low seed production | Plant stalks can grow to 1.5–2.5 m tall and 6–16 mm thick
It has smooth and hollow stems, rough foliage at the top | Can grow to a height of 2–3.5 m with high lignin content during their lifespan of 120 days
Able to absorb 15 tons of CO2 and release 11 tons of O2 for one hectare of jute plants | Relatively easy to grow with high yields, grow to 5 m tall in 5 months
Produces about 6–10 tons of dry matter per acre in a year | Plant stalks can grow to 1–2.5 m tall and 8–16 mm thick |
| Climate for growth | Grow in moderately moist climates | Grow in a mild, humid atmosphere, and 625–750 mm/year of rainfall is needed | Hot and humid climate | Tropical and subtropical regions | — |
| Country | Europe and Asia | Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and equatorial countries | India, Bangladesh, China, and Uzbekistan | Northern Africa, India, Russia, and China | China, Philippines, Japan, Brazil, and Europe |
| Fibre quality | The fine, long flax fibres are usually spun into yarns for linen textiles | Hemp fibres are less flexible and coarser than flax fibres | Long jute fibres are ranging from 1–4 m with the polygonal section of various sizes with a wide lumen, resulting in a high deviation of fibre diameter, which in turn causes variations in strength
The fibre has moderate moisture retention and good resistance to microorganisms, but not to photochemical and chemical attack | A potential substitute fibre for jute fibres
Preferred over other fibres because of its homogeneity, uniform fibre orientation, and good carbon footprint due to kenaf’s high CO2 absorption | Retting is not possible due to high gum contents (xylan and araban content up to 35%); the degumming process is more preferred |
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| Chemical properties [25, 26] |
| Cellulose (%) | 62–71 | 67–75 | 59–71 | 45–57 | 68–76 |
| Hemicellulose (%) | 16–18 | 16–18 | 12–13 | 21.5 | 13–14 |
| Pectin (%) | 1.8–2.0 | 0.8 | 0.2–4.4 | 3.0–5.0 | 1.9–2.1 |
| Lignin (%) | 3.0–4.5 | 3.0–5.0 | 11.8–12.9 | 12.0–13.0 | 0.6–2.0 |
| Wax (%) | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | — | 0.5 |
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| Fibre properties [25, 27, 28] |
| Moisture content (wt%) | 8–12 | 6.2–12 | 12.5–13.7 | — | 7.5–17 |
| Angle microfibril | 5–10 | 2–6.2 | 8.1 | 9–15 | 7.5 |
| Average diameter (μm) | 15–30 | 10–40 | — | — | 34 |
| Density (kg/m3) | 1530 | 1520 | 1520 | 1450 | 1500 |
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| Mechanical properties [27–29] |
| Tensile modulus (GPa) | 58 | 70 | 60 | 14–38 | 18.3 |
| Tensile strength (MPa) | 500–1500 | 920 | 860 | 240–930 | 399 |
| Elongation at break (%) | 3.27 | 1.7 | 2 | 1.6 | — |
| Moisture absorption (%) | 7 | 8 | 12 | — | — |
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