August 15,
2005, ARS News Service: New international quality
standards for flax fiber have been established, thanks
to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Standards
have been established for fineness, color and cleanliness
of the fiber.
The standards help assure uniform quality and performance,
according to microbiologist Danny E. Akin in the ARS
Quality Assessment Research Unit at Athens, Ga. Natural
fibers such as flax/linen are variable, so standards
are particularly useful for manufacturers of textiles
and composites. Without standards, manufacturers lack
the knowledge of how to set equipment for optimal production.
Flax fiber went out of vogue in the United States with
the introduction of the cotton gin, which vaulted cotton
into popularity.
In the United States, flax is now grown for seed--linseed,
for example--mostly in North Dakota. A market for flax
fiber has been difficult to establish, partly because
there have been no standards in place to govern its
quality. That is being changed.
Akin chairs the ASTM International Subcommittee "Flax
and Linen," which is responsible for establishing
standards for flax fibers. Four standards have been
developed to date, including terminology, color measurement,
fineness and cleanliness. ASTM, originally known as
the American Society for Testing and Materials, was
formed more than a century ago and is one of the largest
voluntary standards-development organizations in the
world.
These standards set the stage for an expansion of manufacturing
use of flax products into lighter, more environmentally
friendly composites that can be used to replace glass
in cars. Some major car manufacturers have expressed
interest in such a product. Flax products could also
find use in the medical arena as bandages, and short
flax fibers can be blended with cotton or other fibers
for specialty products.
Read more about the research in the August 2005 issue
of Agricultural Research magazine, available online
at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/aug05/fiber0805.htm
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