Textile fibres and textiles from brassica plants

Abstract

Textile fibres and textiles produced from Brassica plants retain properties that are favourable for textile manufacture. Also described are textiles manufactured from the textile fibres produced from the Brassica plants which exhibit properties that are favourable for apparel and domestic applications, as well as industrial applications. Methods for producing the textile fibres from Brassica plants are further described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A textile fibre produced from a  Brassica  plant material by a method comprising the steps of:
 conditioning  Brassica  plant stems at a temperature of about 21° C. and a relative humidity of about 65%;   retting the conditioned  Brassica  plant stems by submersion in one of water or an alkali solution or an acid solution or an enzyme solution at a temperature selected from the range of about 20° C. to about 40° C. for a period of time selected from the range of 1 day to 5 days to produce bast fibres therefrom;   separating the  Brassica  bast fibres from the retted  Brassica  plant stems;   washing the separated  Brassica  bast fibres; and   drying the separated  Brassica  bast fibres,   wherein said dried separated  Brassica  bast fibers have a length variation that is less than ±3 mm.   
     
     
         2 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre is colourfast. 
     
     
         3 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre has a moisture regain of between about 20% to about 30%. 
     
     
         4 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre is heat resistant to temperatures of up to about 250° C. 
     
     
         5 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre has been additionally treated with any one of or a combination of treatments selected from the group consisting of enzyme treating, scouring, bleaching, dyeing, and softening. 
     
     
         6 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 5 , wherein the scouring treatment was an alkali scouring, an acid scouring, or both alkali scouring and acid scouring. 
     
     
         7 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 5 , wherein the dyeing treatment was with a reactive dye. 
     
     
         8 . A textile fibre produced from a  Brassica  plant material, said  Brassica  textile fibre comprising:
 a plurality of dried separated  Brassica  bast fibers having a length variation that is less than ±3 mm;   wherein said  Brassica  textile fibre is colourfast, and   wherein said textile fibre has a moisture regain of between about 20% to about 30%, and   wherein said textile fibre is heat resistant to temperatures of up to about 250° C.   
     
     
         9 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 8 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre has been treated with one or more enzymes. 
     
     
         10 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 8 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre has been scoured by one of alkali scouring or acid scouring or a combination of alkali scouring and acid scouring. 
     
     
         11 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 8 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre has been bleached. 
     
     
         12 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 8 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre has been dyed. 
     
     
         10 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 8 , wherein the  Brassica  textile fibre has been softened. 
     
     
         13 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 8 , additionally comprising one or more secondary material fibres. 
     
     
         14 . The  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 13 , wherein the one or more secondary material fibres is a natural fibre, a synthetic fiber or a combination of a natural fibre and a synthetic fibre. 
     
     
         15 . Use of the  Brassica  textile fibre according to  claim 8  to produce therefrom a carded web or a yarn or a fabric.