Long Way Education

By Eman Abdallah Kamel

Eman is a writer and textile engineer. She received her bachelor’s degree in textile science from the Faculty of Applied Arts, Egypt.

Jute

Jute fibers are long, smooth, shiny, and cheap. Jute, or burlap, is woven into strong, coarse threads.

Jute is obtained from the internal bast tissues of the plant stem. The fibers are bound together by gum materials (pectin) that maintain bundles of fibers drawn with non-fibrous tissue of jute bark. These surrounding soft tissues are softened, dissolved, and washed to obtain the fibers from the stem. This process can be done by soaking the stems in water. The optimum water temperature for the retting process is 80°F.

Jute is an affordable natural fiber, second only to cotton in terms of the quantity produced and the diversity of fiber use.

India, Bangladesh, China, and Thailand are the world’s top jute producers. More than 40% of the world’s raw jute comes from India.

In terms of raw fiber, Bangladesh exports about 40%, and processed items account for 50%.

The top importers are Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Nepal, and Nigeria.

How are Different Grades of Raw Jute Classified?

Raw jute is classified according to the quality of the jute fiber and its uses. There are eight grades of high-quality raw jute: W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, W7, and W8. Jute mills and jute brokers classify raw jute by jute-growing region.

Jute Manufacturing Process

Jute production stages are:

1. Cultivation,
2. Selection,
3. Softening,
4. Piling and Pile Breaking,
5. Carding,
6. Drawing,
7. Spinning,
8. Winding,
9. Beaming,
10. Weaving,
11. Cutting,
12. Folding,
13. Sewing,
14. Bailing.

1. Cultivation

The jute crop requires a humid climate. The minimum rainfall required for planting jute is 1000 mm. New, deep-grey alluvial soils that receive silt from annual floods are more suitable for jute growth. Also, jute is widely grown in sandy and clay soils.

Jute is typically grown from March to May, depending on the nature of the land and the prevailing atmospheric conditions. About 90 to 100 days pass when jute plants reach the desired height of 8 to 12 feet. They are cut close to the ground. The stems are then bundled and left in the field for 3 to 4 days.

The bundles are then submerged in water for approximately 3 weeks. During this time, the fibers separate from the stem and are collected by hand. These fibers are thoroughly washed with clean water, dried in the sun, and converted into bundles.

2. Selection

During the selection process, raw jute bales are opened by experienced workers to detect any defects and remove those parts. There are two types of raw jute bales: 150 kg weight and 180 kg weight, with or without the top cut-off.

3. Softening or Lubricating

In the softening process, the jute fibers are made soft and flexible, ready for carding. There are two softening methods: a softening machine and a good jute spreader. An emulsion plant is used with a jute softener machine to soften the bark. The emulsion plant consists of a gear pump, motor, trough, jet sprayer, nozzles, emulsion tank, and jacket.

4. Piling and Pile Breaking

The main task of the pile cutter is to break the pile and deliver it to the carding machines.

During pilling, surface moisture penetrates inside the fibers, and a process of thermal filling occurs that softens the hard part of the root.

After piling for approximately 24 hours, pile cutters transfer the material to the carding machine. The root is cut after pilling near the manual feed cutter carding machine. Jute roots weigh between 5 and 7% of their total weight.

5. Carding

Carding, or combing, is a fusing process where the jute cane is split, and foreign matter is removed. Jute fibers are formed into a strip called a sliver. There are three different sections to combing: breaker combing, internal combing, and finisher combing.

Did You Know?

In various jute mills, carding operations are carried out in two ways: manual feed breaker carding and reel feed breaker. The material used after piling for more than 24 hours is used in the manual feed carding, while the material after piling for 12 hours is used in the reel feed carding.

• Breaker Carding: In this process, cutting the root is necessary before feeding the material to the manual feed cutter carding machine. The machine works with different rollers to produce raw jute in the shape of a sliver for the finishing carding machine.
• Finisher Carding: The finisher carding machine makes the jute sliver more regular and uniform in length and weight. Approximately 4 to 12 slivers obtained from the breaker carding machine are fed to the finisher carding machine.

6. Drawing

A drawing reduces the width and thickness of a sliver by mixing 4 to 6 slivers. There are three types of drawing frame machines:

• First Drawing Machine: After getting the slivers from the finisher carding machine, four of them are fed to the first drawing frame machine. The first drawing frame machines make blending, sliver equalization, and multiplexing of two or more slivers and levels, as well as provide quality and color. These machines include a connecting spool, a pressure spool, a retaining cylinder, falling screw sliders, a check spring, a back spring, a crimp box, etc.
• Second Drawing Machine: In this process, the second drawing frame machine gets a sliver from the first drawing machine. And uses six slivers and deliveries for each head. The second drawing machine makes a more uniform sliver and reduces the jute to a size suitable for the third drawing.
• Third Drawing Machine: A sliver from the second drawing is used for the third drawing frame machine. The machine’s high speed makes the sliver more crimped and suitable for spinning.

7. Spinning

In the spinning process, the slivers are lengthened, and the fibers are twisted into yarns to impart strength. The spun yarns are wound onto bobbins. After the empty spools are filled with yarn machines, they are turned off and replaced with empty spools.

The entire time is called the average cycle time. The time to replace the threaded bobbins with empty bobbins is called the softening time.

8. Winding

The winding process supplies yarn as spools and cops for the beaming and weaving processes. There are two types of winding: spool winding and cop winding.

• Spool Winding: In spool winding, yarns are produced for warps. There are many spindles in the spool winding machine. The yield of the spool winding depends on the speed of the spindle surface and the use of the machine. The spool machine wounds the yarn into larger packages. The spool is used to make sheets of yarn to form the warp portion used while interweaving the fabric.
• Cop Winding: Cop winding machines get yarns from the spinning machines. On top of the cop machine, the spinning bobbins are placed on the pins. Yarn tension is maintained by means of a small leaving tool.

9. Beaming

The beaming process occurs after spool winding. In the beaming process, bobbin threads are wound over a beam of suitable width and an appropriate number of ends for weaving jute fabric. To increase the quality of the woven fabric and the efficiency of the weaving. The warp threads are coated with starch paste. This process requires adequate moisture.

The quality characteristics of the beam are the width of the beam, the number of ends, and the weight of the rack. There is a continuous passage of the spinning through the starch solution from the spools to the beam.

A solution of starch in water contains tamarind kernel powder (TKP) and antiseptic sodium silica fluoride (NaSiF₄). Its concentration varies depending on the quality of the yarn.

Did You Know?

Powder made from tamarind kernels is efficient and economical for sizing and finishing jute. The deep absorbency property of tamarind kernel powder makes it useful for sizing jute wraps. It also has excellent penetration and film-forming properties for sizing threads.

The starch amide produced from tamarind kernel powder is cooked with ammonia dissolved in an alkaline polyvinyl alcohol solution used for sizing jute yarns, resulting in a minimum 2% increase in weaving efficiency.

10. Weaving

Weaving is the process of interlacing two types of yarn, known as warp and weft, to produce a solid fabric.

To interlace warp and weft threads. There are three primary processes: shedding, picking, and beating.

• Shedding: Warp threads are separated into two layers by lifting the harness and forming an open space between two sets of warp threads known as a shed.
• Picking: It is the process of inserting the filler threads through the shed by means of the shuttleless while the shed is opened.
• Beating: The act of pushing the filler threads into the woven fabric at a point known as the fell is done by reeds.

11. Cutting

In thread-cutting devices for mechanical looms, there is a first blade holder with a blade at the end side and a second blade holder with a blade at the end side. At least one of the said blade holders is connected to a motor to perform the function of cutting the yarn between the blades. An electrically active linear motor is used to drive at least one of the blade carriers to cut the yarn between the blades.

12. Folding

A folding station consists of several cooperating claws. A pneumatic device that folds the skein in half and pushes it through a hollow tubular support member that has a paper band positioned around its outer surface. After inserting the folded skein into the tubular member, the dislocation mechanism simultaneously removes the folded skein and the previously formed strip from the tubular member, placing the band around the central portion of the folded skein.

13. Sewing

There are three types of sewing operations:

• Mechanical: stapling, stitching.

• Physical: welding or heat setting.

• Chemical: by resins.

Mechanical sewing retains its dominant position due to its simplicity, advanced and economical production methods, and controllable flexibility. There are a few applications for forming seams with physical or chemical methods. These processes might alter the textile materials’ properties.

14. Bailing

In the textile industry, yarn balers are widely used. Due to its high quality, simplicity of operation, low maintenance, and durability features, this machine is highly regarded.

Jute Uses

1. Jute is used to make threads, ropes, and mats. It is also used in burlap bags to store rice, wheat, grain, etc. Jute is also used in curtains, chair covers, and rugs.
2. When jute is treated with caustic soda, the curls, softness, elasticity, and appearance are enhanced, making it easier to spin with wool.
3. Jute products also include cosmetics, medicines, and paints.

Sources

• academia.edu… Process Flow Chart and Factor Analysis in the Production of Jute Mills.
• mysorestarch.com… jute industry.

©Eman Abdallah Kamel, 2022

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