Jute Fibers: Properties, Types, and Fabric Good Washing

By Eman Abdallah Kamel

Contact the author: emanabdallahkamel@gmail.com

Eman is a writer and engineer. She received a BA in Textile Sciences from the Faculty of Applied Arts, Egypt.

This article introduces informative knowledge regarding jute fibers. In this article, you will learn the history of jute, its types, chemical structure, physical and chemical properties, uses, and fabric washing. Image by Zahra Sobeih

What is jute?

Jute, also known as burlap and hessian cloth, is 100% biodegradable and recyclable, making it eco-friendly.

Jute fiber is long, soft, shiny, cheap, and non-toxic. Jute is the fiber obtained from the internal bast tissues of the plant stem. The fibers are bound together by gum materials that maintain bundles of fibers drawn with non-fibrous tissue from jute bark.

It is essential to soften, dissolve, and wash the surrounding soft tissues to extract fibers from the trunk. This is done by soaking the stems in water, known as “retting.” The water temperature for retting is 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The emergence of the jute industry in Dundee and the export of raw jute from the Indian subcontinent. Dundee & World – London Gallery.

A Brief History of Jute

Historically, jute has provided a weaving fiber from the stems and food from the leaves in Africa and Asia.

In India, poor people wore jute clothes. Weavers used a handloom and a hand-spinning wheel. Also, Indians, especially Bengalis, used ropes and twines made of white jute for household and other uses.

A small piece of jute paper with Chinese characters was found in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, northwest China. It is believed to have been produced during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).

The British East India Company was the British Empire authority delegated to India from the 17th century to the middle of the 20th century and was the first jute trader. At the start of the 20th century, the company started trading raw jute with Dundee’s Jute Industry.

In 1793, the East India Company exported its first shipment of jute, followed by additional shipments at irregular intervals. A shipment eventually reached Dundee, Scotland, where flax spindles were wanted to see if mechanical jute processing was possible.

By the 1830s, Dundee spinners had learned how to spin jute yarns. The rise of the Dundee jute industry saw a corresponding increase in the production and export of raw jute from the Indian subcontinent, which was the sole supplier of this commodity.

In 1855, Acland Mill was the first jute factory in India, set up by British businessman George Ackland and Bengali financier Babu Bisam Sen in Rishra, Presidency of Bengal, British India (West Bengal, present-day India).

By 1869, five factories were operating. Until the mid-1880s, jute was almost entirely confined to Dundee and Calcutta.

In the 19th century, America, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Russia, and others turned to the jute industry.

By 1939, the jute industry in India had enjoyed a remarkable expansion. These mills alone have proven their ability to supply global demand. Early merchandise woven from jute in Dundee was coarse packing material. Then burlap, or hessian (as it is known in India), was made.

In 1947, after the fall of the British Empire in India, most jute barons began to evacuate India, leaving behind the industrial setting of the jute industry.

After that, several groups of Pakistani families (mostly from western Pakistan) entered the jute trade by establishing several jute factories in Narayanganj, eastern Pakistan, at the time.

After the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971, most of the Pakistani jute mills were taken over by the Bangladeshi government. Then, to control these jute mills in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh government established the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC).

The world jute trade decreased significantly by 1975 due to the emergence of synthetic fibers.

White Raw Jute

Jute Types

There are four types of jute:

White Jute
Tossa Jute
Mesta Jute
Jute Cutting

1. White Raw Jute

The white raw jute originated in India’s poorest regions and has been used for centuries to manufacture clothing for farmers and villagers. Nowadays, white jute has many uses, such as making yarn, twine, and ropes.

2. Tossa Jute

Tossa Raw Jute is grown in India, where suitable climatic conditions exist. This type of jute is the most common. Raw Tossa has a more silky texture and strength than white raw jute. Due to its extra strength, it is used to make environmental shopping bags, burlap bags, and clothes.

3. Mesta Jute

Mesta Jute is a blend of raw white jute and the Mesta plant. Mesta is classified into the top, mid, and bottom parts. As a result of its ability to grow where white jute or Tossa jute cannot, Mesta has become very important to many jute bag companies since 1947.

4. Jute Cutting

Jute cutting is the lowest type of jute. It is a mixture of jute remains of other grades. Many jute bag companies use these parts to manufacture other products, such as paper, bags, ropes, etc.

Jute fibers consist mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.

Microstructure of Jute Fiber

Cellulose

Cellulose contains 44.4% carbon, 6.2% hydrogen, and 49.4% oxygen. Cellulose is a linear polymer of Anhydroglucose units bound in positions 1 and 4 by β-glucoside bonds. The terminal glucose residue of the cellulose molecule has two different end groups: one that has a reducing Hemiacetal group at position C1 and is therefore known as a reduced-end group, while the other group contains an additional secondary hydroxyl group at position C4, known as a non-abbreviated end group. There are two subgroups and primary alcoholic hydroxyl groups in each basic anhydro-d-glucose unit (C6H10O5) n, arranged at positions 2, 3, and 6, respectively, on the base unit.

Image source: researchgate.net

The primary hydroxyl of the primary cellulose units is responsible for their absorbability and dyeability. The high hydroxyl content of cellulose indicates its high solubility in water. This is due to the stiffness of the chains and the hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups of the adjacent chains. In addition to hydrogen bonding, there is another type of bond called a “semi-acetal linkage” between the chain molecules adjacent to cellulose.

From the X-ray diffraction diagram, it was concluded that cellulose has two regions: crystalline and amorphous. In the amorphous region, polymer chains tend to fold up; accordingly, they will have properties different from the crystalline area. This bonding between crystalline and amorphous regions enhances the strength of the polymer.

Hemicellulose

Hemicellulose is a group of sugars in the cell wall. It dissolves in dilute alkali and hydrolyzes to pentose and hexose with some uronic acid.

Xylose associated with methyluronic acid is the basic building unit of hemicellulose in jute, where six Xylose units are linked with 1-methyl Glucuronic acid units.

Hemicellulose is a short-chain compound and thus longitudinally occupies the same region of the anhydroglucose unit in the cellulose chain.

Lignin

Lignin is an amorphous polymeric gummy material with an averagely high molecular weight. Lignin is insoluble. It is built of phenyl propane (C9H10S2) building blocks, often having a hydroxyl group in the para position and methoxyl groups in the meta positions on the side chain. Carbon-to-carbon or carbon-to-oxygen bonds may link the aromatic ring to portions of the structure.

Properties of Jute Fiber

1. Physical Properties

Dimensional stability of jute	Average good
Color	Jute fibers can be white, yellow, brown, gray, or golden
length	150 to 300 cm
Elongation	1.7% at the break
Flexibility	Bad
Specific gravity	1.48
Strength	3 to 5g/den
Moisture regain	13.75% (standard)

Did You Know?

Enzymatic treatment of jute wastes has been studied using pulpzyme. The effects of several parameters, such as enzyme concentration, pH, and time spent recycling, were evaluated. According to the results, the enzymatic process using pulpzyme was an effective means of hydrolyzing cellulosic chains, and short cellulosic fibers such as jute, and decreasing its moisture regain (%). Products obtained from the enzymatic process are feedstocks suitable for paper-making operations.

2. Chemical Properties

Alkali Effect	Jute fibers are unaffected by diluted alkalis, but strong alkalis cause strength loss at boiling.
Acid Effect	Boiling jute fibers in a strong acid will reduce their strength, but not if the acid is diluted.
Bleaching Effect	Jute fibers are not affected by the oxidizing and reducing agents.
Effect of organic solvent	The resistance of jute to organic solvents is good.
Sunlight Effect	As lignin is present in jute fibers, it may be damaged by sunlight.
Effect of Microorganisms	Jute has resistance to microbiological attacks.
Dye Ability	Jute fibers have a good ability for basic dyeing.

Good Washing of Jute Fabric

Burlap must be washed alone because the fibers can be shed. These fibers are difficult to remove from other fabrics.
You can wash the jute fabrics by hand separately in cold water, using a gentle soap.
You can use oxygen-based stain removers for a few minutes to remove tough stains.
Do not twist wet fabric because jute fabrics can be brittle.
To prevent jute color fading, burlap should be dried in the air and kept away from sunlight.
While the burlap is still wet, iron it. Before ironing, stretch the wet fabric to its natural size and shape. Use a low heat setting when ironing. Iron the jute on the wrong side to preserve its natural weave.

Sources

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Jute Fibers: Properties, Types, and Fabric Washing