A commercially viable technology has been developed by them for the manufacture of particle boards from jute stick, which is an agro-waste. IIT - Delhi has been quite active in developing jute-based geo-textiles for applications in prevention of soil erosion, leaching etc. CGCRI - Calcutta has worked on jute-glass hybrid components for cost-reduction without sacrificing the mechanical properties. An excellent example for commercial exploitation of jute composites has been the fabrication of automobile interiors (door panels) by Birla Jute Industries Ltd. While the national research agencies in India have excellent scientific achievements to their credit for development of jute composites, efforts on their commercialisation have been limited so far. In order to improve upon the laboratory-industry linkages towards application development and commercialisation. The Advanced Composites Mission was conceptualised by Department of Science & Technology and Defence Research & Development Organisation. The Mission mode activities are being implemented by Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organisation under DST. Among a wide array of composite product development, the Mission has launched a few projects focussing on jute composites.
The project on Jute-based Composites - An Alternative to Wood Products has been launched in collaboration with M/s Duroflex Limited, Bangalore, a leading manufacturing industry in rubberised coir materials. The project aims at development of oriented jute face layer for coir-ply board. Natural hard fibres such as coir and jute impregnated with phenolic resins are used for its manufacture. The project activities will enable the production of coir-ply boards with proper orientation of jute having a very similar appearance of wood. The average production capacity of coir-ply plant planned under the project would be around 1000 sheets of 2.4 m x 1.2 m of 12 mm thickness. In this project, 80% of the material used in the composite are natural fibres such as jute and coir. Such a composite will be a good alternative for wood and wood products using 100% indigenous technology, which in turn saves the foreign exchange of our country. These natural materials have all the properties required for a general purpose board and can be used in the place of wood or MDF synthetic resin boards for surface panelling, partitioning, false ceiling, etc.
The Mission is actively considering a project proposal in collaboration with M/s Fabtech Industries, Calcutta, with technology support from CGCRI - Calcutta for manufacturing a cost-effective Jute-glass hybrid composite for glass shutter assembly and louver shutter assembly for railway coaches. The products made of jute-glass hybrid composites can be used as a replacement of high-cost sheet moulding compound and low-strength dough moulding compound based glass-fibre composites. The technology for the fabrication and evaluation of hybrid composites incorporating jute felt and glass fibre using polyester resin as a matrix has been developed successfully by CGCRI. In these hybrid composites, jute can play the role of filler fibre where strength and modulus requirement are not demanding. Moisture absorption limits can also be reduced from 25% to 2% by weight using glass layer on either side of the jute fibre layer. Another proposal on developing Jute composite as packaging material by complete utilisation of jute plant from NIRJAFT along with an industry partner is also under active consideration by the Mission.
Conclusion
It can thus be inferred that jute fibres can be a very potential candidate in making of composites, especially for partial replacement of high-cost glass fibres for low-load bearing applications. As such, commercial exploitation of jute composites for non-structural applications promises excellent potential. From the point of view of wood substitution, jute composites could be an ideal solution. With ever depleting forest reserves, a composite based on renewable resources such as jute, coir, sisal, etc is poised to penetrate the market. Indigenous wood supply for plywood industry having been stopped virtually and with increasing landed cost of imported plywood veneers, the jute composite boards provide very good value for the customers without any compromise in properties. With ever increasing emphasis on fuel efficiency, jute composites would enjoy wider applications in automobiles and railway coaches. In fact, the market segment for railway coaches in India has a vast potential which is yet to be tapped to a good extent. India would always have an edge for natural availability of jute and manpower intensity in its cultivation. Value-added novel applications such as jute composites would not only go a long way in improving the quality of life of people engaged in jute cultivation, but would also ensure international market for cheaper substitution.
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