Talahib (Saccharum spontaneum Linn.) as Alternative to Commercial Cotton Yarn

A considerable contributor to the emissions of greenhouse gases is the textile industry's production of synthetic fibers due to their use of petroleum products (Laitala, Klepp, & Henry, 2018). Thus, there is a need to discover more cellulosic fibers to help lessen the environmental impact of those synthetic fibers (van Dam, 2008; Laitala, et al., 2018). However, there seems to be a lack of cellulosic fibers and natural yarns in the market, only Agave sisalana (Sisal), Ananas comosus (Pineapple) and commercially available (e.g. Cotton) to be able to replace synthetic fibers (Chadramothan & Marimuthu, 2011). Thus, this research aims to study Saccharum spontaneum Linn., locally known in the Philippines as “Talahib” and internationally as “Wild Cane Grass” as an alternative to commercially available synthetic fiber. The researchers produced yarn blends that consist of 30% Saccharum spontaneum (300 g) with 70% pure cotton (700 g) by cutting, drying, blending, and spinning the fibers from the leaves and stalks onto bobbins. In spinning, the fibers passed through four machines - namely: blending machine, draw frame machine, speed frame machine, and ring frame machine. Pure commercial (100%) cotton yarns were obtained from the Philippine Textile Research Institute. Tensile Strength Testing was used in order to determine the strength of the grass prototype yarn compared to pure cotton yarn. The mean breaking strength of the blended yarns were recorded at 3.99 N while the pure cotton yarns were recorded at 2.99 N. Furthermore, using statistical t-test for two sample means assuming unequal variances of the recorded breaking strength of the yarns, a t-critical value of -2.13 and a t stat value of -12.13 were noted. Thus, the researchers concluded that there was probably a significant difference in the strength of the Saccharum spontaneum - cotton blended yarn to the pure cotton yarn. The study tends to suggest that Saccharum spontaneum Linn. may be a likely viable substitute in terms of the strength of the yarn. The researchers recommend that further research should be done to study the feasibility of having a varied percentage blend of Saccharum spontaneum Linn. - Cotton yarns and testing its tensile strength.