Madurai:

Soon, one may be able to wear their favourite silk saris, dhoties and shirts that are spun not of a silkworm thread, but from the banana plant, which can be easily separated using the banana yarn separator.

Invented by a Tuticorin-based mechanical engineer, K Murugan, the banana yarn separator machine was granted the patent in July 2012 after a six-year long wait. According to him, the large quantity of banana fibres that went waste in his hometown of Tuticorin prompted him to try to find a solution to use this product. The machine took shape after failing 40 times and in 2006, it bagged the LRamp award of excellence given by the IIT-Madras.

“The banana plant is one where almost every part has a use. The fibres from the plant are used to tie garlands and string flowers, the leaves are used for eating, the fruits and flowers are consumed and even the inner most part of the stem is edible and has rich medicinal properties. But, I have seen the plants being cut after the fruit is harvested and allowed to rot. This disturbed me, because it was not the best way to dispose it,” he said.

He said the stem of the banana plant has 15 layers, with the outermost used for tying garlands. According to him, the other 14 layers can be used for silk production. The fibre equals the silkworm silk, in lustre and tension strength.

Dr Dev Pura, head, department of textile technology, IIT-Delhi and others who inspected his product certified it as an excellent invention and commended him for his efforts during their recent visit to Tuticorin. Once he gets the go ahead from the department of biotechnology, New Delhi, Murugan says he can start his production.

His machine can process 60 lakh banana plants per year and he says that two saris can be spun using the banana silk fibres from a single tree. It would be very eco-friendly and is adaptable to natural dyes.

The Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology has certified his silk as one of good quality with a tenacity of 37 gm/text.

The new technology is one way of making good use of the banana plants grown in over 12,000 hectares in Tuticorin district, which is the largest banana cultivating district in India. It would also bring good returns to farmers. Murugan has made shawls, including one that was presented to former chief minister M Karunanidhi, a few years ago and a shirt.

This would be a material that would even get the nod of animal activists like PETA, because unlike the other silk, this does not involve the killing of a life for the silk extraction, he adds.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / July 28th, 2012