The bio-processing of fibres from Agave sisalana and Agave americana

Plant fibres play a major role in the lives of many rural peoples, especially women in Swaziland. It is known to produce strong and hard fibres which tend to limit the users in terms of product development. This research study, therefore, explored the use of enzymes in producing high quality fibres. It was carried out in two regions of Swaziland, where the level of fibre processing was high. It was carried out in two phases: a) preliminary phase, which was aimed at identifying plant fibre processors and hence determine current practices employed and challenges encountered; b) Laboratory Phase, aimed at employing environmentally friendly scientific techniques in improving the texture of the fibres. The study employed triangulation approach in the collection of data, wherein qualitative data was quantized and analysed qualitatively using IBM SPSS. The study found that 62% of the processors were greatly affected by the coarse nature of the fibres, as they were producing jewelry, hence a need for laboratory phase. Results from ATR-IR showed that the base performed better than the enzymes as % Transmittance (%T) of lignin, pectin and hemicellulose were reduced from about 0.015%T (Raw fibre) to about 0.005%T (NaOH) and 0.010%T (enzymes) for A. sisalana. Results from Tensile Strength Tester of the sisal fibres, however, showed that inasmuch as the NaOH performed better, the strength of the fibres was greatly lost in the NaOH treatment (0.060MPa) compared to the enzymes (0.072MPa) from the initial strength of the raw fibre (0.097MPa). Moreover results from Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showed that the enzymes were better than the base in softening the surface of the fibres. It is, therefore, recommended to use the enzymes over the base since enzymes are environmentally friendly, and they perform much better than the base.