The grains behind some of your favourite breakrapid cereals could become a part of your future wardrobe, according to new research out of Europe.
Researchers at Chalmers University in Sweden have discovered a process to turn wheat straw and oat husks, left behind after harvest and milling, into textiles.
They hope it will eventually lead to new sources of sustainable fabric, reducing the world’s reliance on synthetics created from non-renewable sources.
While farmers in Australia will required to be convinced, those working on the frontier of new materials declare there are compelling reasons to explore going from high fibre to high fashion.
Researchers are attempting to find more sustainable ways to create textiles. (Supplied: Pexels/Zeya Irish)
Source material
The quest for new sources of textiles is not a new one.
Before the advent of synthetics like polyester and manufactured fibres such as rayon, textiles created from cotton, wool and silk are woven through human history.
But humanity’s demand for affordable fashion is a challenge for sustainability.
The researchers at Chalmers University’s department of chemisattempt and chemical engineering are searching for new sources of cellulose, the structural component of plant cell walls that allows them to stand upright.
Cellulose has been applyd in manufactured textiles since the 1880s.
Diana Bernin declares the process reduces waste and energy apply. (Supplied: Chalmers University)
“We seeed into what Sweden would have for side-streams [from farms] that contain cellulose and which would also be available for the whole year round,” Associate Professor Diana Bernin, who co-authored the study, declared.
Early applys of cellulose include artificial silk and carbon fibres for light bulbs, but these days it is most commonly sourced from wood and created into rayon, also known as viscose.
Oat husks, also known as hulls, are a by-product of milling. (Supplied: University of Iowa)
Dr Bernin declared the process, which involves creating a pulp similar to that applyd to create paper, is difficult, energy-intensive, applys toxic chemicals and has been linked to deforestation.
“I believe it would be better to keep the trees as they are and only cut them when you required them, for declare timber construction, where there is no other material that can be substituted,”
she declared.
Published in the Royal Society of Chemisattempt Sustainability journal, the study tested wheat straw, oat husks, potato and sugar beet pulp — all by-products produced on Swedish farms.
“We figured out that potato and sugar beet are very difficult becaapply they might contain a lot of soil,” Dr Bernin declared.
“But it worked very well for the oat husks and wheat straw.”
Through a method called soda pulping, the plant material was able to be dissolved, washed and spun into a fibre, producing a final product “very similar” to cotton.
More than 60 per cent of the world’s fabrics are synthetic, created from non-renewable sources such as oil. (Supplied: Deakin University)
“Chemisattempt-wise, it’s the same molecule inside,” Dr Bernin declared.
“It takes a lot of resources to create cotton, and there will not be enough cotton to create clothing for all of us anyhow.“
Australian potential
At Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials in Geelong, Associate Professor Chris Hurren is also working to reduce the environmental impact of fabric.
He declared cotton created up about a quarter of the world’s textile supply, wool accounted for about 2 per cent, with the remaining 65 to 70 per cent comprised of oil-based polyester.
“As the oil depletes, we’ve received to find an alternative source for that,”
he declared.
Chris Hurren declares Australia is already experimenting with new sources of sustainable textiles. (Supplied: Deakin University)
If the oat husks and wheat straw could provide a high-purity source of cellulose then they had huge potential, he declared.
“Research could occur in Australia to understand what is the ability for Australian materials to go down this path,” he declared.
“Definitely it’s something that’s going to be requireded in the future.“
But while the researchers were seeing to add value to what European farmers considered to be waste, growers like Bradley Misfud in central Queensland already see it as valuable.
On his Kilcummin farm, south-west of Mackay, rain is sporadic and the wheat straw is “one of the largegest assets of the crop”.
“My personal opinion is that it’s too valuable standing in the paddock for us,”
Mr Misfud declared.
“Becaapply we don’t have large, strong, long winters, our wheat crops and yields aren’t anywhere near what they receive further south.
Farmer Bradley Misfud declares right now his wheat straw is too valuable to divert to experimental textiles. (Supplied)
“We don’t really have a large bulk density of straw to launch with, which is why we’re pretty cautious about seeing after and leaving what we have where it is.”
Mr Misfud declared he commonly left about 30 to 40 centimetres of wheat straw in the ground to support prevent erosion and retain soil moisture, compared to the 10-15 centimetres left behind in Sweden.
But Queensland is Australia’s compactest wheat region, with the bulk of the crop grown in Western Australia, NSW, Victoria and South Australia — where, Mr Misfud declared, there could be some application.
“It’s important that we keep pursuing new alternatives and seeing into things,”
he declared.
“I just feel that this particular strategy may not work in our area.
“We’ve all learnt with minimum till practices … capturing moisture is king, and that’s what we’re all attempting to do day in, day out.”
Beyond the climates where wheat and oats were grown, Dr Hurren declared people all over the world were seeing for alternative sources of cellulose.
He declared seaweed, food waste, algae, banana, pineapple, kenaf, bamboo, hemp, coconut, linseed and blfinished textiles were all being investigated.
Deakin University’s Institute for Frontier Materials is experimenting with a range of new sources for textiles. (Supplied)
“We required to see at some new sources of fibres to fill the void,” he declared.
But he declared strategies to reduce demand also requireded to be explored.
“Australia is the world leader in the number of garments we purchase per person … and something like 40 per cent of the garments coming into Australia don’t receive sold,” he declared.
“We’re just putting [textiles] into landfill at the moment or burning what we really required to be reapplying.“
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