10 research outputs found
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MANUAL TEXTILE CHEMICAL MIXING AND PROCESSING MACHINE
No full textIn today’s Textile product processing, customers are demanding lower prices, the best quality product and service. An effective cost reduction and higher productivity with short processing time is the main objective for textile manufacturer to be a strong competitor by having high market share with profitability and to compete successfully in the world market by keeping benefits of stoke holders including customers. Nowadays the interest in producing Textile and Textile related products are increasing. The availability of raw material in nature combined with the ease of Textile wet processing was an attractive aspect, which makes it an essential income for the growth of a given country. In Ethiopia there is large number of small scale woven and knitted fabric producers. During wet processing and chemical finishing, they used a stick to mix chemicals on a small mixing barrel. Mixing chemical using stick by hand will notgive uniformly mixed chemical solution, it causes shade variation on treated material and it is time consuming.Nowadays there is different automatic Textile wet processing and chemical finishing machines, but they are expensive. Author Designed and developed manual Textile chemical mixing and processing machine. The machine can be driven by using hand. The machine has a barrel with mixer. The mixer can be fixed and removed easily during Textile chemical processing
Development of Leather Cutting Board from Plastic Waste
Get PDFCutting is the process in which goods or garment material are cut and converted into pattern shapes of the goods or garment components. There are two methods of Leather cutting, which are hand cutting and machine cutting. Hand cutting is done with the use of hand knife, cutting board and cutting patterns. Machine cutting can be done using semi-automatic cutting machines or fully-automatic cutting machines. Currently, in Ethiopia, different local and foreign investors are participating in leather products manufacturing. Most of the leather product manufacturing industry and some Small and Medium enterprise’s (SME’s) in the country are using leather cutting machines in order to cut leather goods or garment parts. Most of the industry and SMEs are using imported cutting board made of plastics and rubbers. However, these cutting boards are expensive.
This research aimed at developing a cutting board made from HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) plastic waste as main material, calcium carbonate as a filler and glass fiber as a reinforcing material. Primary and secondary data gathering techniques were applied simultaneously. Primary data were collected through interview and field observation. Secondary data was gathered by reviewing different literature. The cutting board developed through collecting HDPE plastic waste, washing, shredding and melting the shredded plastic with filler and reinforcing material. The melted plastic poured in to cutting board mold and cooled. The developed cutting board was compared with HDPE cutting board available in the local market. The developed board showed relative compression and hardness properties with the HDPE cutting board available in the market. In the cost analysis, the developed cutting board is cheaper than the cutting board which available in the market. However, the cutting board in the market has better surface texture and quality than the developed cutting board. Melting HDPE plastic waste using metal or clay cooking pots and charcoal fire is a tedious task and smoke from the fire will cause human health problem and will affect environment. Consequently, manual plastic melting method is not feasible for mass production, because it is difficult to control the amount of heat (charcoal fire) during melting process. Based on this the authors recommend using machine based plastic melting and molding during HDPE and related plastic recycling
Potential of Water Hyacinth Leaves Extract as a Leather Tanning Agent
Get PDFWater hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is listed as one of the worst aquatic plants in the world and its presence in Lake Tana in Ethiopia has been recognized since 2011. Currently, the plant coverage in the lake is increasing and very limited studies have been conducted in the country on practical application of water hyacinth. The aim of this study was to determine the phytochemicals, functional groups and Tannin content of the water hyacinth plant found in the Lake, which could serve as a vegetable tanning agent. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to assess the quality tannin in the plant stem and leaves. On phytochemical analysis of the dried material, the tannin content was found to be 4.1% for leaves and 2.7% for stem parts. As the tannin content of the leaves was higher than the stem parts, leather tanning conducted using the 10% wt and 20% wt leaves and the quality of tanned leathers was evaluated and compared with the leather made from quebracho vegetable tanning material as a control. Most properties of leathers tanned using the leaves met the minimum specified standards for leather product manufacturing, which includes tearing strength > 45 N, percent elongation at break > 42% distension at grain crack > 6.5 mm, and distension at burst >7.8 mm. Even though shrinkage temperature is one of the most important parameters in determining the thermal stability of leather, the leather tanned with leaves extract had a shrinkage temperature of 52°C, which is lower than the standard limit (75°C) for leather product manufacturing. This indicated that, the crosslinking reaction between the hide (collagen fibers) and tannins (leaves) was weaker, implying that the leather would not be as durable or of higher quality. Similarly, the maximum tensile strength of tanned leather was 7.2 N/mm2, which is lower than the standard requirement (20 N/mm2) for leather product manufacturing. Therefore, water hyacinth leaves extract has limited potential as a vegetable tanning agent, and the tanned leather will not be used to make leather products that requires good thermal resistance and strength. On the other hand, the tanned leather may be utilized for leather products that need minimal tensile strain and thermal property requirements such as leather photo frames, sketchbook leather bound, etc. Since water hyacinth tannin is less than ideal as a tanning agent due the minimum shrinkage temperature and tensile strength of the tanned leather, the potential of the plant as a retanning agent should be studied in future
Antibacterial property of synthetic upper leather treated by garlic and ginger peels extracts
No full text435-440The garlic and ginger peels have been thrown as a waste. Nowadays researchers have been trying to investigate the
antimicrobial properties of garlic and ginger peels extracts. Nevertheless, the effects of these materials on synthetic leather have
not been experimented. The study aims at antimicrobial treatment of synthetic leather by the peels extracts and examining it
against the staphylococcus epidermis bacterium. The peels have been collected in Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia, dried in the oven for
one hour at 104°C, weighed and grounded in a grinder with a mesh size of 50-300 mesh. For both materials, 40 g of peel
powder has been dissolved in 400 mL of ethanol solvent and stirred by a magnetic stirrer and then extracted by ultrasonic
extraction method. Leather samples have been treated by extracted peels (5%, 15% and 20%) together with citric acid as a
binder and soap as wetting agent. The antimicrobial properties of the treated samples have been assessed by a disc diffusion test
method. The garlic peel extract at all concentrations levels has a wider inhibition zone indicating that garlic peel extract is more
efficient at inhibiting Staphylococcus epidermis growth than ginger peel. Therefore; it could be used as antimicrobial
treatment of synthetic leather
Investigating the Tannin Content and Phytochemical Composition of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in Lake Tana, Ethiopia
No full textNowadays water hyacinth coverage in Lake Tana is increasing day to day. Recently, considerable attention has been given to this plant to utilize and use as economical sources in many parts of the world. However, utilization of this plant is limited in Ethiopia. According to different findings, the tannin and other phytochemical contents of the water hyacinth vary from place to place where the plant grows up. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the tannin and other phytochemical constituents of the plant, in the case of Lake Tana, Ethiopia. The leaves and stem parts of the plant were extracted using distilled water, acetone, and ethanol solvents. The phytochemical, FTIR, and tannin content of the extracts were carried out following standard procedures. The phytochemical analysis revealed the existence of primary and secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, starch, and protein in the leaves and stems parts of the plant. The tannin content of water hyacinth leaves has higher tannin content as compared to that of the stem. During tannin content determination the total ash in % and pH value of leaf and stem tannins were determined. The pH of the leaf part was higher; however, the total ash content was lower than that of the stem. The FTIR spectrum data of the leaves and stems of the plant was recorded in the wavenumber range of 4000 and 500 cm−1. This revealed the presence of different functional groups in both leaf and stem parts of the plant. The phytochemicals found in the plant parts, including primary and secondary metabolites, could be used for medicinal and pharmaceutical applications as well as for textile and tanning industry wastewater treatment. Similarly, according to the findings of this study, water hyacinth leaves and stem parts have a tannin which will be used as an ideal agent for the tanning and retanning process in leather processing
Compressive Strength of Floor Tile Composites from Recycled PET Reinforced with Natural Fibers
No full textThe quantity of bottled water and other household packaging materials increases enormously in developing countries like Ethiopia. Most of these materials are packed with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics which results in the mounting of wastes rapidly. Due to their non-biodegradability, PET wastes cause challenges such as landfills, health problems, and a reduction in productivity. PET, a thermoplastic polymer, can be remelted and molded into different products. In this research, the recycled PET is reinforced with natural fibers such as false banana and sisal fibers to produce floor tile composites. The processing steps include a collection of waste PET and natural fibers, cleaning, shredding, treating fibers, composite manufacturing, and characterizing. The use of natural fibers in recycled plastics resulted in the production of cheaper, effective floor tile composites, and a reduction in environmental pollution. The FTIR analysis shows the removal of certain functional groups in chemically treated natural fibers and the occurrence of chemical and mechanical degradations during the recycling process. Natural fibers reinforced composite samples showed about 36% lightness compared to glass fibers reinforced composites and resulted in maximum compression strength of 3.1 MPa. Further study needs to be undertaken to enhance the mechanical properties of such composites in the future
Ethiopian Water Hyacinth Leaf Extract as a Potential Tannery Effluent Treatment Material
No full textIndustrial effluents have a serious problem on our ecosystem. Tannery effluent contains a huge amount of pollutant compounds such as toxic substances which need to be treated using either synthetic or natural products. The present study focussed on the treatment of tannery effluents using water hyacinth plant leaf extract. Though some researchers have tried to use this extract for the same, the researchers have experimented only to treat that of Cr3+ and there are a bit of difference in the methodology they followed. In addition, the scope of this research was wider. In this study, fresh raw WH leaves were collected from around Lake Tana, Ethiopia, cleaned and made to powder and then extraction was performed using different solvents. The solvent effects were examined using the ANOVA test. The tannery wastewater was treated with the extracts and parts of the effluents were kept as a control for comparison. Treated and untreated tannery effluents were compared using standard methods such as SLC 22, SLC 8, APHA 2540C, APHA 2540D, and Hack LCK 139 to determine Cr6+, Cr3+, TDS, TSS, and TKN, respectively. The highest amount of Cr6+, Cr3+, and TKN were removed at 30% water hyacinth leaves extracted by distilled water solvent and that of the least was found at hyacinth leaves extract by ethanol solvent but by acetone in BOD and COD treatment. In addition, though it was out of the permissible limit, by using the same amount of the material extracted by distilled water solvent some amounts of BOD and TDS were removed from the wastes compared to that of untreated tannery effluents. Generally, water hyacinth leaf extract is found effective material for the treatment of tannery effluents and can be used in the sector industries. Future studies may be required for setting the most optimum extract concentration for better results
Preparation of Sheepskin Unhairing Extracts from Locally Available Plants: Cleaner Leather Processing
No full textLeather is made from animal hides and skins that have passed through several stages of processing, from soaking to finishing. Unhairing is a crucial processing stage in which hair is removed from the animal hide or skin through open up the hair and it facilitates subsequent operations. The conventional sodium sulfide-based unhairing process generates a high volume of effluent, which accounts for 50 to 70% of the total biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) load in the tanneries’ effluent. This study aimed to investigate the potential of unhairing agents prepared from locally available plants. The research employed qualitative methods. Plant materials are collected, dried, and ground. In different proportions, unhairing extracts were obtained from Phytolacca dodecandra leaves, Cucurbita foetidissima fruits, and Solanum incanum fruits. In the conventional soaking process, plant extracts were applied in various concentrations to sheepskin. The physical parameters of conventionally processed (control) and experimentally treated leather were examined using FTIR, SEM, tear strength, percentage of elongation, and organoleptic tests. The unhairing solution was prepared from a mixture of 0.5% S. incanum extract, 0.5% P. dodecandra extract, 0.6% C. foetidissima extract, and 260 g/L lime powder lime, and this solution effectively removed the hair from the sheepskin in both hairs saving and hair burning unhairing process. The study revealed that the sheepskin treated with the plant extracts based on an unhairing agent and the conventional unhairing agent showed a comparable tensile strength (42.3 kg/cm and 45.2 kg/cm), tear strength (140.1 kg/cm2 and 143.5 kg/cm2), and percent elongation at break (40.2 and 42.3), respectively, which were above the permissible limit for leather production making. According to the study findings, the plant extracts have a good potential for removing hair from sheepskin, and they are eco-friendly and cost-effective compared to unhairing chemicals such as sodium sulfide
An Investigation of the Ethiopian Tanning Industry’s Competitiveness
Get PDFEthiopia’s leather development plan has prioritized the tanning industry in order to accelerate the sector’s growth. The aim of this study is to identify the factors that allow and prohibit Ethiopian tanning industries from coping with competitive challenges, as well as the competitive advantages and drawbacks that the tanning industry faces. The study followed a primary and secondary data collection methods, which included both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the study, 13 functioning tanneries in the country involved in leather production from 2020 to 2021 were investigated. The study data were collected through distributing structured questionnaire and having interviews with tanning industry top management body (i.e. managers, directors, and heads). The study results are presented in forms of the mean and standard deviation. The study findings revealed that the tanning industry competitiveness is low due to different determinates factors. With the exception of the country’s natural resource endowment in hides and skins and low labor cost availability, all determinants of competitiveness (raw material, infrastructure, skilled labor, industry and institution linkage, capital and managerial capability, and government policy) are found to be insignificant. Similarly, the tanning industry’s ability to use its cost advantage in raw hides and skins and maintain its market share on the domestic and international market is limited by poor quality of locally supplied raw material, lack of strong supporting institutions and association’s, lack of infrastructure, capital and managerial capability, poor industry and institution linkage as well as factors such as scarcity of skilled labor and raw materials (chemicals and spare parts). In order to enhance the competitiveness of the tanning industry in the country, the industry, government and stakeholders need to work in collaboration in creating strong supporting industries, fulfilling infrastructure, providing investment capital, and supplying experienced managers and skilled workers
Antibacterial property of synthetic upper leather treated by garlic and ginger peels extracts
Get PDFThe garlic and ginger peels have been thrown as a waste. Nowadays researchers have been trying to investigate the antimicrobial properties of garlic and ginger peels extracts. Nevertheless, the effects of these materials on synthetic leather have not been experimented. The study aims at antimicrobial treatment of synthetic leather by the peels extracts and examining it against the staphylococcus epidermis bacterium. The peels have been collected in Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia, dried in the oven for one hour at 104°C, weighed and grounded in a grinder with a mesh size of 50-300 mesh. For both materials, 40 g of peel powder has been dissolved in 400 mL of ethanol solvent and stirred by a magnetic stirrer and then extracted by ultrasonic extraction method. Leather samples have been treated by extracted peels (5%, 15% and 20%) together with citric acid as a binder and soap as wetting agent. The antimicrobial properties of the treated samples have been assessed by a disc diffusion test method. The garlic peel extract at all concentrations levels has a wider inhibition zone indicating that garlic peel extract is more efficient at inhibiting Staphylococcus epidermis growth than ginger peel. Therefore; it could be used as antimicrobial treatment of synthetic leather
