Professor Jorg Mussig, is based in the Department of Biomimetics, at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen. His research is in the concept development of sustainable materials, structural and property relationships between materials and natural fibers und natural composite materials.

• Series Preface xiPreface xiiiForeword xvList of Contributors xviiList of Illustrators xxiiiPart I Background1 Historic Usage and Preservation of Cultural Heritage 3Fenella G. France2 What Are Natural Fibres? 112.1 Chemistry of Plant Fibres 13Danny E. Akin2.2 Natural Fibres – Function in Nature 23Michaela Eder and Ingo Burgert2.3 Types of Fibre 41Jörg Müssig and Tanja Slootmaker3 Economic Aspects 493.1 Grades and Standards 51Axel Drieling and Jörg Müssig3.2 Technical Applications of Natural Fibres: An Overview 63Nina Graupner and Jörg Müssig3.3 Natural Fibres in Technical Applications: Market and Trends 73Stephan Piotrowski and Michael Carus Copyrighted MaterialPart II Vegetable Fibres4 Flax – Structure, Chemistry, Retting and Processing 89Danny E. Akin5 Hemp – Cultivation, Extraction and Processing 109Stefano Amaducci and Hans-Jörg Gusovius6 Jute – A Versatile Natural Fibre. Cultivation, Extraction and Processing 135Md. Siddiqur Rahman7 Abacá – Cultivation, Extraction and Processing 163Friedhelm Göltenboth and Werner Mühlbauer8 Sisal – Cultivation, Processing and Products 181Rajesh D. Anandjiwala and Maya John9 Coir – Coconut Cultivation, Extraction and Processing of Coir 197Chitrangani Jayasekara and Nalinie Amarasinghe10 Cotton Production and Processing 219Muhammed Rafiq ChaudhryPart III Animal Fibres11 Mulberry Silk, Spider Dragline and Recombinant Silks 237Anja Glišović and Fritz Vollrath12 Wool – Structure, Mechanical Properties and Technical Products based on Animal Fibres 255Crisan Popescu and Franz-Josef WortmannPart IV Testing and Quality Management13 Testing Methods for Measuring Physical and Mechanical Fibre Properties (Plant and Animal Fibres) 269Jörg Müssig, Holger Fischer, Nina Graupner and Axel Drieling14 SEM Catalogue for Animal and Plant Fibres 311Tanja Slootmaker and Jörg Müssig15 Combined (In Situ) Methods 337Ingo Burgert and Michaela Eder16 DNA-Analytical Identification of Species and Genetic Modifications in Natural Fibres 345Lothar Kruse17 Cotton/Worldwide Harmonisation 353Axel Drieling and Jean-Paul Gourlot18 Flax – ASTM Standardisation and Harmonisation 371Danny E. AkinPart V Applications: Current and Potential19 Composites 38319.1 Historical, Contemporary and Future Applications 385Tuomas Hänninen and Mark Hughes19.2 Design, Material Properties and Databases 397Erwin Baur and Frank Otremba19.3 Natural Fibre Composite Processing: A Technical Overview 407Tim Huber, Nina Graupner and Jörg Müssig19.4 Natural Fibre-Reinforced Polymers in Automotive Interior Applications 423Eugen Prömper19.5 Composites Based on Natural Resources 437Martien van den Oever and Harriëtte Bos19.6 Cellulose Nanocomposites 459Sanchita Bandyopadhyay-Ghosh, Subrata Bandhu Ghosh and Mohini Sain20 Insulation Materials Based on Natural Fibres 481Franz Neubauer21 Natural Fibres in Geotextiles for Soil Protection and Erosion Control 509Gero Leson, Michael V. Harding, and Klaus DipponIndex 523

“The book offers comprehensive information on natural fibres including many aspects of the value-added chain from plant cultivation to the final technical application . . . It is therefore suitable to serve as a basis for teaching or as a reference book also for undergraduate and graduate students in several fields of studies, e.g. material sciences, engineering, agricultural sciences and resource management.”  (Journal of Cleaner Production, 1 May 2015)