Effect of different extraction methods on fiber quality of nettle (Urtica dioica L.)

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Chemical extraction, water retting, microbiological and enzymatic methods were applied on entire nettle stalks and/or unretted decorticated fiber of a selected fiber nettle clone. Morphological and mechanical properties and chemical composition were then determined on fiber samples. The first interesting result concerned the good degree of separation between fibers and shives obtained by mechanical scutching applied on stalks stored for 1 year, probably resulting from natural retting processes occurring during the storage. Microbiological retting (anaerobic plus aerobic bacteria) of entire stalks and/or unretted decorticated fiber produced fibers with a higher quality than water retting. Both enzymes used (Viscozyme ® L and Pectinex ® Ultra SP-L), improved fiber quality if EDTA was added. The enzyme vat retting gave good results on both water-retted fibers and unretted decorticated fibers, while the spray enzyme treated fibers usually displayed thicker diameter, lower cellulose content and, for Viscozyme ® L, lower strength values, without differences between the two storage methods used after enzyme application.