What is raffia?

• Raffia is a leaf fibre of the raffia palm tree; mainly used to build baskets and carpet etc.
• The fibre of a raffia palm used as other end use such as low weight cordage and also in manufacturing cap & baskets.
• Feather palm mainly the people of tropical Africa and Madagascar and Central and South America broadly cultivate for commercial purposes.
• The Raffia Industry could be classified into six main categories depending upon the category of woven bag made.
• They are namely:
• Polyolefin Woven Sacks (excluding FIBC)
• Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBC)
• Tarpaulins
• Leno bags
• Lamination
• Wrapping fabric
• Others

Desired Characteristics of PP Tapes:

• Finished tapes should have the following properties :-
• Finished tape width (mm) : 5 mm (max)
• Linear density (denier) : 600 (min)
• Tenacity (g/denier) : 4.2
• Elongation at break (%) : 15-25
• The choicest tapes mainly preferred are of
• Tenacity of 5.0-6.0 g/d and
• Elongation of 20-25% is preferred.

Manufacturing process of Tapes:

The main phase concerned in tape production are :

Applications of Raffia Tapes:

1. PACKAGING APPLICATION:

1. Woven Sacks - Cement Packaging
• Polypropylene woven sacks have increasingly replaced jute bags and paper bags for packing cement. They offer distinct advantages such as high strength, lower bag weight, low cost, fungus attack and low seepage of cement as compared to jute bags.
• In comparison to paper bags, polypropylene woven sacks offer advantages such as better bursting strength, low weight and low cost, but paper bags exhibit better printability and lower seepage than PP bags.
• Previously HDPE woven sacks were predominantly used for packing cement, but most of the end users have shifted to polypropylene due to the following advantages :-
• Polypropylene has a lower density (0.90 g/cc) than HDPE (0.952 g/cc) therefore giving higher yield per unit weight
• Polypropylene exhibits higher service temperature than HDPE, hence when cement is filled at a temperature  of 85°C-90°C at a pressure of 6 kg/cm2, the performance of PP woven sacks is better in terms of bursting strength.
• Polypropylene has higher tensile strength than HDPE
• Easy availability
• Unlamented gusseted polypropylene bags with a valve for filling cement are normally used. Cement is usually packed in 50 kg bags.
• The fabric used has a mesh size of 10x10 and the bag weight is at 70 gms. The bags are not laminated to facilitate breathing of air during filling.
2. Fertilizer Packing
• Laminated HDPE bags are predominantly used for packing fertilizers.
• Since HDPE exhibits better outdoor stability than PP and also because PE lamination grades are easily available, PP till recent times did not make inroads into this sector due to unavailability of a suitable PP lamination grade.
3. New Applications for PP Woven Sacks
• Sugar bags
• Postal bags
• Tea bags
4. Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBC) / Jumbo bags
   • Polypropylene woven fabric is used to fabricate FIBC's or jumbo bags. These bags have carrying capacities of 500 kgs to 4000 kgs. The design and fabric of these bags varies depending upon the requisite container strength.
   • These bags are used for packing agro products, chemicals, detergent, plastic raw materials, petrochemical products and fertilizers.
   • UV stabilized PP grades are used for this application.
   • The tape denier ranges from 2100D to 2600D for Jumbo bags.

2. TARPAULINS:

• Tarpaulins are usually produced from
• HDPE woven fabric,
• cross laminated PE film,
• heavy duty LDPE/LLDPE films and
• Cotton canvas.
• Constructions of woven sack tarpaulin range from 90 gsm to 200 gsm.
• Cost of cotton canvas tarpaulin is comparative to low gsm HDPE tarpaulins, but they soil easily and are not weather proof and rot proof.
• Some applications of woven fabric tarpaulins are :-
• Water proof liners for trucks
• Railway wagon covers
• Floor linings for storage
• Shed, warehouse covering
• Agricultural farms
• Construction sites - stock pile cover for cement
• Poultry shadings
• Automobile covers
• Baling cloth
• HDPE is preferred for tarpaulins due to superior stability to outdoor exposure. UV stabilized PP can be used for tarpaulins but the cost of it is higher than HDPE tarpaulins.

3. GEOTEXTILES

• Geotextile is a woven or non woven fabric that is designed to stop water erosion, cracking in roads, soil embankments and other construction application.
• It works by reducing amount of water in contact with the structure and preventing soil erosion.
• HDPE/PP woven sacks are mainly used for :-
• Separation
• Reinforcement
• Drainage and filtration
• Erosion control

4. CONCRETE REINFORCEMENT

• Fibrillated PP tapes can be blended with concrete to reinforce non load bearing structures.
• Advantages of PP reinforced concrete are impact strength, some residual strength after cracking and improved flexural strength.
• It also gives saving in construction and transportation cost.

Monofilaments

1. Ropes :

• Ropes are generally made from PP or HDPE although both these materials cater to different markets.
• PP exhibits very good tensile strength and abrasion resistance due to which PP ropes cater to high performance application.
• PP is also popular because of its low density.
• PP ropes are used for industrial application like cargo handling, marine application (mooring ropes), ropes for trawling, mountaineering etc.
• On the other hand, HDPE ropes are used for domestic application like decorative household uses, furniture and light fishing activities.
• Denier of monofilaments used for ropes and nets is usually between 500 to 800 and tenacity between 5.5 to 6 gpd.

2. Nets :

• PP and HDPE monofilaments are used for making nets.
• PP nets are used for high strength application due to its good tensile strength, wear resistance and knot strength. For eg.
• Cargo handling net,
• Safety nets,
• Nets for defense application.
• HDPE nets are mainly preferred for fishing. PP nets are stiff and can damage the catch.
• PP monofilaments are used for making bristles.