Development of sustainable jute geotextiles by bitumen emulsion and polyester resin: Effect of gamma radiation

Abstract

Jute fibers can be an alternative solution to replace synthetic fibers for temporary sustainable geotextiles applications. To produce sustainable geotextiles, jute fabrics were treated first by bitumen emulsion (BE) and unsaturated polyester (UPE) resin then γ-radiation (2.5, 5, and 10 kGy doses) applied to increase its durability and performance. The resulting samples were J0 (raw jute), J1 (20% BE + 10% UPE), and J2 (30% BE + 10% UPE). It was revealed that γ-irradiation significantly decreased the moisture sensitivity and water absorbency. Tensile strength (TS) improved at 2.5 and 5 kGy doses of irradiation and then decreased at 10 kGy in both directions. The highest increase of TS found for 5 kGy dose in both directions of J1 (27.1% in warp and 27.7% in weft) and J2 (16.0% in warp and 23.8% in weft). After 120 days of soil burial test, biodegradation occurred for all the specimens except 2.5 kGy irradiated sample which retained its TS, however, TS dropped remarkably such as 71.9% and 85.1% in warp and weft directions, respectively for J1 sample, and 90.7% and 94.1% in warp and weft directions, respectively for J2 sample. Antimicrobial resistance of jute fabrics was assessed against gram-positive S. aureus and gram-negative E. coli bacteria. Further, FTIR, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were also investigated in this study.