Spin-free “cork-skin” fibers turn mulberry bark into antibacterial, recyclable textiles

Researchers have transformed invasive paper-mulberry bark into high-performance textile fibers without spinning wheels or petrochemicals. Writing in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, the team describes a simple, scalable route: mild alkaline delignification liberates aligned cellulose bundles, which are then dip-coated in suberin—a natural polyester extracted from cork-bark waste—and cured at 110 °C to form a dense nanolayer. The coating cross-links by esterification, locking in hydrophobicity and antibacterial action while preserving flexibility. Mechanical tests reveal tensile strength of 0.43 GPa and a Young’s modulus of 6.4 GPa, outperforming cotton and rivalling flax. Against Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans, inhibition exceeds 90 %; Escherichia coli drops by 80 %. Life-cycle analysis assigns a global-warming potential of only 0.046 kg CO₂-eq per kilogram—about one-tenth that of PET yarn—chiefly from renewable electricity. Crucially, the suberin skin can be stripped in choline-based ionic liquid and redeposited five times with 95 % material recovery and no loss of knitability. The fibers are already hand-crocheted into metre-long swatches that survive 60 °C washing. The authors see immediate scope for pesticide-free, fully recyclable garments and technical textiles, with next steps focused on industrial roll-to-roll coating and long-term laundering trials.

See the article:

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobab.2025.07.002.

Original Source URL

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2369969825000416

Journal

Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts