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From kombucha to leather-like textile

04 October 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs

Matseliso Monnapula, Dr Jana Vermaas, and Liezl van der Walt. They are all involved in a research project to grow a new textile that resembles leather.

Pure curiosity.

That was what gave rise to the development of a new textile, which was created in the Textile Lab and later evaluated for consumer use in the Sensory Lab of the University of the Free State (UFS).

Matseliso Monnapula, a master’s student in the Division of Consumer Science, is experimenting with bacterial cellulose, which is produced as a by-product in the fermentation process when making kombucha. Her goal is to determine its efficacy as a possible sustainable textile alternative for use in the apparel industry.

She says finding this textile alternative was initially the result of pure curiosity. “My brother brews kombucha, so we always wondered in what other ways this fascinating mass of cellulose could be used.”

“It was upon further research that we discovered that there actually is more to it – from within the textile industry, biomedical and tissue engineering disciplines, paper and audio speaker manufacturing, to even the food industry,” states Monnapula.

She had a greater inclination towards its use in the textile industry and presented the idea to her supervisor, Dr Jana Vermaas, Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development. “From there it was all systems go,” remarks Monnapula.

The interesting process of growing this textile entails brewing tea (black, green, or rooibos tea can be used for this purpose) and adding sugar, vinegar, or previously brewed kombucha to maintain a favourable pH level. “One then inoculates the sweetened tea with a starter culture of acetic acid bacteria and yeasts, also known as SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts). It is then left for two to four weeks under specific conditions, during which the fermentation process takes place. In this period, the cellulose gradually starts to form on the liquid’s surface,” explains Monnapula, who was assisted by her co-supervisor, Prof Celia Hugo from the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry.

Vegan leather

The process of making bacterial cellulose accounts for the many benefits of this leather-like textile. “The process and its aftermath are significantly less detrimental to the environment than most commercial textiles produced today. It is known that the textile industry is characterised by the excessive usage of chemicals, water, energy, and the generation of toxic effluent that is not always disposed of correctly, thereby affecting human, vegetal and animal well-being. Moreover, it eliminates animal cruelty, and in relation to real leather, it will also be more available and less expensive.”

“Secondly,” she states, “bacterial cellulose is biodegradable, which is one way of contributing towards a circular economy in the textile industry, while moving away from the traditional linear economy we know today.”

Within the apparel industry, this textile, which is mostly suitable for accessories, can be used to make products that are typically made of leather. For instance, bags, jackets, shoes, and bucket hats.

Samples of the new textile made from Kambucha. Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Versatile use

She states that according to their knowledge, the bacterial cellulose has not yet been grown in South Africa or Africa. However, it has been extensively researched in America and Europe. “There have been several experiments to make biodegradable packaging, facial masks in the cosmetics industry, sausage casings, and fruit rolls – and interestingly enough – it can even be enjoyed as a native Philippine dessert known as nata de coco. This goes to show how versatile it is,” she says.

Monnapula says there is still plenty of room for improvement and further development before reaching a point where she can introduce her work as a contender in the South African market. For instance, the waterproof capability of the textile is yet to be perfected. “More research is also necessary to enhance its hydrophobic and decreasing its hydrophilic properties.”

She is also of the opinion that further dyeing, using environmentally friendly methods and natural dyes to obtain a wider variety of colours, is necessary.

Penetrating the market

Once it is ready, this textile will be a marketable product that can be manufactured for commercial use. “A few European start-up companies have recently managed to penetrate the market and introduce apparel made from bacterial cellulose. I believe that upon further development and modifications, we can eventually follow suit,” says Monnapula.

The bacterial cellulose textile was evaluated in the UFS Sensory Lab, a facility mostly used to test food products. Liezl van der Walt, Sensory Lab Manager, states that the Sensory Lab plays a crucial role in determining the consumer acceptance of new products as well as how the product can be improved. She believes that the textile project was just the beginning of many more textile-related sensory panels to take place.

Within the apparel industry, this textile can be used to make products that are typically made of leather, including bags, jackets, shoes, and bucket hats. – Matseliso Monnapula

News Archive

Fight against Ebola virus requires more research

2014-10-22

Dr Abdon Atangana
Photo: Ifa Tshishonge

Dr Abdon Atangana, a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), wrote an article related to the Ebola virus: Modelling the Ebola haemorrhagic fever with the beta-derivative: Deathly infection disease in West African countries.

“The filoviruses belong to a virus family named filoviridae. This virus can cause unembellished haemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman monkeys. In literature, only two members of this virus family have been mentioned, namely the Marburg virus and the Ebola virus. However, so far only five species of the Ebola virus have been identified, including: Ivory Coast, Sudan, Zaire, Reston and Bundibugyo.

“Among these families, the Ebola virus is the only member of the Zaire Ebola virus species and also the most dangerous, being responsible for the largest number of outbreaks.

“Ebola is an unusual, but fatal virus that causes bleeding inside and outside the body. As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately, it causes the blood-clotting levels in cells to drop. This leads to severe, uncontrollable bleeding.

Since all physical problems can be modelled via mathematical equation, Dr Atangana aimed in his research (the paper was published in BioMed Research International with impact factor 2.701) to analyse the spread of this deadly disease using mathematical equations. We shall propose a model underpinning the spread of this disease in a given Sub-Saharan African country,” he said.

The mathematical equations are used to predict the future behaviour of the disease, especially the spread of the disease among the targeted population. These mathematical equations are called differential equation and are only using the concept of rate of change over time.

However, there is several definitions for derivative, and the choice of the derivative used for such a model is very important, because the more accurate the model, the better results will be obtained. The classical derivative describes the change of rate, but it is an approximation of the real velocity of the object under study. The beta derivative is the modification of the classical derivative that takes into account the time scale and also has a new parameter that can be considered as the fractional order.

“I have used the beta derivative to model the spread of the fatal disease called Ebola, which has killed many people in the West African countries, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, since December 2013,” he said.

The constructed mathematical equations were called Atangana’s Beta Ebola System of Equations (ABESE). “We did the investigation of the stable endemic points and presented the Eigen-Values using the Jacobian method. The homotopy decomposition method was used to solve the resulted system of equations. The convergence of the method was presented and some numerical simulations were done for different values of beta.

“The simulations showed that our model is more realistic for all betas less than 0.5. The model revealed that, if there were no recovery precaution for a given population in a West African country, the entire population of that country would all die in a very short period of time, even if the total number of the infected population is very small. In simple terms, the prediction revealed a fast spread of the virus among the targeted population. These results can be used to educate and inform people about the rapid spread of the deadly disease,” he said.

The spread of Ebola among people only occurs through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person after symptoms have developed. Body fluid that may contain the Ebola virus includes saliva, mucus, vomit, faeces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine and semen. Entry points include the nose, mouth, eyes, open wounds, cuts and abrasions. Note should be taken that contact with objects contaminated by the virus, particularly needles and syringes, may also transmit the infection.

“Based on the predictions in this paper, we are calling on more research regarding this disease; in particular, we are calling on researchers to pay attention to finding an efficient cure or more effective prevention, to reduce the risk of contamination,” Dr Atangana said.

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