A l'UM la science [S01-ep07]: From flax fibers to eco-packaging
This week, Olivier Arnould from the Mechanics and Civil Engineering Laboratory takes us back in time to talk about the durability of flax fibers. In the second half of the program, we take you to the Agropolymer Industry and Emerging Technologies Laboratory with Valérie Guillard.

And today we're hooking you up with fiber. Forget your Internet connection, I'm talking about artistic fibers, antique fibers, sensitive fibers. I'm talking about linen fibers taken from 4,000-year-old Egyptian mortuary linen and from master canvases painted in the 17th and 18th centuries. Why such desecration? Because today's scientists have the tools to analyze these materials without degrading them, and thus cultivate their scientific fiber without any hang-ups.
A team of researchers has studied the ageing of linen fibers from mortuary linen and master paintings, studying their structure and biochemical evolution using very high-resolution analysis methods. Sounds complicated? Olivier Arnould from the Laboratoire de mécanique et de génie civil de Montpellier took part in this study and explains how the results of these analyses on the behavior and performance evolution of flax fibers could enable progress to be made in the design of more durable and robust ecomaterials - and that's a very topical issue. Results published in Nature and the Journal of cultural heritage.
Read :
- CNRS Press Release: 4000-year-old Egyptian textiles shed light on the durability of linen fibers.
- Article published in Nature : Melelli, A., Shah, DU, Hapsari, G. et al. Lessons in textile history and fiber durability from a 4,000-year-old Egyptian linen yarn. Plants 7, 1200-1206 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00998-
- INRAE press release: Studying the fabrics of the past to understand the ageing of eco-materials of the future
- FLOWER project website
In the second half of the show, we take you to the Gaillarde campus, and more specifically to the IATE laboratory for Agropolymer Engineering and Emerging Technologies. Valérie Guillard welcomes us to present a small revolution in packaging with a food tray that looks just like plastic, but in a totally biodegradable version...



At UM la science you've got the program, let's go!
Coproduction: Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interviews : Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Production: Bruno Bertrand
Listen to the program "A l'UM la science" on Divergence FM 93.9

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