Science at UM [S01-ep07]: From Flax Fibers to Eco-Friendly Packaging
This week, Olivier Arnould from the Laboratory of Mechanics and Civil Engineering takes us back in time to discuss the durability of flax fibers. In the second half of the program, we’ll visit the Agropolymers and Emerging Technologies Laboratory with Valérie Guillard.
And today we’re connecting you to the fiber. Forget your internet connection—I’m talking about artistic fibers, ancient fibers, and delicate fibers. I’m talking about linen fibers taken from a 4,000-year-old Egyptian burial shroud and from masterpieces painted in the 17th and 18th centuries. Why such desecration? Because today scientists have tools to analyze these materials without damaging them, allowing them to cultivate their scientific fiber without hesitation.
A team of researchers has studied the aging of flax fibers from burial shrouds and master paintings by examining their structure and biochemical changes using ultra-high-resolution analytical methods. Does that sound complicated? Olivier Arnould from the Laboratory of Mechanics and Civil Engineering in Montpellier participated in this study and explains how the results of these analyses on the behavior and performance evolution of flax fibers could help advance the design of more sustainable and robust eco-materials—and that’s very much in the news right now . The results were published in Nature and the Journal of Cultural Heritage.
Read:
- CNRS Press Release: 4,000-year-old Egyptian textiles shed light on the durability of flax fibers.
- Article published in Nature: Melelli, A., Shah, DU, Hapsari, G., et al. Lessonson textile history and fiber durability from a 4,000-year-old Egyptian linen thread. Plants7,1200–1206 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00998-
- INRAE Press Release: Studying the Webs of the Past to Understand the Aging of Eco-Materials of the Future
- FLOWER Project Website
In the second half of the program, we’ll take you to the Gaillarde campus, specifically to the IATE laboratory for Agopolymer Engineering and Emerging Technologies. Valérie Guillard welcomes us there to introduce us to a minor revolution in the field of packaging: a food tray that looks just like plastic, but is completely biodegradable…
At UM Science, you’ve got the program—let’s get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Director: Bruno Bertrand
Tune in to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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