Science at UM [S01-ep07]: From flax fibers to eco-friendly packaging
This week, Olivier Arnould from the Mechanics and Civil Engineering Laboratory takes us back in time to talk about the sustainability of flax fibers. In the second part of the program, we take you to the Agropolymers and Emerging Technologies Laboratory with Valérie Guillard.
And today we're connecting you to fiber. Forget about your internet connection, I'm talking about artistic fibers, ancient fibers, sensitive fibers. I'm talking about linen fibers taken from a 4,000-year-old Egyptian burial shroud and from master paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. Why such desecration? Because today's scientists have the tools to analyze these materials without damaging them, allowing them to cultivate their scientific fiber without compunction.
A team of researchers studied the aging of flax fibers from burial cloth and master paintings by examining their structure and biochemical evolution using very high-resolution analysis methods. Does that sound complicated? Olivier Arnould from the Montpellier Laboratory of Mechanics and Civil Engineering took part in this study and explains how the results of these analyses on the behavior and performance evolution of flax fibers could lead to advances in the design of more durable and robust eco-materials, which is very topical. 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 linen fibers.
- Article published in Nature: Melelli, A., Shah, DU, Hapsari, G.et al. Lessonson textile history and fiber sustainability 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 fabrics from the past to understand the aging of eco-materials of the future
- FLOWER project website
In the second part of the program, we take you to the Gaillarde campus, specifically to the IATE laboratory for Agopolymer Engineering and Emerging Technologies. Valérie Guillard welcomes us there to present a small revolution in the field of packaging with a food tray that looks just like plastic, but is completely biodegradable...
At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: 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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