Cellulose acetate was dissolved in trifluoroacetic acid and electrospun onto polypropylene non-woven material. An upstream layer of polypropylene non-woven material was added to form a three-layered polypropylene/cellulose acetate/polypropylene filter. The thickness of the electrospun cellulose acetate layer was varied by changing the electrospinning time. The fabricated filter was then characterized. Cellulose acetate nanofibers were also electrospun onto an aluminum foil collector with the aim of studying the changes in fiber properties when they are electrospun onto the polypropylene non-woven material. The results obtained in this research work indicated that the layer of nanofibers electrospun onto polypropylene non-woven material increased the filtration efficiency of polypropylene non-woven material from 50.23% to 91.29%, but the quality factor reduced by 29.1%. When the cellulose acetate deposition time was increased from 3 h to 6 h, the filtration efficiency further increased to 98.26% and the quality factor increased by 0.6%. A comparison between cellulose acetate nanofibers electrospun using an aluminum foil as the collector and those electrospun directly onto the polypropylene non-woven material indicated that cellulose acetate fibers electrospun onto polypropylene non-woven material had poorer fiber quality properties.

Composites are gradually becoming an integral material for structural and manufacturing processes. Sisal fibre has the potential to be one of the leading reinforcement natural fibres, not only in Zimbabwe, but the world over for use in glass composites. This is mainly due to it being inexpensive, exhibiting a low density, high specific strength, a high stiffness to weight ratio, non-toxicity, its abundance in Zimbabwe and its renewability. With an aim of coming up with a composite for partition board applications in the construction industry, five samples of sisal-glass composite were prepared with varying sisal fibre content and different layering techniques. Sisal fibres were pre-treated with 20% NaOH to enhance their crosslinking with the resin and reduce the chemical impurities such as lignin and waxes. Mechanical (flexural test, hardness, and tensile strength) and physical tests (density and water absorption) were conducted to analyse the properties of the composite. The results showed that treated sisal fibres had a higher breaking tenacity of 33.11 g/tex which is higher than untreated fibres with a breaking tenacity of 25.72 g/tex. The best properties were obtained in the sample with 4 layers of glass and 9 layers of sisal fibres using 200 ml of resin. The composite had a tensile strength of 57.60 MPa, flexural strength of 36 N/mm², moisture absorption of 10% and a burning rate of 9.82 mm/min. These results were then compared with those of the current partition boards in the market. It was noted that the composite was suitable for use in partition boards. Again, regarding cost, these composites are cheaper to produce at a rate of $11.33/m² compared to the timber costing at $16/m².

Millions of used or worn-out tyres are disposed of by many countries annually. These tyres can be put to good use when recycled. Used tyres are among the most problematic and challenging sources of solid waste, especially in landfills. Therefore, the use of waste tyres for composite materials having desired performance properties can be used as a means of disposing of the tyres. Fibrous material-reinforced composites with enhanced physical and mechanical performance and incorporating sisal fibres were produced using waste tyre material, sisal, and polyester resin. The physical and mechanical properties of hybrid composite board panels, including flexural strength, compression strength, tensile strength, and water absorption, were determined according to ASTM Standards. The rubber tyre particles used in the study had a size of 1.00 mm, and the sisal used had an average length of 6mm. A systematic experimental design was formulated and worked accordingly in the fabrication of the composite. The hybrid composite produced has adequate mechanical properties to perform as a substitute for solid wood in several applications such as tabletops, general purpose, load-bearing boards, ceiling boards, furniture, door panels and partitioning boards.

The study examined the effect of heat and time on fabrics made from polyester (PET) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibres which have different aerial densities and composed of 90% and 10% of PET and PVA respectively. PVA is included in the fabric due to its water solubility and this will allow the PVA to be removed thereby leaving a more porous fabric. The fabrics were passed through needle punching machine and PVA removed by heating in a water bath. The nonwoven fibre was then heated in water at temperatures of 75, 85 and 100 °C in an effort to remove the PVA fibres and leave a more porous fabric. While removing the PVA through heating in a water bath, the effect of heating period and the temperature on the fabric properties was investigated. The strength, elongation and structure of the fabric were investigated and the changes analysed. It was found that there was a significant removal of PVA at longer periods of time when at a high temperature. The effect on the properties was found to be higher with higher temperatures as well with a decrease in strength ranging between 40% and 60% being experienced while an increase in elongation, between 60% and 90% was experienced. Fibre spacing and pore size was found to have increased as well.