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Kenactiv is changing the way the world thinks about natural fibers.
We challenged the status quo, and in the process created a disruptive technology in natural fiber manufacturing: EZ-Retting™. In concert with our proprietary all natural chemical and enzymatic methodologies, EZ-Retting™ is the key to Kenactiv’s competitive edge in turning our solutions into our customers’ success.
Kenactiv revolutionizes the retting process, by which the lignin binding the bast fibers together to create the stalk’s tough outer layer is dissolved, with its proprietary methodology EZ-Retting™. This innovative approach to fiber processing surpasses all others in the removal of lignin (to less than 1%) and impurities yielding the cleanest fibers available. Our unique production line greatly accelerates the process, as well, and protects the structural integrity of the fibers with none of the harmful by-products of methods of other providers.
There is simply no comparison to the traditional retting processes of other natural fiber providers.
Traditional retting is carried out in one of two ways: The first, pool retting, is accomplished by soaking the harvested stalks in pools where naturally occurring and added bacteria act to break down the lignin over days or weeks. The process is labor intensive and creates by-products which require further treatment to neutralize the potentially hazardous bacteria. Another approach, dew retting, allows the same type of bacterial process to occur to stalks left in the field after harvest. Although less labor intensive, dew retting takes more time, and the degraded quality of the fibers from the process render them essentially devoid of commercial application. More recently, mechanical retting technologies have been employed to separate the fibers, but the harsh mechanical action crushes the fibers in the process leaving them without much commercial value.
Our proprietary all-natural antimicrobial treatment for kenaf allows Kenactiv Innovations, Inc. to add value to its products for use in a variety of residential, commercial and natural environments. Antimicrobial treatments are especially beneficial in textile applications and single use nonwovens.
In plastics applications for packaging, these treatments can help stem the spread of harmful microbes on surfaces in contact with food.
In many situations and environments where Kenactiv Innovations, Inc. products are put to work, the threat of fire poses serious risks to humans, wildlife and ecosystems: gasoline ignition after a car accident and building fires are just two examples. Our high flash treatments can reduce risk of ignition.
Kenactiv Innovations, Inc.’s unique fire retardant treatments allow our products and solutions to serve double duty, helping protect against fire hazard during hydrocarbon remediation or as composites for automotive components that continue to perform under high heat conditions, for example.
Kenaf was determined by a 1999 U.S. Navy Study to be the most absorbent natural material on earth¹, and that unparalleled absorbency that is at the core of many of kenaf’s performance and environmental benefits.
Using our proprietary methodologies we can regulate and enhance those capabilities to make products like FiberZorb™ highly absorbent to oils, solvents and other fluids but—at the same time—highly water resistant.
This selective absorbancy provides key benefits in agricultural, packaging and composites applications, providing, for example for improved water retention in soil amendments, and conversely, packaging durability in humid environments. It is also the key to kenaf’s performance in fiber reinforced plastics, where resin interface can be improved by treating the fibers to repel water.
