Question

Which of the following fiber is not a natural fiber?
a.) Cotton
b.) Silk
c.) Nylon
d.) Jute

Answer 1

Hint: It is a thermoplastic silky material that can be melt-processed into fibers, films or shapes. It is made of repeating units linked by amide links similar to the peptide bonds in protein.

Complete step by step answer:
Let us first see what natural fibers are.
Natural fibers are those fibers which are sourced from the natural origins. Most of them are from plants, animals and minerals. The vegetable class includes important fibers as cotton, flax and jute. The animal or protein-based fibers include wool, mohair and silk. An important fiber of the mineral class is asbestos.

Let us have a quick glance on synthetic fibers!
Synthetic fibers are made from different chemicals. Coal or oil is the raw materials from which all synthetic fibers are made. Simple chemicals for instance, like monomers are joined together to form complex chain polymers, this process is called polymerization. These polymers are used to make fabrics like; nylon, polyester, Lycra and tactel. So, now I guess you got your answer to the question!

Now, let us know about nylon.
Nylon is synthetic polymer materials which are technically known as polyamides. Polyamides consist of an amide group in their polymer structures. The different types of polyamides are (PA) 6, Pa 6, 6, 10 etc. Nylon is the general name for polyamides.

Hence, nylon fiber is not a natural fiber. Therefore, option C is the required answer.

Note: Although nylon itself does not contain any compounds that are dangerous to the environment, manufacturing nylon does. Production of nylon is harmful to the environment, especially in mass quantities.