Dynamic mechanical properties of natural fiber/polymer biocomposites: The effect of fiber treatment with electron beam

Abstract

Environmentally friendly biocomposites were made using plant-based natural fibers, such as henequen and kenaf. The natural fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) and unsaturated polyester (UP) biocomposites were examined in terms of the reinforcing effect of natural fibers on thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Kenaf (KE) and henequen (HQ) fibers were treated with an electron beam (EB) of 10 and 200 kGy doses, respectively, or with a 5 wt% NaOH solution. Four types of biocomposites (KE/PP, HQ/PP, KE/UP and HQ/UP) were fabricated by compression molding and each biocomposite was characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The kenaf fiber had the larger reinforcing effect on the dynamic mechanical properties of both PP and UP biocomposites than the henequen fiber. The highest storage modulus was obtained from the biocomposite with the combination of UP matrix and 200 kGy EB treated kenaf fibers.

Thermal, Flammability, and Morphological Properties of Nano-composite from Fir Wood Flour and Polypropylene

“…The first stage, which contained the range of approximately 150 °C to 400 °C, was related to wood fibers; in fact, when the composites were faced with heat, initially the hemicelluloses, cellulose, and a bit of lignin were degraded, and the composites lost weight. Usually, cellulose and hemicellulose degrade in the range of 150 °C to 500 °C; in fact, hemicellulose degrades at 150 °C to 350 °C, cellulose degrades at 275 °C to 350 °C, and lignin degrades at 250 °C to 500 °C (Lee and Wang 2006;Han et al 2008). Therefore, the addition of lignocellulose compounds to polymer composites decreased thermal stability.…”

Effect of Ketuki Fiber on Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastics Composites

“…The overview on applications of the commonly used commercial natural fibers (such as flax, hemp, jute, kenaf, ramie, abaca, cotton, sisal and wood fibers) for reinforcing polymer materials have been given by Pickering (2008), Mohanty et al (2005), Bledzki et al (2002) and Thomas & Pothan (2009). Natural fibers are light in weight, low cost, easily available (often worldwide and locally), environmentally friendly (Han et al 2008, Panaitescu et al 2011. Natural fibers will be available also in the future with steady prices.…”

A Brief review on extraction of nanocellulose and its application

“…Around 1990, their strong hydrophilic nature, resistant to many chemicals, safety to life, reproducibility and recyclability, brought nanocellulose in many intense applications compared to cellulose and microcellulose [15]. Additionally the recent advances in nanocellulose supports medical fields in different aspect as implant materials (artificial organs), biodegradable tissue scaffolds, drug delivery vehicles, etc.…”

“…Many more applications in paints, pigment, inks, screens, coatings, packaging materials, optical appliances, cosmetics etc. also make use of cellulosic materials [15,16].…”