Effect of Different Conditions of Sodium Chloride Treatment on the Characteristics of Kenaf Fiber Bundles

Abstract

Currently, composite board manufacturing using natural fibers has the potential to expand owing to environmental awareness. To produce a composite board, treatment is required to improve the mechanical and physical properties of the natural fibers. In this study, sodium chloride (NaCl) was used for the chemical treatment. However, studies on chemical treatments using NaCl are limited. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of kenaf fibers after NaCl treatment. The NaCl treatment concentrations were 1, 3, and 5 wt.% at room temperature, with soaking durations of 1, 2, and 3 h. The tensile strength, strain, and Young's modulus were measured to evaluate the mechanical properties of the fibers. The fiber bundle diameter, weight change owing to treatment, and contact angle were determined to analyze the effect of NaCl treatment. The kenaf fiber bundle treated with 5 wt.% NaCl for 3 h exhibited the highest tensile strength, Young's modulus, reduction in fiber bundle diameter, weight change, and decrease in contact angle compared to those of untreated fiber bundles. The tensile properties of the fiber bundle exhibited a tendency to decrease with increasing fiber bundle diameter. Increasing the soaking duration from 1 to 2 h did not result in a significant decrease in the fiber bundle diameter or an increase in tensile strength. However, a further increase in the soaking duration from 2 to 3 h resulted in a considerable decrease in the fiber bundle diameter and an increase in the tensile strength.

Effect of Vascular Bundles and Fiber Sheaths in Nodes and Internodes of Gigantochloa apus Bamboo Strips on Tensile Strength

“…The use of column-shaped bamboo is limited; therefore, many culms are modified into other shapes. Various studies on bamboo and its properties include the development of bamboo strand boards (Maulana et al, 2021b), bamboo composites (Hwang and Oh, 2023), bamboo coloring (Lee and Lee, 2021), the termiticidal activity of bamboo vinegar against attacks by subterranean termites (Arsyad et al, 2020), and improvement of the properties of the fibers that make up the composite (Jain et al, 2022;Oh, 2020;Setyayunita et al, 2022). Increased durability of wood has also been carried out through bulk furfurylation (Li et al, 2020) and applied to wood materials (Hadi et al, 2022) and bamboo impregnation (Anwar et al, 2009) as applied to wood materials (Sumardi et al, 2020).…”