Effect of Mercerization/Alkali Surface Treatment of Natural Fibres and Their Utilization in Polymer Composites: Mechanical and Morphological Studies

Abstract

Environmental pollution, such as air, water, and soil pollution, has become the most serious issue. Soil pollution is a major concern as it generally affects the lands and makes them non-fertile. The main cause of soil pollution is agro-waste. It may be possible to mitigate the agro-waste pollution by re-utilizing this agro-waste, namely natural fibres (NFs), by blending into polymer-based material to reinforce the polymer composite. However, there are pros and cons to this approach. Consequently, the polymer composite materials fabricated using NFs are inferior to those polymer composites that are reinforced by, e.g., carbon or glass fibres from the mechanical properties’ perspectives. The limitations of utilizing natural fibres in polymer matrix are their high moisture absorption, resulting in high swelling rate and degradation, inferior resistance to fire and chemical, and inferior mechanical properties. In particular, the NF polymer composites exhibit inferior interfacial adhesion between the fibre and the matrix, which, if improved, ultimately overcome all the listed limitations and improve the mechanical properties of the developed composites. To improve the interfacial adhesion leading to the enhancement of the mechanical properties, optimum chemical treatment such as Alkalization/Mercerization of the fibres have been explored. This article discusses the Mercerization/Alkali surface treatment method for NFs and its effects on the fibres regarding the Mercerization/Alkali surface treatment method for NFs and its effect on the fibres regarding their utilization in the polymer composites, the morphological features, and mechanical properties of composites.

Mechanical and Dynamic Mechanical Properties of the Amino Silicone Oil Emulsion Modified Ramie Fiber Reinforced Composites

“…The impact strengths of modified 5RFPC, 10RFPC, 15RFPC, 20RFPC, 25RFPC and 30RFPC are about 10.9%, 13.6%, 16.4%, 23.7%, 26.2% and 32.7% higher compared to that of the unmodified 5RFPC, 10RFPC, 15RFPC, 20RFPC, 25RFPC and 30RFPC, respectively. Because modified RFPCs prevented crack expansion under the impact force due to better interlocking between the fiber and the matrix through ASO treatment [ 42 ].…”

Analysis of the properties of alkaline-treated rape straw and stalk polyvinyl chloride composites

“…50 Furthermore, alkaline treatment on fibers during stress transfer allows composites to carry a load to a higher strain limit, although a strong interface enables crack propagation, which ultimately reduces toughness and strength. 51 Flexural strength of SWC untreated and 1% alkaline-treated were the highest and increased by 1.39% higher than that of SWC 3% alkaline-treated. However, the flexural strength of SKC 3% alkaline-treated is the highest, higher than SKC 1% alkaline-treated by 1.37% and the flexural strength of SKC 3% alkaline-treated increased by 1.37% higher than the SWC untreated and 1% alkaline-treated.…”

A Practical Valorization Approach for Mitigating Textile Fibrous Microplastics in the Environment: Collection of Textile-Processing Waste Microfibers and Direct Reuse in Green Thermal-Insulating and Mechanical-Performing Composite Construction Materials

“…The polymerization degree and molecular orientation of cellulose crystals change due to the cementation of hemicellulose and lignin, which are removed during the process. These changes enhance the mechanical properties and tensile strength [24,25]. First, the microfibers were dried at 80 • C until reaching a mass change between two measurements lower than 0.1%.…”

“…Remarkably, a 715% enhancement in toughness was displayed by the FRC containing 4 wt% of NaOHtreated microfibers, compared with that of the reference sample with 0 wt% microfibers. The better performance of NaOH-treated microfibers was attributable to the effect of mercerization treatment, which promoted a rougher and more functionalized fiber surface [24,25,32]. Therefore, NaOH treatment resulted in increased mechanical and chemical adhesion between the constituent phases of the composite material (cementitious matrix and textile microfiber), which is known and generally sought to improve the overall mechanical behavior of FRCs [32,33].…”