Properties of Kenaf Bast Powder-Filled High Density Polyethylene/Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Composites

Abstract

High-density polyethylene (HDPE)/ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) blend was prepared by mixing HDPE and EPDM in an internal mixer. Kenaf fibers were then added to the mixture with a few minutes of mixing. The tensile properties of the HDPE/EPDM/kenaf composites were investigated using tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy. Treated kenaf bast powder was prepared using hydrochloric acid (HCl). Hydrolysis was carried out to study the effect of HCl on the structure, composition, and properties of the fibers. HCl treatment removed the impurities in the fibers, resulting in smooth fibers with a small particles size. Fourier transform infrared analysis showed a reduction in lignin, wax, and hemicellulose but no modification in surface chemical composition. The treated filled HDPE/EPDM composites had high tensile strength, elongation at break, and modulus than the untreated filled HDPE/EPDM composites.

Biodegradable Composite Films based on κ-carrageenan Reinforced by Cellulose Nanocrystal from Kenaf Fibers

“…The peak at 1430 to 1420 cm -1 was assigned to the CH2 symmetric bending, and the peak in the range of 1380 to 1320 cm -1 in all samples was assigned to the plane C-H bending and the C-O bending of the aromatic rings in the polysaccharides (Nacos et al 2006;Adel et al 2010). Finally, the peaks in the regions 1162 to 1125 cm -1 were assigned to the C-O-C asymmetric stretching mode of cellulose and hemicelluloses (Troedec et al 2008;Safinas et al 2013), while the peak at 1058 to 896 cm -1 was assigned to the C-O stretching and C-H rocking vibration of cellulose (Alemdar and Sain 2008). Figure 2 shows the surface morphologies of the kenaf fibers after various chemical treatments as revealed by FESEM.…”

“…The peak in the range of 3400 to 3200 cm -1 was assigned to the O-H stretching vibration of cellulose. The peak at ~2900 cm -1 was assigned to C-H stretching vibrations (Brigida et al 2010;Noranizan and Ahmad 2012;Safinas et al 2013). The absorption at 1736 cm -1 was assigned to the carbonyl group (C=O) stretching of the acetyl group or the ester linkage of the carboxylic group in the ferulic and ρ-coumeric acid moieties of lignin and/or hemicelluloses.…”

Physicochemical Characterization of Microcrystalline Cellulose Extracted from Kenaf Bast

“…Acid causes the scission of hemicellulose to xylose and then xylose to furfural (Adel et al 2010). The removal of cementing regions of the fibers through acid hydrolysis boosts their crystallinity (Safinas et al 2013). Acid hydrolysis can be performed using formic acid (Sun et al 2008), phosphoric acid (H3PO4) (Hong et al 2012), nitric acid (HNO3) (Horst et al 2010), hydrochloric acid (HCl) (Kumar et al 2013), and sulfuric acid (H2SO4) (Ohwoavworhua et al 2009;Vanhatalo and Dahl 2014).…”

“…Kenaf has gained researchers' attention as a non-wood cellulosic source to produce MCC (Keshk and Haija 2011;Safinas et al 2013;Wang et al 2013) and NCC (Kargarzadeh et al 2012;Zaini et al 2013), because of its high cellulose content (approximately 55%), and mechanical characteristics (Abdul Khalil et al 2010;Khalil and Suraya 2011). For example, Wang and Cheng (2009) compared the effect of 5% HCl hydrolysis on the properties of kenaf bast, core, and wood fibers, while Keshk and Haija (2011) studied the impact of various HCl concentrations on the properties of kenaf bast and BC.…”

“…For example, Wang and Cheng (2009) compared the effect of 5% HCl hydrolysis on the properties of kenaf bast, core, and wood fibers, while Keshk and Haija (2011) studied the impact of various HCl concentrations on the properties of kenaf bast and BC. The hydrolysis of kenaf bast, when using 2 M HCl as a filler over the course of 3 h, was performed by Safinas et al (2013), and a comparison between the HCl and H2SO4 hydrolysis of kenaf bast was studied by Zaini et al (2013). Kargarzadeh et al (2012) evaluated the influence of H2SO4 hydrolysis time (20 to 120 min) on the properties of kenaf bast NCC.…”