Stiffening Potential of Lignocellulosic Fibers in Fully Biobased Composites: The Case of Abaca Strands, Spruce TMP Fibers, Recycled Fibers from ONP, and Barley TMP Fibers

Abstract

Biocomposites are composite materials where at least the matrix or the reinforcement phases are obtained from natural and renewable resources. Natural fibers for composite preparation can be obtained from annual plants, wood, recycled products, or agroforestry waste. The present work selected abaca strands, spruce fibers, recycled fibers from old newspaper, and barley fibers as raw materials to produce biocomposites, in combination with a biobased polyethylene. One very important feature in material science and for industrial applications is knowing how a material will deform under load, and this characteristic is represented by Young’s modulus. Therefore, in this work, the stiffness and deformation of the biocomposites were determined and evaluated using macromechanics and micromechanics analyses. Results were compared to those of conventional synthetic composites reinforced with glass fibers. From the micromechanics analysis, the intrinsic Young modulus of the reinforcements was obtained, as well as other micromechanics parameters such as the modulus efficiency and the length and orientation factors. Abaca strands accounted for the highest intrinsic modulus. One interesting outcome was that recycled fibers exhibited similar Young’s moduli to wood fibers. Finally, agroforestry waste demonstrated the lowest stiffening potential. The study explores the opportunity of using different natural fibers when specific properties or applications are desired.

Evaluation of the Strength of the Interface for Abaca Fiber Reinforced Hdpe and Biope Composite Materials, and Its Influence over Tensile Properties

“…Thus, any micromechanics model will take in account these parameters as the minimum. Nevertheless, the literature agrees that the strength of the interface has less impact in the case of Young's modulus of the composites than in their tensile strength [45].…”

Effective Young’s Modulus Estimation of Natural Fibers through Micromechanical Models: The Case of Henequen Fibers Reinforced-PP Composites

“…The method has been typically applied for the correction of Young's modulus of glass and carbon fibers, though, in this work the method is further considered for henequen strands. The corrected Young's modulus (E F * t ) is given by Equation (7).…”

“…The incorporation of natural fibers in thermoplastic matrices has shown a reasonable enhancement of the mechanical properties in terms of stiffness and rigidity. However, the strength improvement is more reliant on the fiber-matrix interfacial characteristics [7]. These characteristics shown by natural fiber polymer composites have made them suitable for use in various fields such as automotive and building and construction, their use being especially attractive for applications demanding low-density materials [8,9].…”

Evaluation of mechanical performance and water absorption properties of modified sugarcane bagasse high-density polyethylene plastic bag green composites

“…However, when the fiber loading was higher, this effect seems insufficient to adherent with polymer as the distribution and compatibility of filler with polymer matrix could be the important factors to affect the composite stiffness. As stated by Serra-Parareda et al, 27 the cellulose content of the fibers will contribute to the stiffness if they are properly dispersed inside the composite. In this regard, surface treatment through chemical reaction such as mercerization would show better effect, as shown at higher SCB fiber content of 15 wt% where the greatest improvement of Young's modulus was achieved for NaOH-treated fiber with an increment of 70.6%.…”