THE IMPROVEMENT OF RAMIE FIBER PROPERTIES AS COMPOSITE MATERIALS USING ALKALIZATION TREATMENT: NaOH CONCENTRATION

Abstract

THE IMPROVEMENT OF RAMIE FIBER PROPERTIES AS COMPOSITE MATERIALS USING ALKALIZATION TREATMENT: NaOH CONCENTRATION. Ramie fiber is a plant fiber that has good quality and potential as a constituent of composite materials. In this study, ramie fiber surface modification was conducted through alkalization with various at 0%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, and 9% concentrations of NaOH using a magnetic stirrer with a speed of 200 rpm at 70οC for 5 hours. Alkaline ramie fibers are characterized using the Cheson method to determine the chemical composition of ramie fiber, FT-IR test to determine the function group of ramie fiber, morphological test to know the surface structure and diameter of ramie fiber, as well as tensile test to know the tensile strength and tensile modulus of PLA/ramie composite. Overall, the increase of NaOH concentration up to 8% percentage was able to increase the level of cellulose and lignin ramie fibers by 88.180 % and 2.444 %, as well as lower hemicellulose levels of 1.446 %. The alkalization treatment of 8% NaOH, optimally reduces the hydrophilic properties of the fiber. The increased concentration of NaOH makes the fiber surface cleaner and the diameter smaller, but the fiber structure is damaged at a concentration of NaOH more than 8%. Tensile test results showed that alkalized ramie fibers with an 8% concentration of NaOH produced PLA/ramie composites with the highest tensile strength and tensile modulus of 57.37 MPa and 248.25 MPa. Thus, the optimum ramie fiber properties are increased using alkalization with an 8% concentration of NaOH.

Effect of Various Concentrations of Sodium Hydroxide/Hot Alkali Treatment on the Physical Properties of Ramie Fibres

“…The physique properties such as suspension's characteristics of the ramie fibres are influenced by the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration [16]. One of the factors showing the stability of suspension is dispersion stability.…”

Thermal Conductivity of Partition Board by Polymer Composite With Filler Empty Friut Bunches Fibres

“…0 (10) where the coefficient k is the value of thermal conductivity, Ro is the rate at which the ice melts, h is the thickness of the sample, A is the surface area of the sample, while ΔT is the temperature difference.…”

“…From the test, it was found that the maximum average tensile strength of 57.37 MPa was obtained in the fibres that were given alkaline treatment with 8% NaOH, while after being given alkaline treatment with 9% NaOH, the average tensile strength tended to decrease to 41.19 MPa. The decrease in fibre strength could be caused by damage to the fibre structure due to an excessive amount of NaOH concentration, so it is necessary to know the exact concentration to obtain the optimum result [10] .…”

Influence of electroless NiP/graphene coating on treated woven ramie fiber and its characterization

“…Graphene with 98% purity, 10-15 layers, 10-15 micron diameter and 10-15 nm thickness is procured from Shilpa enterprises, Maharashtra, India. The fiber is subjected to chemical treatment by soaking it in 5% diluted NaOH solution for 4 h [23] and it is dried at room temperature for 24 h to break the hydrogen bonds [24]. The NaOH-treated fiber is washed with distilled water to remove the excess NaOH present in the fiber and dried again for a day at 40 °C in a hot air oven.…”