Rising environmental concerns and depletion of petro-chemical resources has resulted in an increased interest in biorenewable polymer-based environmentally friendly materials. Among biorenewable polymers, lignin is the second most abundant and fascinating natural polymer next to cellulose. Lignin is one of the three major components found in the cell walls of natural lignocellulosic materials. Lignin is widely available as a major byproduct of a number of industries involved in retrieving the polysaccharide components of plants for industrial applications, such as in paper making, ethanol production from biomass, etc. The impressive properties of lignin, such as its high abundance, low weight, environmentally friendliness and its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and biodegradable nature, along with its CO2 neutrality and reinforcing capability, make it an ideal candidate for the development of novel polymer composite materials. Considerable efforts are now being made to effectively utilize waste lignin as one ...

Progress in Green Polymer Composites from Lignin for Multifunctional Applications: A Review

A review on the degradability of polymeric composites based on natural fibres

Natural fibers are getting attention from researchers and academician to utilize in polymer composites due to their ecofriendly nature and sustainability. The aim of this review article is to provide a comprehensive review of the foremost appropriate as well as widely used natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFPCs) and their applications. In addition, it presents summary of various surface treatments applied to natural fibers and their effect on NFPCs properties. The properties of NFPCs vary with fiber type and fiber source as well as fiber structure. The effects of various chemical treatments on the mechanical and thermal properties of natural fibers reinforcements thermosetting and thermoplastics composites were studied. A number of drawbacks of NFPCs like higher water absorption, inferior fire resistance, and lower mechanical properties limited its applications. Impacts of chemical treatment on the water absorption, tribology, viscoelastic behavior, relaxation behavior, energy absorption flames retardancy, and biodegradability properties of NFPCs were also highlighted. The applications of NFPCs in automobile and construction industry and other applications are demonstrated. It concluded that chemical treatment of the natural fiber improved adhesion between the fiber surface and the polymer matrix which ultimately enhanced physicomechanical and thermochemical properties of the NFPCs.

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A Review on Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite and Its Applications

Characterization and Properties of Natural Fiber Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review

The growing ecological and environmental consciousness has driven efforts for development of new innovative materials for various end-use applications. Polymers synthesized from natural resources, have gained considerable research interest in the recent years. This review paper is intended to provide a brief outline of work that covers in the area of biocomposites, major class of biodegradable polymers, natural fibres, as well as their manufacturing techniques and properties has been highlighted. Various surface modification methods were incorporated to improve the fibre–matrix adhesion resulting in the enhancement of mechanical properties of the biocomposites. Moreover, an economical impact and future direction of these materials has been critically reviewed. This review concludes that the biocomposites form one of the emerging areas in polymer science that gain attention for use in various applications ranging from automobile to the building industries.

A review of the recent developments in biocomposites based on natural fibres and their application perspectives

Characteristics of kenaf fibre/epoxy composites subjected to thermal degradation

Kenaf fibres are receiving much attention in the natural fibre composite industry due to its potential as polymer reinforcements. However, like all natural fibres, kenaf fibres have lower thermal resistance as compared to synthetic fibres. In this current work, the characteristics of kenaf fibre/epoxy composites, both treated and untreated using alkalization process, exposed to high temperature were studied. Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study the thermal decomposition behaviour of treated and untreated kenaf fibre/epoxy composites, glass fibre/epoxy composite as well as neat epoxy from room temperature up to 600oC. Surface morphology of both kenaf fibre/epoxy composites after exposure at 100oC was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results from the TGA showed that the addition of kenaf fibres into the epoxy slightly improves both the charring and thermal stability of the samples. However, it was observed that alkalization of fibres causes reduction in these behaviours. At 100oC, the SEMs show more voids in the untreated composites than the treated ones, suggesting higher moisture content within the voids which influences the higher weight loss of untreated composite at this temperature.

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Thermal degredation study of kenaf fibre/epoxy composites using thermo gravimetric analysis

Nowadays, kenaf fibers are becoming extensively used as natural reinforcements for polymeric composites. The mechanical properties of the fibers are the most influential elements on the characteristics of the composites. In the current work, tensile property of kenaf fiber was studied at different aging conditions (immersed in water, salt water, diesel, and engine oil). The tensile property of the fiber was tested in two different techniques as single fiber and bundle (20–55 fibers). Surface morphology of the fibers, before and after aging, was observed using scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that engine oil highly influenced the mechanical properties of the fiber compared to the other solutions. A drop in the strength was about 70% for both untreated and treated fibers immersed in diesel solution followed by diesel, and then water. The reduction in tensile strength by salt–water solutions was the least, at about 27.16% for untreated fibers. The damage on the fiber aged in salt water was le...

Characteristics of Kenaf Fiber Immersed in Different Solutions

To understand the contribution of bamboo fibers in a composite system, the characteristics of the fiber should be comprehensively evaluated. One of the major issues regarding the use of natural fibers in the polymer composite industry is the incompatibility between the hydrophilic fibers and the hydrophobic polymer resin, which renders weak the interfacial adhesion, leading to ineffectiveness of load transfer from the matrix resin to the reinforcing fibers. One of the most recent and effective technique for improving interfacial adhesion between natural fibers and polymer matrices is alkali treatment, which involves the immersion of fibers in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. Although several studies have shown the potential of using bamboo fibers as reinforcement in natural composites, limited work is conducted to comprehensively study the influence of the NaOH on the structural, physical, and tensile characteristics of bamboo fiber. Such studies are essential to understand these important characteristics of bamboo fibers, leading to their mechanical improvement, producing compositeswith enhanced properties and, eventually, expanding the use of bamboo fibers in the polymer composite industry. This chapter aims at evaluating the effect of alkali treatment on the structural, physical, and tensile characteristics of bamboo fibers, as well as the interfacial and tensile properties of the corresponding bamboo fiber/polyester composites. The morphological changes of the fibers and the impact they have on the interfacial adhesion of the fiber/matrix interface were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand the mechanical behavior of the composites. Single fiber tensile test (SFTT) and single fiber fragmentation test (SFFT) were used to study the tensile and interfacial behaviors of the fibers, respectively.

Z. N. Azwa

Papers

A review on the degradability of polymeric composites based on natural fibres

Characteristics of kenaf fibre/epoxy composites subjected to thermal degradation

Thermal degredation study of kenaf fibre/epoxy composites using thermo gravimetric analysis

Characteristics of Kenaf Fiber Immersed in Different Solutions

Natural Fibers and Their Characterization