Physico-Chemical Properties of Fiber Extracted from the Flower of Celosia Argentea Plant

Abstract: Due to environmental problems by the use of synthetic fibers in composite materials, researchers are more concerned with searching for eco-friendly materials. Consequently, the use of reinforcing f...

Abstract: The present study aims to identify a potential substitute for the harmful synthetic fibers in the field of polymer composites. With this objective, a comprehensive characterization of Derris scandens stem fibers (DSSFs) was carried out. The presence of high strength gelatinous fibers with a traditional hierarchical cell structure was found in the anatomical study. The chemical compositional analysis estimated the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents of 63.3 wt%, 11.6 wt%, and 15.3 wt%, respectively. Further analysis with XRD confirmed the presence of crystalline cellulose having a size of 11.92 nm with a crystallinity index of 58.15%. SEM and AFM studies show that these fibers are porous, and the average roughness is 105.95 nm. Single fiber tensile tests revealed that the DSSFs exhibited the mean Young's modulus and tensile strength of 13.54 GPa and 633.87 MPa respectively. Furthermore, the extracted fibers were found to be thermally stable up to 230 °C, as confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. The fibers extracted from the stem of medicinal plant Derris scandens have the properties comparable to that of existing natural fibers, thus, suggesting it to use as a highly promising reinforcing agent alternative to synthetic fibers in polymer matrix composites.

Abstract: Alkali treatment of natural fibers will improve the mechanical, chemical, and thermal characteristics of natural fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The influence of alkali treatment on the improvem...

Abstract: An experimental investigation was conducted to identify the optimum fiber content and the effect of fiber alkaline treatment on kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites and reported in this article....

Abstract: Energy is considered a conserved quantity. With numerous applications, it's available in a different form from various resources. Hence production energy depends on the available resources and efficiency. The purpose of the research work is to produce bioethanol from waste rose flower petals. Four different steps namely pre-treatment, hydrolysis fermentation, and distillation were used for bioethanol conversion. Advanced techniques such as Fourier infrared transformation, scanning electron micrography, X-ray diffraction, and thermal analysis were employed to determine the best precondition. At a most favorable condition of hydrolysis time = 120 h; temperature 30 °C, enzyme concentration = 1.75 g/L, pH 5.5, and mixing speed 120 rpm give the highest glucose yields 40.8 g/L with commercial enzyme Accellerase 1500. In addition to that at pH 4.5, fermentation time 192hrs and temperature 30 °C, a maximum of 29.5 g/L bioethanol was produced. The bioethanol was confirmed by 1HNMR, gas chromatography analysis, and infrared transformation.

Abstract: An empirical method for determining the crystallinity of native cellulose was studied with an x-ray diffractometer using the focusing and transmission techniques. The influence of fluctuations in the primary radiation and in the counting and recording processes have been determined. The intensity of the 002 interference and the amor phous scatter at 2θ = 18° was measured. The percent crystalline material in the total cellulose was expressed by an x-ray "crystallinity index." This was done for cotton cellulose decrystallized with aqueous solutions containing from 70% to nominally 100% ethylamine. The x-ray "crystallinity index" was correlated with acid hydrolysis crys tallinity, moisture regain, density, leveling-off degree of polymerization values, and infrared absorbance values for each sample. The results indicate that the crystallinity index is a time-saving empirical measure of relative crystallinity. The precision of the crystallinity index in terms of the several crystallinity criteria is given. Bas...

Abstract: Present review deals with the recent development of cellulosic/cellulosic and cellulosic/synthetic fibres based reinforced hybrid composites. Hybrid composites made up of two different cellulosic fibres are less common compare to cellulosic/synthetic fibre, but these are also potentially useful materials with respect to environmental concerns. Hybrid composites fabrication by cellulosic fibres is economical and provide another dimension to the versatility of cellulosic fibre reinforced composites. As a consequence, a balance in cost and performance could be achieved through proper material design as per directive of Europe states by 2015. Recent studies relevant to hybrid composites have cited in this review. This work intended to present an outline of main results presented on hybrid composites focusing the attention in terms of processing, mechanical, physical, electrical, thermal and dynamic mechanical properties. Hybrid composites are one of the emerging fields in polymer science that triumph attention for application in various sectors ranging from automobile to the building industry.

Abstract: Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is finding increasing utility in investigations of the pyrolysis and combustion behavior of materials. Although a theoretical treatment of the TGA behavior of an idealized reaction is relatively straight-forward, major complications can be introduced when the reactions are complex, e.g., in the pyrolysis of cellulose, and when experimental imperfections arise. Consequently, a fairly large number of analytical methods have been proposed for obtaining kinetic parameters from TGA curves. Among the proposed methods are several graphical procedures, mostly involving relatively inaccurate tehniques, such as obtaining slopes on a rapidly changing curve. Included among the proposed procedures is one which permits a linear plot of TGA data. The sensitivity with which such a plot can be used to identify and correct for a variety of experimental complications seems to have escaped even the proponents of the techniques. This paper provides an illustration of the use of this graphical procedure in a hypothetical first-order pyrolysis typical of those occurring in the TGA behavior of cellulose.

Abstract: The world is in need of more eco-friendly material, therefore researchers around the globe focus on developing new materials that would improve the environmental quality of products. This need for new green materials has led to the utilization of composites made from raw natural fibers and polymer matrices, and this has become one of the most widely investigated research topics in recent times. Natural fiber composites are an alternative for replacing environmentally harmful synthetic materials and help control pollution problems. In addition, they are low cost, have better mechanical properties and require low production energy consumption. Also, using such materials in construction works, it is possible to improve the sustainability by eliminating construction wastes. Keeping in view all the benefits of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites, this paper first discusses various fabrication techniques employed for the production of these composites and then presents a detailed review of the research devoted to the analysis of their structure and properties by a variety of characterization techniques.

Abstract: Natural fibers from plants are ideal choice for producing polymer composites. Bark fibers of Prosopis juliflora (PJ), an evergreen plant have not been utilized for making polymer composites yet. Hence, a study was undertaken to evaluate their suitability as a novel reinforcement for composite structures. PJ fiber (PJF) was analyzed extensively to understand its chemical and physical properties. The PJF belonged to gelatinous or mucilaginous type. Its lignin content (17.11%) and density (580 kg/m(3)) were relatively higher and lower, respectively in comparison to bark fibers of other plants. The free chemical groups on it were studied by FTIR and XRD. It had a tensile strength of 558±13.4 MPa with an average strain rate of 1.77±0.04% and microfibril angle of 10.64°±0.45°. Thermal analyses (TG and DTG) showed that it started degrading at a temperature of 217 °C with kinetic activation energy of 76.72 kJ/mol.