SISAL

About: SISAL is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1878 publications have been published within this topic receiving 55528 citations.

Biodegradation of chemically modified lignocellulosic sisal fibers: study of the mechanism for enzymatic degradation of cellulose

Abstract: Abstract The susceptibility and characteristics of biological degradation of lignocellulosic fibers, such as sisal fibers, are presented in this study using a modified soil burial test (SBT) protocol. The biodegradation profile of untreated sisal fibers as well as of fibers treated with an alkaline emulsion of neem oil and phenolic resin was evaluated by estimating the enzymatic activities during the exposure of fibers to a soil/compost mix. Observation of the results indicated that biodegradation of the fibers was predominated by enzymatic hydrolysis of amorphous materials followed by degradation of crystalline cellulose. It was also evident that “oil-resin” treatment makes the fibers more resistant to biodegradation owing to the removal of amorphous materials, enhanced hydrophobicity, and possible chemical alteration of the surface hydroxyl groups of the fiber surface. This research aims to establish a systematic knowledge on the biodegradation profile of fiber components using a state-of-the-art protocol for SBT.

Insulation Characteristics of Sisal Fibre/Epoxy Composites

Abstract: Using natural fibres in civil engineering is the aim of many industrial and academics sectors to overcome the impact of synthetic fibres on environments. One of the potential applications of natural fibres composites is to be implemented in insulation components. Thermal behaviour of polymer composites based on natural fibres is recent ongoing research. In this article, thermal characteristics of sisal fibre reinforced epoxy composites are evaluated for treated and untreated fibres considering different volume fractions of 0–30%. The results revealed that the increase in the fibre volume fraction increased the insulation performance of the composites for both treated and untreated fibres. More than 200% insulation rate was achieved at the volume fraction of 20% of treated sisal fibres. Untreated fibres showed about 400% insulation rate; however, it is not recommended to use untreated fibres from mechanical point of view. The results indicated that there is potential of using the developed composites for insulation purposes.

Comparative Study for Performance of Soil Bed Reinforced with Jute and Sisal Geocells as Alternatives to HDPE Geocells

Abstract: This paper presents the performance of soil bed reinforced with jute and sisal geocells compared to HDPE geocells. The bearing pressure–settlement behaviour of the soil bed reinforced with natural geocells, soil bed reinforced with HDPE geocells and of unreinforced soil bed are discussed. The soil bed reinforced with jute cell and sisal cell showed a uniform increase in the settlement with increase in the applied pressure. The soil reinforced with HDPE geocell, however, showed a sudden rise in the settlement at higher pressure. Sisal mat used for developing the geocell was found to have greater tensile strength, followed by jute mat over HDPE material. Soil reinforced with sisal cells could bear larger stresses at lower strain compared to HDPE geocell. Analytical studies on jute and sisal geocells also were carried out considering the load transfer mechanism of geocell-reinforced soil.

Mixer design optimization with fractured surface topography of mechanical properties of polymer biocomposites

Abstract: In this study, simplex-centroid design was used to maximize both tensile strength (TS) and flexural strength (FS) of sisal–hemp fiber reinforced high density polyethylene (HDPE) composite mixture. The fibers were treated with NaOH followed by maleic anhydride, to improve their adhesion with matrix, and characterized by FTIR. The TS and FS of the prepared specimens were modeled using ANOVA regression modeling. The quadratic model was best fitted and optimized process conditions are 80% HDPE, 10% sisal and 10% hemp for TS and 70% HDPE, 15% sisal and 15% hemp for FS. Multiple response optimization yields that a mixture of 80% HDPE, 10% sisal and 10% hemp exhibits maximum TS and FS of 20.3 MPa and 18.5 MPa, respectively. The TS and FS are observed to be more sensitive to the content of sisal fibers in the composite, as indicated through Trace plot. SEM examinations of the fractured surfaces reveal primary failure mechanisms as fiber pull-out, fiber delamination and fiber breakage.

Sisal—Cement Composites and their Potential for Rural Africa

Abstract: The composite material formed by reinforcing cement mortar with sisal fibres has properties that make it suitable for several structures in rural Africa. Tests carried out by the present writer and colleagues at Nairobi University over the past few years have shown the considerable improvement in the flexural strength, energy-absorbing capacity and impermeability of the mortar resulting from the use of sisal fibres. Further tests have shown the suitability of the material for cladding walls to produce earthquake-resistant adobe structures for housing and schools, and for making roofing sheets and tiles, grain-storage bins and water ducts. Whilst this research has yielded several intriguing theoretical and practical discoveries in the laboratory, some of the results of field trials and attempts to implement the technology have proved even more enigmatic. The present paper reviews these findings in the laboratory and in the field, and considers the implications for third-world materials research in general.