Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Polylactic Acid/Oil Palm Fiber Composites by Alkali Treatment

The aim of this work is the improvement of mechanical properties of oil palm fiber (OPF) reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composites by using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment. NaOH concentrations (0 to 15 %wt.) and treatment times (0 to 30 min) were varied to determine the suitable condition for surface treatment of OPF. Aspect ratio (L/D) and the surface texture of OPF were investigated by using an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The result suggested that the most suitable condition for surface treatment of OPF was NaOH concentration of 10 %wt. at immersion time of 20 min. Aspect ratio and surface roughness of OPF increased after alkali treatment. For the effect of alkali treatment on the mechanical properties of the composite, it was evaluated by tensile and impact testings and SEM technique. The results showed that surface treatment with NaOH led to enhance mechanical properties of the composite due to improvement of interfacial adhesion.

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Effect of SEBS-MA and MAPP as coupling agent on the thermal and mechanical properties in highly filled composites of oil palm fiber/PP

Composite Interfaces ◽

10.1080/09276440.2018.1530916 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (8) ◽

pp. 699-709 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

José Alexandre Simão ◽

José Manoel Marconcini ◽

Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso ◽

Anand Ramesh Sanadi

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Coupling Agent ◽

Thermal And Mechanical Properties ◽

Palm Fiber

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Degradation Behaviour of Nanosilica Enhanced Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Epoxy Composites

Solid State Phenomena ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/ssp.305.28 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 305 ◽

pp. 28-35

Author(s):

Anslem Wong Tsu An ◽

Sujan Debnath ◽

Vincent Lee Chieng Chen ◽

Moola Mohan Reddy ◽

Alokesh Pramanik

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Tensile Strength ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Natural Fiber ◽

Fiber Composites ◽

Epoxy Composites ◽

Empty Fruit Bunch ◽

Degradation Behaviour ◽

Brine Solution

In recent years, studies regarding natural fiber reinforced composites have been increased as they are biodegradable with good mechanical performance therefore can help to overcome the environmental issue. As the natural fibers are easy to obtain, many industries have started to make use of natural fiber composites which are light in weight and possess good mechanical properties. However, the natural fiber composites also possess certain limitations most importantly their high moisture absorption ability which makes them incompatible at degradable environment. The fiber constituents of natural fiber composite may have different type of interactions at different environmental conditions. In addition, the involvement of nanoparticles in the composite may be the solution to overcome the deficiencies. In this research, the degradation behaviour of Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibers reinforced epoxy composites upon exposure to degradable environmental conditions and the effect of adding nanoparticles have been studied. The tensile tests were conducted before and after the exposure to different environmental conditions including plain water, moist soil, brine solution, and cooking oil. Results shows that the addition of 10wt% of OPEFB fiber to the epoxy composites had improved the mechanical tensile strength up to 15.97% and composites exposed to brine solution have the most prominent sign of degradation in mechanical properties in both composites with and without nanosilica. Nevertheless, the composites with nanosilica have shown up to 24.28% improvement in tensile strength after exposure to different environmental conditions. The improvement were attributed due to filling the voids of the composites with nanosilica and good interfacial adhesion between the nanofiller, fiber, and matrix.

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Polylactic acid/carbon fiber composites: Effects of functionalized elastomers on mechanical properties, thermal behavior, surface compatibility, and electrical characteristics

Fibers and Polymers ◽

10.1007/s12221-016-5922-0 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 615-623 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Chien-Teng Hsieh ◽

Yi-Jun Pan ◽

Ching-Wen Lou ◽

Chien-Lin Huang ◽

Zheng Ian Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Carbon Fiber ◽

Thermal Behavior ◽

Polylactic Acid ◽

Fiber Composites ◽

Carbon Fiber Composites ◽

Electrical Characteristics

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M701 Mechanical Properties of Alkali Treated Oil Palm Fiber

The Proceedings of Conference of Kansai Branch ◽

10.1299/jsmekansai.2015.90.349 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015.90 (0) ◽

pp. 349

Author(s):

Hiroto OHTANI ◽

Sachi TANAKA ◽

Charlie SIA ◽

Yoshikazu NAKAI

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Palm Fiber

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Effect of MAPP and TMPTA as compatibilizer on the mechanical properties of cellulose and oil palm fiber empty fruit bunch–polypropylene biocomposites

Composite Interfaces ◽

10.1163/156855408783810876 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 15 (2-3) ◽

pp. 251-262 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

M. Khalid ◽

A. Salmiaton ◽

T. G. Chuah ◽

C. T. Ratnam ◽

S. Y. Thomas Choong

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Oil Palm ◽

Empty Fruit Bunch ◽

Palm Fiber

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Study the effect of fiber loading and alkali treatment on the mechanical and water absorption properties of wheat straw fiber-reinforced epoxy composites

Science and Engineering of Composite Materials ◽

10.1515/secm-2015-0441 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 24 (5) ◽

pp. 731-738 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Varun Mittal ◽

Shishir Sinha

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Water Absorption ◽

Epoxy Resin ◽

Wheat Straw ◽

Alkali Treatment ◽

Fiber Composites ◽

Epoxy Composites ◽

Absorption Properties ◽

Fiber Loading ◽

Treated Fiber

AbstractThe aim of this research was to study the feasibility of using wheat straw fiber with epoxy resin for developing natural fiber-polymer composites. For this purpose, the epoxy resin was reinforced with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt.% of the wheat straw fiber with the help of the hand lay-up technique. Further, in order to improve the composite characteristic, wheat straw fibers were treated with three different concentrations of alkali (1%, 3%, and 5%). The mechanical and water absorption properties of the treated fiber composites were characterized and compared with those of untreated fiber-filled epoxy composites. It was observed that the mechanical properties and water resistance were reduced with the increase in wheat straw fiber loading from 5 to 25 wt.%. Among the three levels of alkali treatment, the composite made with 3% alkali-treated fiber exhibited superior mechanical properties than the other untreated and treated fiber composites, which pointed to an efficient fiber-matrix adhesion. The scanning electron microscope was used to observe the surface features of the wheat straw fiber.

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