Banana Fiber Reinforcement and Application in Composites

The growing awareness about sustainable development, environmental ecology and new legislations has led researchers to focus attention on bio fibres reinforced composites. In this field research has been done on many fibres but fibres such as banana, coir, bagasse, jute have gained importance in the recent decades. The main advantage of the natural fibre based composites materials being their low cost, easy availability, low density, acceptable specific properties, ease of separation, enhanced energy recovery, C02 neutrality, biodegradability and recyclability in nature. The attention is being given to the development of natural fibre composites is to explore value-added application avenues for their use and also for a sustainable and economical use of easily available natural material in hand. Agricultural waste is a very good example of such naturally available material and it can also be used to prepare composite materials for commercial use this has a very significant advantage over other natural fibres as its abundance and because of almost no cost.

Rice Husk Reinforcement in Polymer Composites

Increasing concern about global warming and depleting petroleum reserves and the high cost of petroleum products had made scientists to focus more on the use of natural fibres such as rice husk, baggase, coconut husk, hemp, sisal, jute, flax, banana etc. Past decade has shown many efforts to develop composites to replace the Petroleum and other non-decaying material products. Reinforcement with natural fibre in composites has recently gained attention due to low cost, easy availability, low density, acceptable, strength full, stiffness, ease of separation, enhanced energy recovery, biodegradability and recyclable in nature. Natural fibre composites are suitable as wood substitutes in the construction sector. All these have excellent physical, thermal and mechanical properties and can be utilized more effectively in the development of composite materials. In this connection, an investigation has been carried using rice husk, a natural fibre abundantly available in India.

Fabrication and Processing of Pineapple Leaf Fiber Reinforced Composites

There is an increasing interest worldwide in the use of Pineapple Leaf Fibers (PALF) as reinforcements in polymer composites, since this type of natural fiber exhibit attractive features such as superior mechanical, physical and thermal properties, thus offer potential uses in a spectrum of applications. PALF contains high cellulose content (between 70-82%) and high crystallinity. However, being hydrophilic, it posed a compatibility issue particularly in a hydrophobic polymeric matrix system. Thus, their shortcoming need to be addressed to ensure good interfacial bonding at the fibers/matrix interphase before their full potential can be harnessed. This chapter summarized some of the important aspects relating to PALF and its reinforced composites, particularly the main characteristics of the fiber, extraction and pre-treatment process of the fibers. Following this, discussions on the available fabrication processes for both short and continuous long PALF reinforced composites are presented.

Processing Technologies for Green Composites Production

Green composites became a most important and adaptable theme of research. This area/theme not only harness the agricultural wastes such as bagasse fibres, banana fibres, etc. but also provides a new material manufactured from these wastes which are reduced weight, have low cost, and have high mechanical strength. Currently, there are various methods available for the processing or fabrication of green composites. Some of these methods are hand layup method, injection molding method, spray-up method, compression molding, Resin-Transfer Molding (RTM), etc. In this chapter, we are discussing about the fabrication method of green composite and their important parameters. Various properties and characterization of composite materials made by these methods have also been discussed and reported here.

Green Composites and Their Properties

Green composites are important class of biocomposites widely explored due to their enhanced properties. The biodegradable polymeric material is reinforced with natural fibers to form a composite that is eco-friendly and environment sustainable. The green composites have potential to attract the traditional petroleum-based composites which are toxic and nonbiodegradable. The green composites eliminate the traditional materials such as steel and wood with biodegradable polymer composites. The degradable and environment-friendly green composites were prepared by various fabrication techniques. The various properties of different fiber composite were studied as reinforcement for fully biodegradable and environmental-friendly green composites.

Estimation of Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Epoxy-Based Green Composites

Composites based on natural fibre reinforcement have generated wide research and engineering interest in the last few decades due to their small density, high specific strength, low cost, light weight, recyclability and biodegradability and has earned a special category of ‘green composite'. Here, in our proposed research, wood dust reinforced epoxy composite was processed with different % filler weight primarily. For this, natural filler based epoxy composite from wood dust is developed and its mechanical behaviour, including Tensile, Flexural, Density etc., under various testing conditions and % of filler weight were studied. These samples were simultaneously tested for abrasive wear and friction coefficient measurement. Microstructure of the composites was studied to analyze the distribution of the filler in the epoxy matrix change using scanning electron microscopy.

Coir Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Nowadays, fiber-reinforced polymer composites have played a significant role in many different fields of applications, regarding their high specific strength and high modulus. The fiber which serves as reinforcement mechanism in polymer composites may be either synthetic or natural. Natural fibers are not only strong and lightweight but also very economical and environmental friendly. Natural fibers as reinforcement are stated to be a major step taken in promoting environmental protection and sustainability. There are many types of natural cellulose fibers but the thickest and most resistant of all commercial natural fibers, coir/coconut fiber is a coarse, short fiber extracted from the outer shell of coconuts. Coir/coconut fibers have the highest concentrations of lignin, making it most suitable for applications where slow biodegradability is required. This chapter has been written with an aim to explore the potential of the coconut/coir fiber reinforced polymer composites in terms of their performance, surface treatments/modifications and areas of application.

Effect of Bamboo Hybridization and Staking Sequence on Mechanical Behavior of Bamboo-Glass Hybrid Composite

The advancement of polymer composites containing natural fibers as a manageable option material for certain designing applications, especially aviation and car applications, is a well-known area of investigation. Nevertheless, the high mechanical properties connected with synthetic fibers they are awesome and lavish contrasted with natural fibers. The utilization of natural plant fibers and mixes of natural and synthetic fibers for making ease building materials has produced much interest recently. In the present work, bamboo–glass hybrid polyester composites were produced and their mechanical properties like elasticity and flexural quality were assessed for different weight fraction and distinctive stacking sequence. The outcomes observed that bamboo–glass mixture composites offered the benefits of both natural and synthetic fibers. It is also observed that hybridization started a material with general intermediate properties between pure glass and pure bamboo. However, the significance of controlling the stacking grouping to upgrade properties was evident.

Bamboo Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Nowadays, there has been an increased interest in the applications of bio-composites based on natural fibers, with the increasing emphasis on materials and processes which are environmental friendly and sustainable. Environmental friendly, fully biodegradable reinforced polymers or ‘green' composite materials will play a major role in making the products of the future to protect our environment. The use of biodegradable and environment-friendly plant-based natural fibers has been a promising choice for polymers to make them ‘greener'. In addition to being obtained from renewable sources, natural fibers suitable for composites are biodegradable and have enhanced properties. Bamboo is an excellent example for the development of sustainable natural fibers, since it can grow very fast per day, and the fibers of bamboo have excellent mechanical performance. Additionally, research in the development of bamboo-reinforced composites should be increased in the future, considering their enhanced properties, economical benefits and environmental friendly nature.

Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment for the Production of Green Composites

Botanically, green composites belong to an economically important seed plant family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum known as Saccharum offi cinarum. There are so many natural fibers available in the environment such as rice husk, hemp fibers, flax fibers, bamboo fibers, coconut fiber, coconut coir, grawia optiva and many others also. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a process to estimate the environmental feature and potential impacts related to a product, by organizing a directory of pertinent inputs and outputs of a product system, assessing the potential environmental impacts related with the said inputs and outputs, explaining the results of the inventory analysis and impact evaluation phases in connection to the objectives of the study. Particularly Bagasse, an agricultural residue not only becomes a problem from the environmental point of view, but also affects the profitability of the sugarcane industries. This chapter discusses the properties, processing methods and various other aspects including economic and environmental aspects related to green composites.