Journal of Bionic Engineering

November 2018, Volume 15, Issue 6, pp 1035–1046

Ramengmawii Siakeng， Mohammad Jawaid， Hidayah Ariffin， Mohd Sapuan Salit

1. Higher Institution Centre of Excellence Wood and Tropical Fibre (HiCoE)， Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP)， Universiti Putra Malaysia， Serdang， Malaysia

2.Department of Chemical Engineering， College of Engineering， King Saud University， Riyadh， Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

3.Department of Bioprocess Technology， Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences， Universiti Putra Malaysia， Serdang， Malaysia

Abstract

Coir Fibres (CF) and Pineapple Leaf Fibres (PALF) are valuable natural fibres which are abundantly available in Malaysia as agricultural wastes. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of alkali (6%), silane (2%), and calcium hydroxide (6%) on tensile, morphological, thermal, and structural properties of CF and PALF to improve their interfacial bonding with Polylactic Acid (PLA) matrix. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to observe the effectiveness of the chemical treatments in the removal of impurities. Alkali treated fibres yield the lowest fibre diameter and the highest Interfacial Stress Strength (IFSS). Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) shows improved thermal stability in silane treated CF and alkali treated PALF. It is assumed that fibre treatments can help to develop biodegradable CF and PALF reinforced PLA biocomposites for industrial applications.

Keywords

Full text is available at :https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42235-018-0091-z