Physio-Chemical and Mechanical Properties of Different Morphological Parts of Sugar Palm Fibre Reinforced Polyester Composites

Recently, due to increase environmental concerns, scientists and technologists have placed much importance on the application of natural fibre composites especially in biocomposites. The purpose of this research is to study the properties of single fibre from different morphological parts of sugar palm tree and properties of sugar palm fibre from different parts reinforced unsaturated polyester composites. These studies have been done in order to evaluate the potentiality of fibre from different morphological parts of sugar palm tree i.e sugar palm frond (SPF), sugar palm bunch (SPB), sugar palm trunk (SPT) and black sugar palm fibre (ijuk) as which is can be used as eventual raw materials for the reinforcement of polymer matrix composites which are suitable in various applications such as building, automotive, furniture and packaging. The tensile, chemical and physical properties of single fibres from all parts were evaluated. The results showed that the highest tensile strength and tensile modulus were obtained from the SPF followed by SPB, ijuk and SPT. These results have been proven with the results of their chemical compositions where the highest cellulose content was obtained from SPF (66.49%) and followed by SPB (61.76%), ijuk (52.29%), and SPT (40.56%). The mechanical and physical properties of natural fibres from different parts of sugar palm tree reinforced unsaturated polyester composites which are SPF/PE, SPB/PE, SPT/PE and ijuk/PE have also been evaluated in this study. For tensile strength analysis, it is found that SPF/PE shared the higher value of 15.179 MPa (±2.425) followed by SPB/PE, ijuk/PE and SPT/PE with 12.809 MPa (±1.580), 11.473 MPa (±0.536) and 9.817 MPa (±1.890) respectively. The higher value of flexural strength and flexural modulus obtained from SPT/PE with the value of 41.906 MPa and 3.363 GPa respectively. For impact strength analysis, similar trends were found with the tensile stress and tensile strain results and SPF/PE showed the higher value of impact strength (8.091 kJ m-2) followed by SPB/PE, ijuk/PE and SPT/PE. In cases of physical properties, it is found that SPF/PE showed the higher value of water absorption and thickness swelling with the value of 1.57%, and 1.56% followed by SPB/PE (1.35%, 1.11%), ijuk/PE(0.65%, 0.76%) and SPT/PE (0.39%, 0.50%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test were carried out after the mechanical test to observe the interface bonding of fibre and matrix

Natural fibre reinforced biodegradable polymer composites.

Currently, numerous research groups have explored the production and properties of biocomposites where the polymer matrices are derived from renewable resources such as poly lactide (PLA), thermoplastic starch (TPS), cellulose and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). This review is carried out to evaluate the development and properties of natural fibre reinforced biodegradable polymer composites. They are the materials that have the capability to fully degrade and compatible with the environment

The development and properties of biodegradable and sustainable polymers.

This paper focusses on the review of development and properties of biodegradable and sustainable polymers which become an attracting area in materials science research. The basic properties and recent development in sustainable polymers such as poly lactide (PLA), thermoplastic starch (TPS), cellulose and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) were reviewed in this paper. This paper also provides a general overview of some important topics in biopolymers such as chemical, processing, mechanical and physical properties

Review: Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia) As A New Material For Biocomposites

Melaleuca alternifolia or commonly known as tea tree is a tall shrub or small tree in the plant genus Melaleuca. It is popular for its oil, which is tea tree oil where it has been employed largely in various industries of its antimicrobial properties. Research works are still ongoing mainly focusing on the tea tree oil properties, ultimately almost none of them investigating on the residue which is the leaves. Environmental issues become the world major concern, which create awareness among industrial player to turn back to natural fibre in producing products. In recent time, productions of composites from agro waste have received considerable attention. This paper aims to rationalize the potential of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) leaves as a new source of natural fibres or material in order to become the potential filler or reinforcer in the development of a new biocomposite

Physico-chemical and thermal properties of starch derived from sugar palm tree (Arenga pinnata)

Petroleum based polymers are extremely stable and commonly used in various industries include food packaging, furniture and automotive. However, the waste that come from petroleum based polymer material has brought negative impact not only for human being, but also create the serious environmental problems. Hence, biopolymers that come from natural source such as starches are now being considered as an alternative to the existing petrochemical based polymers. This study was aimed to examine the potential of sugar palm starch extracted from sugar palm tree (Arenga pinnata) as a new biopolymer. The important properties of sugar palm starch studied were the chemical properties, thermal properties, particle size and morphological surface. The starches isolated from sugar palm tree contained comparable amounts of amylose (37.60 %) which were higher than tapioca, sago, potato, wheat and maize. The results showed significant differences in the chemical content as well as in the granule sizes of sugar palm starch. Thermal characteristic studies using thermogravimetry analysis and differential scanning calorimetry showed that sugar palm starch was thermally stable than other starches. Study on morphological surface indicated that sugar palm starch were rounded and oval-shaped

Thermochemical and mechanical properties of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) fibre reinforced tapioca starch composites

We aim to utilise the tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) fibre, a waste from the distillation process, as a reinforcement or filler in tapioca starch (TS) composites. Fabrication of tea tree fibre-reinforced TS composites was successfully developed using a casting method. The physical, thermo-chemical, and mechanical properties were tested in order to get the characterisation of the composites. From the mechanical test, the addition of 5% (v/v) tea tree fibre as a filler improved the tensile strength of the TS composites up to 34.39% in tea tree leaf-reinforced TS composites (TTL/TS), 82.80% in tea tree branch-reinforced TS composites (TTB/TS) and 203.18% in tea tree trunk-reinforced TS composites (TTT/TS). The water absorption and swelling of all tea tree fibre-reinforced composites decreased compared to those of TS composites. Most importantly, all parts of the tea tree waste, namely, the tea tree leaf, tea tree branch and tea tree trunk, have additional potential value as fibres that can act as a reinforcement in developing a green biocomposite

Thermal, mechanical, and physical properties of seaweed/sugar palm fibre reinforced thermoplastic sugar palm Starch/Agar hybrid composites

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of sugar palm fibre (SPF) on the mechanical, thermal and physical properties of seaweed/thermoplastic sugar palm starch agar (TPSA) composites. Hybridized seaweed/SPF filler at weight ratio of 25:75, 50:50 and 75:25 were prepared using TPSA as a matrix. Mechanical, thermal and physical properties of hybrid composites were carried out. Obtained results indi- cated that hybrid composites display improved tensile and flexural properties accompanied with lower impact resistance. The highest tensile (17.74 MPa) and flexural strength (31.24 MPa) was obtained from hybrid composite with 50:50 ratio of seaweed/SPF. Good fibre-matrix bonding was evident in the scan- ning electron microscopy (SEM) micrograph of the hybrid composites’ tensile fracture. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis showed increase in intermolecular hydrogen bonding following the addition of SPF. Thermal stability of hybrid composites was enhanced, indicated by a higher onset degradation temperature (259 ◦C) for 25:75 seaweed/SPF composites than the individual seaweed com- posites (253 ◦C). Water absorption, thickness swelling, water solubility, and soil burial tests showed higher water and biodegradation resistance of the hybrid composites. Overall, the hybridization of SPF with seaweed/TPSA composites enhances the properties of the biocomposites for short-life application; that is, disposable tray, plate, etc