Alkaline Sulfite Anthraquinone and Methanol (ASAM) Pulping Process of Tropical Bamboo (Gigantochloa scortechinii)

This chapter explores the characteristic potentials of alkaline sulfite anthraquinone and methanol (ASAM) pulping of bamboo culms (Gigantochloa scortechinii) in the industrial production of pulp and paper for packaging. The biometric characterization results of the bamboo culms show that bamboo has fiber length of 1980–4000 μm, Runkel ratio of 0.86, and flexibility ratio of 50.19, while the chemical compositions of the bamboo contain 47.67% cellulose, 68.33% holocellulose, 26% lignin, and 3.69% solvent extractive, which give good paper quality fiber and also falls within the range of wood from softwoods species. The study revealed that the optimum ASAM pulping parameters was at 16% NaOH and 90 min cooking time, resulting in Kappa number of 14.17 and pulp yield of 49.06%, while the paper tensile index of 20.86 Nm/g, tear index of 22.64 mN.m2/g, and brightness of 39.32% were obtained. The biometric and chemical characterizations of the ASAM pulped bamboo have shown that ASAM pulped bamboo produces high-quality pulp and paper suitable for packaging and printing paper. Hence, the use of bamboo materials can reduce the burden on the forest, due to the increasing demand for paper and paper products, while supporting the natural biodiversity

Synergistic effect of oil palm based pozzolanic materials/oil palm waste on polyester hybrid composite

This research work aims to investigate the synergistic effect of pozzolanic materials such as oil palm ash (OPA) and oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) on the developed hybrid polymer composites. The OPEFB and OPA fillers of different particle sizes (250, 150, and 75 µm) were mixed at OPEFB:OPA ratios of (0:100; 20:80; 40:60; 60:40; 80:20 and 100:0) and incorporated into an unsaturated polyester resin. Furthermore, both mechanical and morphological properties of the composites were analyzed and it was found that tensile, flexural, and impact properties were significantly improved at OPEFB:OPA of 75 µm particle size hybridization of the polymer. The increase of OPEFB to OPA filler ratio up to 80:20 significantly improved the tensile properties of the composites while 40:60 ratio of 75 µm gave the optimum filler ratio to obtain the highest flexural and impact properties of the composites among all studied samples. Scanning electron micrograph images showed strong particle dispersion of the embedded fillers with resin which explained the excellent mechanical strength enhancement of the composite

Synergistic influence of flame retardant additives and citric acid on the functional properties of rice husk/wood blended particleboards

The selected functional properties of rice husk/wood blended particleboards which include thermal analysis, limiting oxygen index, morphological analysis, and mechanical properties have been investigated. Rice husk/wood particleboards were produced with one step hot press casting technique using citric acid to improve the compatibility in the particleboards with calcium oxide and aluminum oxide as flame retardants. The results showed improvement in the mechanical properties, flame retardancy, and thermal stability with the addition of flame retardants to the particleboards. The aluminum oxide synergy with citric acid in rice husk/wood particleboards gave the best flame retardancy

Pulp and Paper Potentials of Alkaline Peroxide Pre-Treated of Oil Palm Waste and Industrial Application

This chapter explores the potentials of the alkaline peroxide pre-treated oil palm vascular bundle (oil palm waste) in the industrial production of pulp, paper and other cellulosic products like microcrystalline cellulose. Management of this escalating waste is a herculean task and creates environmental hazards hence urgent action is needed to create value out of these waste biomass. The pulp and paper industry being a large consumer of lignocellulose materials preferred the use of coniferous and deciduous trees for pulp production and papermaking because their cellulose fibres in the pulp make durable paper. In addition to this, the global population explosion and the economic development has resulted in the significant increase in demand for paper. With improvements in pulp processing technology through the use of environmental benign technology like alkaline peroxide pre-treatment it has been considered as suitable for paper pulp and other cellulose based products such as microcrystalline cellulose. Characterization of the alkaline peroxide pre-treated oil palm vascular bundles using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transmission infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses confirm the micro-sized cellulose fibres. Use of these lignocellulosic materials can reduce the burden on the forest while supporting the natural biodiversity

Microbial-induced CaCO3 filled seaweed-based film for green plasticulture application

This work aimed to develop green biodegradable film using red seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii) as a base matrix and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as a filler to enhance the properties of the red seaweed material for plasticulture purpose. CaCO3 which was produced by microbially induced precipitation (MB-CaCO3) using Bacillus sphaericus, was characterized and compared with the commercial CaCO3 (CCaCO3). FESEM image revealed that the size of MB-CaCO3 was smaller and more uniform compared to CCaCO3. FTIR and XRD analyses confirmed the existence of crystalline polymorph of calcite in MB-CaCO3, which contained a higher percentage of calcite than CCaCO3. However, the crystallinity and thermal stability of MB-CaCO3 was lower than CCaCO3. From the results of physical, mechanical and thermal properties of composite films filled with CCaCO3 and MB-CaCO3 fillers, the optimum loading of CCaCO3 and MB-CaCO3 was found at 0.1% and 0.15%, respectively. Composite films filled with MB-CaCO3 promote brighter film, better water barrier, hydrophobicity and biodegradability compared to CCaCO3. Since the effect of MB-CaCO3 on film functional properties was comparable to CCaCO3, it can be used as an alternative to CCaCO3 as inorganic filler for composite films in agriculture applications

Enhancement of the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of epoxy-based bamboo nanofiber nanocomposites

Epoxy-based nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating 0.3%, 0.5%, 0.7%, 1%, and 2% cellulose nanofibers (CNF) through a hand lay-up technique. The influence of the CNF as a reinforcement material on the morphology, and the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of epoxy-based nanocomposites were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), density, void content, water absorption, tensile, flexural, impact strength, and thermogravimetric analyses. Compatibility between the nano-reinforcement and epoxy matrix was confirmed using SEM, which demonstrated that the CNF was homogeneously dispersed throughout the epoxy matrix. The mechanical properties were enhanced by increasing the CNF loading up to 1%. Moreover, the incorporation of CNF into the composites reduced the water uptake of the substrates in the water absorption test and resulted in a high thermal stability when exposed to a high temperature. Bamboo-CNF could be used as a potential reinforcement material to improve the properties of epoxy-based nanocomposites

Delignification’s Effect on Microcrystalline Cellulose Obtained from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fibres

The effects of acidified chlorite (NaClO2) and totally chlorine free (TCF) bleaching were evaluated relative to the properties of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) fabricated from oil palm empty fruit bunch fibres (OPEFB). The MCC properties were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) methods, and they were compared with commercial MCC. The results revealed that all MCC belongs to cellulose type 1 and OPEFB-NaClO2-MCC showed a higher crystallinity index than OPEFB-TCF-MCC. The TGA indicated that all MCC samples showed a higher decomposition temperature compared to pure cellulose. However, OPEFB-NaClO2-MCC showed better thermal stability than OPEFB-TCF-MCC. It was clear from SEM images that the different MCC particles had rough surfaces and micro-sized particles. Overall, results confirmed that the obtained MCC samples displayed comparable properties with those of commercial MCC. The MCC produced from OPEFB using NaClO2 is a promising material to prepare high value-added products compared to MCC produced using TCF delignification treatment

Extraction of cellulose nanofibers via eco-friendly supercritical carbon dioxide treatment followed by mild acid hydrolysis and the fabrication of cellulose nanopapers

The conventional isolation of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) process involves high energy input which leads to compromising the pulp fiber’s physical and chemical properties, in addition to the issue of elemental chlorine-based bleaching, which is associated with serious environmental issues. This study investigates the characteristic functional properties of CNFs extracted via total chlorine-free (TCF) bleached kenaf fiber followed by an eco-friendly supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) treatment process. The Fourier transmission infra-red FTIR spectra result gave remarkable effective delignification of the kenaf fiber as the treatment progressed. TEM images showed that the extracted CNFs have a diameter in the range of 10–15 nm and length of up to several micrometers, and thereby proved that the supercritical carbon dioxide pretreatment followed by mild acid hydrolysis is an efficient technique to extract CNFs from the plant biomass. XRD analysis revealed that crystallinity of the fiber was enhanced after each treatment and the obtained crystallinity index of the raw fiber, alkali treated fiber, bleached fiber, and cellulose nanofiber were 33.2%, 54.6%, 88.4%, and 92.8% respectively. SEM images showed that amorphous portions like hemicellulose and lignin were removed completely after the alkali and bleaching treatment, respectively. Moreover, we fabricated a series of cellulose nanopapers using the extracted CNFs suspension via a simple vacuum filtration technique. The fabricated cellulose nanopaper exhibited a good tensile strength of 75.7 MPa at 2.45% strain

Enhancement of basic properties of polysaccharide-based composites with organic and inorganic fillers: a review

The global shift towards biodegradable composite has made polysaccharides a green alternative to synthetic polymers owing to their biocompatibility, sustainability, and ecofriendly biomaterials. Despite the limitations in their applications, many studies have validated the effectiveness of using organic or inorganic fillers to ameliorate their mechanical and barrier properties. However, the understanding of how polysaccharides matrix is enhanced by fillers is still inexplicit. Hence, it is imperative to review the effects of using inorganic and organic fillers in some prominent polysaccharides in terms of mechanical and water barrier properties while taking into account the function of filler morphology, size and loading. Although it is intricate to indicate the best filler used for each of the polysaccharides matrices, this review served as a “food for thought” on the established works of enhanced-matrix filler combinations aimed at improving the mechanical and barrier properties of biodegradable films based on neutral or negatively charged polysaccharides-based composite films for potential application in food packaging, agriculture, biomedicine and constructions sector