Enhancement of tensile strength of oil palm mesocarp fiber/poly(butylene succinate) biocomposite via superheated steam-alkali treatment of oil palm mesocarp fiber / Yoon Yee Then ... [et al.]
Natural fiber is incompatible with hydrophobic polymer due to its hydrophilic nature. Therefore, surface modification of fiber is needed to impart compatibility. In this work,superheated steam (SHS)-alkali was introduced as novel surface treatment method to modify oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF) for...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Research Management Institute (RMI)
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/12425/ http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/12425/1/AJ_YOON%20YEE%20THEN%20SRJ%2014.pdf |
| Summary: | Natural fiber is incompatible with hydrophobic polymer due to its hydrophilic nature. Therefore, surface modification of fiber is needed to impart compatibility. In this work,superheated steam (SHS)-alkali was introduced as novel surface treatment method to modify oil palm mesocarp
fiber (OPMF) for fabrication of biocomposites. The OPMF was first pre-treated with SHS and subsequently treated with varying NaOH concentration (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%) and soaking time (1, 2, 3 and 4h) at room temperature. The biocomposites were then fabricated by melt blending of 70 wt% SHS-alkali treated-OPMFs and 30 wt% poly(butylene succinate) in a Brabender internal mixer followed by hot-pressed moulding. The combination treatment resulted in fiber with rough surface as well as led to the exposure ofmicrofibers. The tensile test result showed that fiber
treated at 2% NaOH solution and 3h soaking time produced biocomposite with highest improvement in tensile strength (69%) and elongation at break (36%) in comparison to that of
untreated OPMF. |
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