scholarly journals Effect of Alkali Treatment on the Properties of Acacia Caesia Bark Fibres

Fibers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Palanisamy Sivasubramanian ◽  
Mayandi Kalimuthu ◽  
Murugesan Palaniappan ◽  
Azeez Alavudeen ◽  
Nagarajan Rajini ◽  
...  

As possible substitutes for non-biodegradable synthetic fibre, ligno-cellulosic fibres have attracted much interest for their eco-friendliness; a large number of them are already used for the production of green polymer composites. The search for further green candidates brings into focus other fibres not previously considered, yet part of other production systems, therefore available as by-products or refuse. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of alkali treatment with 5% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to enhance the properties of bark-extracted Acacia Caesia Bark (ACB) fibres. The microscopic structure of the treated fibres was elucidated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Moreover, the fibres were characterised in terms of chemical composition and density and subjected to single-fibre tensile tests (SFTT). Following their physico-chemical characterisation, fibre samples underwent thermal characterisation by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and their crystallinity was assessed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). This level of alkali treatment only marginally modified the structure of the fibres and offered some improvement in their tensile strength. This suggested that they compare well with other bark fibres and that their thermal profile showed some increase of degradation onset temperature with respect to untreated ACB fibres. Their crystallinity would allow their application in the form of fibres with an average length of approximately 150 mm, even in thermoplastic biocomposites.

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Adolfo Bucio ◽  
Rosario Moreno-Tovar ◽  
Lauro Bucio ◽  
Jessica Espinosa-Dávila ◽  
Francisco Anguebes-Franceschi

A study on the physical and mechanical properties of beeswax (BW), candelilla wax (CW), paraffin wax (PW) and blends was carried out with the aim to evaluate their usefulness as coatings for cheeses. Waxes were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), permeability, viscosity, flexural and tensile tests and scanning electron microscopy. Cheeses were coated with the waxes and stored for 5 weeks at 30 °C. Measured parameters were weight, moisture, occurrence and degree of fractures, and dimensional changes. The crystal phases identified by XRD for the three waxes allowed them to determine the length of alkanes and the nonlinear compounds in crystallizable forms in waxes. FTIR spectra showed absorption bands between 1800 and 800 cm−1 related to carbonyls in BW and CW. In DSC, the onset of melting temperature was 45.5 °C for BW, and >54 °C for CW and PW. Cheeses coated with BW did not show cracks after storage. Cheeses coated with CW and PW showed microcraks, and lost weight, moisture and shrunk. In the flexural and tensile tests, BW was ductile; CW and PW were brittle. BW blends with CW or PW displays a semi ductile behavior. Cheeses coated with BW blends lost less than 5% weight during storage. The best waxes were BW and the blends.


2018 ◽  
Vol 89 (9) ◽  
pp. 1770-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huaizhong Xu ◽  
Benedict Bauer ◽  
Masaki Yamamoto ◽  
Hideki Yamane

A facile route was proposed to fabricate core–sheath microfibers, and the relationships among processing parameters, crystalline structures and the mechanical properties were investigated. The compression molded poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH)/poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) strip enhanced the spinnability of PHBH and the mechanical properties of PLLA as well. The core–sheath ratio of the fibers was determined by the prefab strip, while the PLLA sheath component did not completely cover the PHBH core component due to the weak interfacial tension between the melts of PHBH and PLLA. A rotational target was applied to collect aligned fibers, which were further drawn in a water bath. The tensile strength and the modulus of as-spun and drawn fibers increased with increasing the take-up velocities. When the take-up velocity was above 500 m/min, the jet became unstable and started to break up at the tip of the Taylor cone, decreasing the mechanical properties of the fibers. The drawing process facilitated the crystallization of PLLA and PHBH, and the tensile strength and the modulus increased linearly with the increasing the draw ratio. The crystal information displayed from wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns and differential scanning calorimetry heating curves supported the results of the tensile tests.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1407-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Sudha ◽  
G Thilagavathi

The effect of alkali treatment on thermal, electrical and compressive behaviour of jute composite has been studied. The plain woven jute fabrics were manufactured using handloom. The manufactured fabrics were treated with alkali at the optimized treatment conditions of 5% NaOH for 4 h at 30℃ made into a composite of [0°]4 lay-up sequence by means of compression moulding technique using vinyl ester resin. The improvement in the crystallization of the alkali-treated jute fabric was characterized using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction technique. The composites were characterized for compression strength, thermal conductivity and electrical resistance properties. It is observed from the results that the alkali-treated jute composites showed increased compression strength, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of the composites. This may be due to the better adhesion of the fabric–matrix interface with the removal of lignin and hemicelluloses that impart hydrophobicity on the fabric.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kultys ◽  
Magdalena Rogulska

New thermoplastic poly(carbonate-urethane) elastomersTwo series of novel thermoplastic poly(carbonate-urethane) elastomers, with different hard-segment content (30 - 60 wt %), were synthesized by melt polymerization from poly(hexane-1,6-diyl carbonate) diol of Mn= 2000 as a soft segment, 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) or hexane-1,6-diyl diisocyanate (HDI) and 6,6'-[methylenebis(1,4-phenylenemethylenethio)]dihexan-1-ol as a chain extender. The structure and basic properties of the polymers were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Shore hardness and tensile tests. The resulting TPUs were colorless polymers, showing almost amorphous structures. The MDI-based TPUs showed higher tensile strengths (up to 21.3 MPa vs. 15.8 MPa) and elongations at break (up to 550% vs. 425%), but poorer low-temperature properties than the HDI-based analogs.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 2650
Author(s):  
Thibault Lemaire ◽  
Erica Gea Rodi ◽  
Valérie Langlois ◽  
Estelle Renard ◽  
Vittorio Sansalone

In recent years the interest in the realization of green wood plastic composites (GWPC) materials has increased due to the necessity of reducing the proliferation of synthetic plastics. In this work, we study a specific class of GWPCs from its synthesis to the characterization of its mechanical properties. These properties are related to the underlying microstructure using both experimental and modeling approaches. Different contents of Miscanthus giganteus fibers, at 5, 10, 20, 30 weight percent’s, were thus combined to a microbial matrix, namely poly (3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBHV). The samples were manufactured by extrusion and injection molding processing. The obtained samples were then characterized by cyclic-tensile tests, pycnometer testing, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and microscopy. The possible effect of the fabrication process on the fibers size is also checked. In parallel, the measured properties of the biocomposite were also estimated using a Mori–Tanaka approach to derive the effective behavior of the composite. As expected, the addition of reinforcement to the polymer matrix results in composites with higher Young moduli on the one hand, and lower failure strains and tensile strengths on the other hand (tensile modulus was increased by 100% and tensile strength decreased by 23% when reinforced with 30 wt % of Miscanthus fibers).


Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina del Ángel-Sánchez ◽  
César I. Borbolla-Torres ◽  
Luis M. Palacios-Pineda ◽  
Nicolás A. Ulloa-Castillo ◽  
Alex Elías-Zúñiga

This paper focuses on developing, fabricating, and characterizing composite polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes reinforced with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (NPs) elaborated by using two solvents; acetic acid and a mixture of chloroform and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The resulting physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the composite materials are studied by using experimental characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, contact angle (CA), uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests, and surface roughness measurements. Experimental results show that the composite material synthesized by sol-gel and chloroform-DMF has a better performance than the one obtained by using acetic acid as a solvent.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (9_suppl) ◽  
pp. S1446-S1456
Author(s):  
Amin Abbasi ◽  
Wan Zaireen Nisa Yahya ◽  
Mohamed Mahmoud Nasef ◽  
Muhammad Moniruzzaman ◽  
Ali Shaan Manzoor Ghumman

Nowadays, most of the world’s palm oil is being produced in Malaysia and Indonesia; however, the demand for this vegetable oil as an edible oil is declining in many countries since consuming palm oil in excess can result in serious health problems. Consequently, finding new applications such as the production of bio-based polymers to make use of this cheap and abundant vegetable oil seems necessary. Herein, we report the copolymerization of palm oil with sulfur with different feed ratios via inverse vulcanization. The copolymers are then characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis. The results confirmed the formation of the polymers and their stability against depolymerization. Altogether, the obtained sulfur-palm oil copolymers showed great properties such as thermal stability up to 230°C under a nitrogen atmosphere and rubbery properties at room temperature. Although the Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) thermograms had previously confirmed the high conversion of elemental sulfur into the polymeric structure by comparing the initial sulfur content and the final polysulfide content in the polymer, some unreacted elemental sulfur was also observed in the final product. Sulfur-palm oil (S-Palm oil) is a new green polymer that helps to find a new use for palm oil as a big industry as well as sulfur which is underutilized and left in stockpile as a byproduct in gas and petroleum refineries.


2011 ◽  
Vol 189-193 ◽  
pp. 1222-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Lian ◽  
Hong Mei Wang ◽  
Dian Wu Huang

Polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites with 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1.0 and 2.0 wt% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MW-CNTs) were prepared via meltcompounding in a twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. The effects of MW-CNTs additions on the structure, mechanical and photo-oxidation behavior of PP were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile tests and FT-IR apparatus. XRD results showed that only α-PP crystals form in the PP/MW-CNTs composites. DSC results confirmed that the corporation of MW-CNTs enhanced the nucleation process on PP crystallization. Results of the tensile tests showed that before photo-oxidation, the tensile strengths of the samples increased with the increase of MW-CNTs contents when the MW-CNTs contents were less than 1% wt, whilst the tensile strength decreased at higher MW-CNTs contents (>1% wt). When subjected to photo-oxidation, the tensile strengths of the samples decreased with the increasing photo-oxidation time. The resistance to accelerated photo-oxidation of PP/MW-CNTs composites was also compared with the photo-oxidation behaviour of the original polypropylene sample. At short photo-oxidation time, such as under 250 h, the rates of carbonyl formation for the PP/MW-CNTs composites are similar to that observed for the original polypropylene but at longer photo-oxidation times the carbonyl formation increases for lower MW-CNTs contents (0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8% wt), and decreases for higher MW-CNTs contents (1 and 2% wt). It was found that the MW-CNTs showed both anti-degradation and pro-degradation effects at different concentrations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-197
Author(s):  
Gabriela Jandikova ◽  
Pavel Kucharczyk ◽  
Norbert Miskolczi ◽  
Alena Pavelkova ◽  
Adriana Kovalcik ◽  
...  

Abstract This work is dedicated to polyester urethane (PEU)-based biocomposites, with special focus placed on techniques for compatibilisation to heighten interfacial adhesion between the PEU matrix and flax fibres. Tests were conducted on the effects of modification so as to increase interfacial adhesion between the flax fibres and the polyester matrix. These tests involved a commercial silane-based compatibilising additive, two experimentally synthesised agents, oleic acid (OA) and di-tert-butyl peroxide (DTBP). Furthermore, the flax fibres underwent acid or alkali treatment. The biocomposites were characterised by gel permeation chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties were investigated through tensile testing. Biocomposites with a commercial silane-based additive and synthesised agent, based on maleic-anhydride, were assessed as the best solution. Nevertheless, all modifications, excluding alkali treatment of fibres, significantly increased the performance of the material.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 649
Author(s):  
Antonio Collazo ◽  
Raúl Figueroa ◽  
Carmen Mariño-Martínez ◽  
Carmen Pérez

Iron-based shape memory alloys (SMAs) have been widely studied during the last years, producing new formulations with potential applications in civil engineering. In the present paper, the microstructure and the thermomechanical behavior of the Fe-28Mn-6Si-5Cr memory alloy has been investigated. At room temperature, the presence of ε-martensite and γ-austenite was confirmed using optical and electron microscopy techniques. The martensitic transformation temperatures (As, Af, Ms, and Mf) were determined by differential scanning calorimetry, together with an X-ray diffraction technique. The use of these techniques also confirmed that this transformation is not totally reversible, depending on the strain degree and the number of thermal cycles. From the kinetics study of the ε → γ transformation, the isoconversion curves (transformation degree versus time) were built, which provided the information required to optimize the thermal activation cycle. Tensile tests were performed to characterize the mechanical properties of the studied alloy. These kinds of tests were also performed to assess the shape memory effect, getting a recovery stress of 140 MPa, after a 7.6% pre-strain and a thermal activation up to 160 °C.


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