In areca empty fruit bunch, fibres are packed strongly with hemicelluloses, lignin and with slight deposition of wax and inorganic elements. In the work reported, for the extraction of cellulose from the raw areca fibres, formic acid (20% v/v) and hydrogen peroxide (10% v/v) were used and the yield of 65% cellulose was attained. To know α-cellulose content with crystallinity, XRD diffractions studies were carried and the values were found to be 93% and 71% respectively. FTIR spectral studies confirm the absence of hemicellulose, lignin and wax in the cellulose extracted from areca fibres. The morphological studies provided the evidence for isolated fibres and removal of deposits in the extracted cellulose.
A study has been carried out to evaluate physical and flexural properties of composites made by areca fibers with a randomly distributed orientation of fibers. The extracted areca fibers from the areca husk were alkali treated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) to get better interfacial bonding between fiber and matrix. Then composites were developed by means of a compression molding technique with varying process parameters, such as fiber condition (untreated and alkali treated), and fiber loading percentages (50% and 60% by weight). The developed areca fiber reinforced composites were then characterized by physical and flexural tests. The results show that flexural strength increases with increase in the fiber loading percentage. Compared to untreated fiber, significant change in flexural strength has been observed for treated areca fiber reinforcement.
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