Generally, aramid fibre used in industries reportedly possesses high mechanical strength with high modulus, toughness and thermal stability. There is a high demand for eco-friendly, renewable and low cost materials. The demand also affects the production of Kevlar within Kevlar based industries. Previous studies found that cellulose has the capability to improve the performance of a composite. The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanical strength of cellulose micro or nano fibres (CMNF) in laminate cellulose or Kevlar reinforced epoxy resins. The composite material was fabricated manually using hand layup technique. The nanocomposite laminates were made using plain fibre (Kevlar 29). The laminates contained a minimum of 80% fibre with 1 wt.% CMNF powder loading in an epoxy resin. Tests were conducted on two types of sample: Kevlar/Epoxy (KE), and Kevlar/CMNF/Epoxy (KEC). The laminated composite material was found to have the highest stress-strain in Kevlar/CMNF/Epoxy (KEC). The material strength and tensile behaviour of the two types of sample are different where KEC (559.34 MPa) > KE. This study is a part of the exploration on potential applications of laminated composite in military applications.

No abstract

This paper presents a structural analysis of various methods to produce bacterial cellulose (BC) from Nata de Coco (Acetobacter xyllinum). BC sheet, BC chem and BC mech powder were successfully prepared using oven drying, chemical and mechanical treatment. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to analyze the structure of prepared BC. The structure of bacterial cellulose was compared with the structure of commercial microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and cotton fabric. The XRD results showed that the BC sheet sample had the highest degree of crystallinity (81.76%) compared to cotton cellulose (75.73%). The crystallite size of cotton was larger than the BC sheet, with the value of 6.83 ηm and 4.55 ηm, respectively. The peaks in the FTIR spectra of all BC were comparable to the commercial MCC and cotton fabrics. FESEM images showed that the prepared BC sheet, BC mech, and BC chem had an almost similar structure like commercial MCC and cotton fabric. It was concluded that simple preparation of BC could be implemented and used for further BC preparation as reinforcement in polymer composites, especially in food packaging.

Rice straw cellulose a biomass materials, naturally found in abundance. It is low cost, eco-friendly and biodegradable. Alpha cellulose is prepared from rice straw using chemical method namely acid hydrolysis and alkaline treatment. Both of the samples treatments were bleached using sodium chlorite (NaClO2). Alkaline treatment shows higher in producing alpha cellulose, 20.68% rather than 12.20% by acid hydrolysis.

No abstract

In this work, bacterial cellulose was obtained from nata de coco. Initially, the samples were subjected to three types of different condition which were raw, chemical treatment and mechanical treatment. Bacterial cellulose was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). Bacterial cellulose met the specifications of pure cellulose either using chemical or mechanical treatments proved by IR spectra reading. XRD results indicated that the crystallinity of chemical treatment bacterial cellulose is higher than the mechanical treatment bacterial cellulose which was 68.6% and 59.5% respectively. The FESEM analysis shows that the size of the bacterial cellulose that obtained from chemical treatment is smaller than mechanical treatments which were 19.42μm and 50.35μm.

Purpose The effect of using microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as an additive in coating paint films for non-stick coatings was studied in this work. This paper aims to discuss the benefits of MCC blended in the coating paint film that consists of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and dammar. Design/methodology/approach PMMA and dammar mixed at a specific Wt.% ratio with xylene as its solvent. Two sets of mixtures were prepared, where one mixture contained MCC and another, without. The mixtures were applied to metal substrates as coating paint films. The performance of the non-stick coating paint film was observed through the adhesive test between adhesion layers on the coating paint film and also through the cross-hatch test for the adhesion of the non-stick coating paint film to the metal substrate. The results correlate with the surface roughness and glossiness tests. Findings The results showed that for the coating paint films, Sample B consisted of 80:20 Wt.% ratio of PMMA-dammar with an addition of 5 Wt.% MCC had an excellent performance as non-stick coating paint films. The MCC formed microparticles on the surface of the coating paint film sample and this causes the coating paint film samples with MCC to develop a rougher surface compared to the coating paint film without MCC. Sample B coating paint film had the highest average surface roughness (Ra) of 383 µm. The cross-hatch test showed the coating paint film with the addition of MCC had stronger adhesiveness on the substrate’s surface thus prevents the coating from peeling off from the surface. Practical implications The developed coating paint film in this study would be suitable for outdoor applications to prevent illegal advertisements and stickers. Originality/value MCC added to the coating paint film improves the surface performance as a non-stick coating.