Curauá fiber from plants produced by tissue culture: thermal, mechanical, and morphological characterizations

Abstract

Curauá fibers are already well known, mainly for their good mechanical properties and synergism with polymeric matrices. Thus, in this work, we produced the curauá plant by tissue culture (micropropagation technique) and extracted the fibers, which were characterized regarding moisture, ash, extractives, lignin, hemicellulose, holocellulose, and cellulose contents, besides infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and evaluation of mechanical properties. Compared to other works, this curauá fiber presented a higher content of cellulose (77.2%) and lower hemicellulose content (6.8%).Another unique feature was the high crystallinity of the cellulose present in the fiber (73.53%), which reflected good thermal and mechanical properties. Thus, we show that the micropropagation technique is highly advantageous for the scale production of this fiber, in addition to producing a high-quality fiber for application in composites since it can better control the plant growth environment as well as macro and micronutrients.

Amazon Natural Fibers for Application in Engineering Composites and Sustainable Actions: A Review

“…Each curauá plant exhibits a remarkable leaf production, averaging 50-60 per year, weighing about 150 g each [231]. This yield results in an annual production of 3-9 tons of dry fibers per hectare, notably relying on natural irrigation from rainfall throughout the year [230,232].…”

“…Distinctive characteristics of curauá include hard, flat, and erect leaves, with an average length of 1-1.5 m, a width of approximately 40 mm, and a thickness of 5 mm. Each curauá plant exhibits a remarkable leaf production, averaging 50-60 per year, weighing about 150 g each [232]. This yield results in an annual production of 3-9 tons of dry fibers per hectare, notably relying on natural irrigation from rainfall throughout the year [231,233].…”

Análise Das Propriedades De Argamassas Produzidas Com Diferentes Fibras Naturais

“…A adição de fibras é uma alternativa de reduzir as anomalias construtivas que ocasionam as fissuras no revestimentos, uma vez que as propriedades mecânicas relativas à resistência à tração na flexão em argamassas, no geral, não ultrapassam 3,5 MPa. As fibras, por exemplo, obtidas do curauá são beneficiadas da espécie de pequeno abacaxi ornamental e são conhecidas por suas boas propriedades mecânicas e benefícios, como resistência mecânica em compósitos (3) .…”