Effect of alkaline treatment on physical, structural, mechanical and thermal properties of Bambusa tulda (Northeast Indian species) based sustainable green composites

Abstract

In recent years, sustainable composites have gained increased attention due to various reasons, such as the depletion of non‐renewable resources, environmental sustainability, and the introduction of plastic pollution. The present work aims to develop biocomposites (with a maximum biological content of 61.78%) based on Bambusa tulda fiber and cashew‐nut shell oil‐based bio‐epoxy resin. Different concentrations of NaOH (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10%) are used to determine the most suitable NaOH concentration for bamboo fiber treatment. The effect of different treatment concentrations on bamboo fiber has been analyzed by performing single‐fiber tensile testing, fiber pull‐out testing, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and atomic force microscopy. The investigation revealed that the 6% NaOH‐treated fiber showed better thermo‐mechanical and interfacial properties. Various fiber weight fractions (10%, 20%, 30%, and 40%) are used for composite fabrication, and 30% fiber‐loaded composites show the best mechanical properties. The effect of chemical treatments on the mechanical properties of biocomposites was investigated using composites with a 30% fiber weight fraction and different NaOH treatments. It has been reported that 30% fiber weight fraction 6% NaOH treated composites show better tensile strength (132.916 MPa), tensile modulus (6.983 GPa), flexural strength (154.8 MPa), modulus (8.243 GPa), and impact strength (44.06 kJ/m2) with less moist absorption. The developed composites have shown excellent potential for advanced engineering applications when compared with previously reported composites.

Fully biobased composite made with epoxidized‐lignin, reinforced with bamboo fibers

“…Previous studies reported the development of biobased epoxy resins by replacing the traditional building blocks of epoxy polymer with biomass derivatives: such as vegetable oil, [5,6] cardanol, [7][8][9][10] furan, [11] rosin, [12] and lignin. [13][14][15][16][17] Plant-derived reinforcements (natural fibers) with petroleum-based epoxy resins have been extensively studied and commercialized in the last few decades.…”

“…[20] Natural fibers are hydrophilic and possess poor wettability with commercial epoxy; therefore, they are often physically or chemically modified to improve these properties. [10,41,42,44] Bamboo fiber is an ideal candidate among natural fibers due to its availability, fast growth, excellent mechanical properties, and durability. [10,42,43] Previous studies reported fabricating "partially" biobased composites using commercial epoxies with 40-50% biocontent and plant fibers.…”

“…[10,41,42,44] Bamboo fiber is an ideal candidate among natural fibers due to its availability, fast growth, excellent mechanical properties, and durability. [10,42,43] Previous studies reported fabricating "partially" biobased composites using commercial epoxies with 40-50% biocontent and plant fibers. [44][45][46] Sumrith et al [45] prepared epoxy resin with 56% biocontent and used silanemodified hyacinth plant fiber (30 wt.%) as reinforcement.…”

“…There have been efforts to fabricate high biocontent composites (up to 62%); [10] however, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study focused on developing a fully biobased, BPA-free epoxy-reinforced composite with plant-based fibers. Additionally, the developed sustainable lignin-based epoxy resin and biocomposite can be used as a structural composite in automotive and construction buildings.…”

Effect of banana peduncle fiber on the mechanical, water, and degradation properties of hybrid composites made from modified soy resin

“…The primary issue with plastic now-a-days is that, most of it is non-degradable, and this undeterred litter on the surface of the earth not only threatens marine and human life but also pollutes the air, soil, and water. [1][2][3][4][5] Natural fiber reinforced composite has drawn a lot of interest recently since it uses fiber sources that are environment-friendly. Their processing and handling are simpler and need less expenditure than those of made up of conventional sources.…”