Opuntia spp. Fibre Characterisation to Obtain Sustainable Materials in the Composites Field

Abstract

Some studies have evaluated the use of Opuntia as reinforcement for polymeric matrices, obtaining good results in energy absorption tests and increasing the tensile elastic modulus. However, no studies focusing on the previous characterisation of the fibres and their treatment to improve compatibility with polymeric matrices have been found. This work analyses the chemical composition of Opuntia maxima (OM) and Opuntia dillenii (OD) cladodes and fibre, studying how different treatments influence it. AOAC 2000 methods were used to determine non-structural components and the Van Soest method was used to estimate structural components. Surface characteristics of the samples were also evaluated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Opuntia fibre presented higher cellulose (50–66%) and lignin (6–14%) content and lower hemicellulose (8–13%) content than Opuntia cladodes (9–14% cellulose, 20–50% hemicellulose, 1–4% lignin). Despite the variability of lignocellulosic materials, OD cladodes treated with water and acetic acid achieved an increase in the structural components. Alkaline fibre treatment removed pectin and hemicellulose from the fibre surface, slightly increasing the cellulose content. Future research should evaluate whether the treated Opuntia fibre can improve the mechanical properties of reinforced polymer.

Caracterización Espectroscópica, Morfológica Y Por Microanálisis De La Biomasa De Los Cladodios De Opuntia Caracasana Salm- Dyck

“…La presencia del grupo funcional OH se encuentra en los ácidos carboxílicos, como el ácido galacturónico, que es uno de los componentes estructurales de la pectina (Belkheiri et al, 2021), un compuesto importante que también se ha reportado en las plantas del género Opuntia (Castellano et al, 2021) y que en este estudio se obtuvo con un rendimiento de 1,68 %, un porcentaje mayor al obtenido por Montilla et al (2020) para otras es-pecies autóctonas de Venezuela, Opuntia elatior (0,144 %), Opuntia boldinguii (0,131 %) y Opuntia ficus indica (0,153 %). La pectina es de gran interés para la industria de alimentos y para la síntesis de biopolímeros (Belkheri et al, 2021), con lo cual se abre la posibilidad de estudiar las posibles aplicaciones de la pectina de O. caracasana para obtener bioproductos.…”

Characterization of prickly pear short fiber and red onion peel biocarbon nanosheets toughened epoxy composites

“…Prickly pear was steeped in water for several hours to fully immerse the cladodes and then pounded to eliminate any remaining fibers shown in Figure 1. Numerous times, the split fibers were rinsed and dried in the sun to remove any remaining water molecules 11 . The pyrolysis procedure was used to create wrinkled biocarbon nanosheets from red onion peels.…”

“…Numerous times, the split fibers were rinsed and dried in the sun to remove any remaining water molecules. 11 The pyrolysis procedure was used to create wrinkled biocarbon nanosheets from red onion peels.…”

Use ofPennisetum glaucumstem powder waste as reinforcement in epoxy composites

“…From Figure 14A, it can be noted that there are air bubbles and voids in the composites. Air bubbles and voids commonly exist inside the filler-based composites [58,59] At higher magnification, matrix failures are visible (Figure 14C). The weak bonding between the filler and matrix was clearly visible in SEM images.…”