Characterization of Adhesion Surface of Cellulosic Fibers Extracted from Agro Wastes

Abstract

The adhesion characteristics of agro waste–derived fibers are examined in this study. Fibers obtained from groundnut shell, coconut shell, rice husk, palm fruit bunch, and palm fruit stalk are subjected to a combination of batch treatments in two distinctive ways. These batch fiber treatments involve mechanical defibrillation, steam explosion, acid hydrolysis, alkaline hydrolysis, and enzymatic hydrolysis. Topography, mean surface roughness, maximum surface roughness, skewness, and morphology of the resulting fibers are characterized using the atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results show that the treatments are effective in removal of noncellulosic materials and smoothening of fiber surface. This phenomenon would results in improvement in wettability between fiber and matrix in polymer composite applications. Palm fruit–derived fibers are found to retain a greater portion of noncellulosic materials compared to others. This is attributed to the high amorphous content of palm fruit with very low crystalline portion compared to others.

Keywords:

• AFM
• surface roughness
• skewness
• morphology
• natural fibers
• cellulosic fibers

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge with grateful thanks the provision of facilities by the Soochow University, China and the support of the University of Lagos, Nigeria.