Studying Mechanical, Thermal and Absorption, Characteristics of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia Crassipes) Plant Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites

ABSTRACT

The natural fiber extracted from water hyacinth waste could be used for making natural fiber polymer composites. The main intent of this manuscript is to develop polymer composite materials reinforced by aquatic wastewater hyacinth natural fibers having varying lengths. The water hyacinth fibers were extracted using a mechanical drum extractor followed by a drying process at a speed of 320 rpm. Mechanical testing of the composites was conducted as per the relevant ASTM standard and subsequently, thermo gravimetric analysis was also conducted to assess the thermal characteristics of the composites. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray diffraction (×RD) techniques were employed to characterize the elemental and microstructural properties of the composites. A 20 mm fiber length with a 30% fiber content resulted in the best mechanical properties. Fractured surfaces from the composite samples are evaluated by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Brittle fracture, fiber pulled out, fiber clusters are identified as the general failure characteristics of the composites. This study demonstrated that the hyacinth fiber reinforced epoxy resin composite could be useful for developing particleboard products, as well as other lightweight products.

摘要

从水葫芦废料中提取的天然纤维可用于制备天然纤维聚合物复合材料. 本手稿的主要目的是开发由具有不同长度的水生废水风信子天然纤维增强的聚合物复合材料. 使用机械滚筒提取器提取水葫芦纤维, 然后以320rpm的速度进行干燥过程. 根据相关ASTM标准对复合材料进行了机械测试, 随后还进行了热重分析, 以评估复合材料的热特性. 采用傅立叶变换红外光谱(FTIR) 和X射线衍射 (XRD) 技术对复合材料的元素和微观结构性能进行了表征. 纤维含量为30%的20 mm纤维长度可获得最佳机械性能. 使用扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 评估复合材料样品的断裂表面. 脆性断裂、纤维拔出、纤维簇被确定为复合材料的一般失效特征. 这项研究表明, 风信子纤维增强环氧树脂复合材料可用于开发刨花板产品以及其他轻质产品.

KEYWORDS:

• Natural fiber
• water hyacinth fiber composite
• mechanical strength
• absorption behavior
• TGA
• SEM

关键词:

• Natural fibre天然纤维,
• Water Hyacinth Fiber Composite
• 水葫芦纤维复合材料, Mechanical Strength
• 机械强度, Absorption Behavior
• 吸收行为, TGA
• SEM

Acknowledgement

We thank the Research Promotion Scheme (RPS), AICTE team for their support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

Not Applicable

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

We thank the Research Promotion Scheme (RPS) 8-64/FDC/RPS (POLICY-1)/2019-20, AICTE for their financial support