Extraction and Characterization of Sponge Gourd Outer Skin Fiber

Figures & data

Figure 1. (a) Luffa cylindrica flower, (b) luffa cylindrica young fruit, (c) matured luffa cylindrica fruit, (d) fibers in the outer shell of the sponge gourd.

Figure 2. Extracted fibers from the outer shell of the sponge gourd.

Figure 3. Fiber extraction process flow chart.

Table 1. SGOSF properties compared with other natural fibers.

Fiber	Cellulose (%)	Hemicellulose (%)	Lignin (%)	Wax (%)	Moisture (%)	Ash (%)	Density, g/cm^3	Tensile strength, MPa	References
Jute	61–71.5	17.9–22.4	11.8–13	0.5	12.5–13.7	0.5–2	1.3–1.46	325	(Fu, Song, and Liu 2017)
Hemp	70.2–74.4	17.9–22.4	3.7–5.7	0.8	6.2–12	0.8	1.48	530	(Sathish Gandhi et al. 2022) (Latif et. al, 2019)
Sisal	78	10	8	2	11	1.0	1.45	460	(Fu, Song, and Liu 2017) (Latif et. al, 2019)
Kenaf	45–57	8–13	21.5	0.8	6.2–12	2–5	0.25	743	(Sathish Gandhi et al. 2022) (Latif et. al, 2019)
Coir	37	-	42	-	11.36	-	1.15	140.5	(Sathish Gandhi et al. 2022)
Cotton	82.7–90	3	-	0.6	7.85–8.5	-	1.5–1.6	500	(Fu, Song, and Liu 2017) (Latif et. al, 2019)
Banana	63–67.6	19	5	-	8.7	-	-	-	(Malkapuram, Kumar, and Singh 2009)
Agave	68.42	4.85	4.85	0.26	7.69	-	-	-	(Milanese, Cioffi, and Voorwald 2012)
Ramie	68.6–91	5–16.7	0.6–0.7	-			1.38	849	(Sathishkumar et al. 2013)
Abaca	56–63	20–25	7–9	3	-	-	1.50	418–486	(Sathishkumar et al. 2013)
Luffa cylindrica (inner core)	63.00	14.40	1.60				0.9	-	(Nagaraja and Muralikannan 2016) (Latif et. al, 2019)
SGOSF	81.69	-	10.14	0.22	-	-	1.394	438.5	Present work

Figure 4. XRD analysis of SGOSF.

Figure 5. FTIR analysis of SGOSF.

Table 2. Functional groups present in the SGOSF.

Peak	Functional group
3400–3200 cm^−1	O–H stretching of cellulose
2900–3000 cm^−1	C–H stretching
2840–2950 cm^−1	CH2 absorption range of the wax content
1643.35–1543.05 cm^−1	CH and CH2 stretching of the lignin content
1026.13 cm^−1	C=O stretching from polysaccharides
671.23, 594.36, 563.21, 516.92 cm^−1	symmetric C–OH stretching of lignin

Figure 6. Mass loss graph (TGA).

Figure 7. TGA analysis of SGOSF.

Figure 8. Water absorption behavior of SGOSF.

Figure 9. SEM analysis of SGOSF. (a) SEM image with 200 µm size, (b) SEM image with 50 µm size, (c) SEM image with 5 µm size, and (d) SEM image with 500 µm size.

Table 3. Elements present in the surface of SGOSF.

Element	Weight (%)	Atomic (%)
C	39.4	48.95
O	49.6	46.26
Mg	1.88	1.15
Br	0.62	0.12
Si	0.47	0.25
P	1.78	0.86
S	0.54	0.25
K	3.03	1.16
Ca	2.68	1

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