Investigation of Physico-Chemical Properties of Alkali-Treated Prosopis juliflora Fibers

Abstract

There is ever-increasing interest in using natural fibers in polymer composite systems and textile industry. Prosopis juliflora fibers (PJFs) possess ideal characteristics that make them suitable for various applications. Alkali treatment of PJFs was primarily aimed to change their physico-chemical properties; 5% (w/v) NaOH concentration and 60 min of soaking time were found to be optimal. It is intriguing to note that optimally treated PJFs had higher cellulose (72.27 wt.%), lower hemicellulose (4.02 wt.%) and lignin (12.09 wt.%) contents, higher crystallinity index (73%), tensile strength, and thermal stability.

Keywords:

• Alkali treatment
• Chemical analysis
• Prosopis juliflora fiber
• Thermogravimetric analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the management of Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, India, for providing necessary facilities to carry out this research work.

Notes

Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/gpac.