Effect of Alkali Treatment on Diameter and Tensile Properties of Yucca Gloriosa Fiber Using Response Surface Methodology

ABSTRACT

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of alkali (NaOH) treatment on the morphological properties and tensile strength of Yucca Gloriosa (YG) natural fibers along with the optimization of the parameters related to such treatment. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with Central Composite Designs (CCD) approach for the design and analysis of experiments with the optimization of NaOH concentration and immersion time was applied. Also, the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were also employed to evaluate and compare the morphological and structural properties of YG fibers. For NaOH treatment process the best mathematical models to predict the fiber diameter and tensile strength of the YG fibers were the linear and quadratic models, respectively. Additionally, the optimal amount of YG fibers diameter and tensile strength were achieved at optimum process conditions. The optimized levels for NaOH concentration and immersion time were 5 wt.% and 10 h, respectively. So that, after fiber treatment in this condition, tensile strength of YG fibers was increased by 29.58% and the diameters of YG fibers were decreased by 7.34% compared to the raw fibers. Nonetheless, the process of alkali treatment in optimum conditions did not significantly affect the structural and crystallinity of YG fibers. Finally, NaOH treatment under optimal condition, mainly because of improving the morphological and tensile properties as well as increasing the interfacial adhesion between natural fibers and polymer matrices, is practically useful in the manufacture of multi-purpose hybrid composites.

摘要

研究了碱（NaOH）处理对丝兰（yuccaglorosa，YG）天然纤维形态和拉伸强度的影响，并对碱处理工艺参数进行了优化. 采用响应面法（RSM）和中心复合设计（CCD）方法对NaOH浓度和浸泡时间进行了优化设计和实验分析. 利用扫描电镜（SEM）、傅立叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）和X射线衍射（XRD）对YG纤维的形态和结构性能进行了评价和比较. 对于NaOH处理过程，预测YG纤维直径和抗拉强度的最佳数学模型分别为线性模型和二次模型. 另外，在最佳工艺条件下，还获得了最佳的YG纤维直径和拉伸强度. NaOH浓度和浸泡时间的最佳浓度分别为5wt%和10h. 因此，在该条件下处理后，YG纤维的拉伸强度比原纤维提高了29.58%，直径减小了7.34%. 然而，在最佳条件下的碱处理工艺对YG纤维的结构和结晶度没有显著影响. 最后，在最佳条件下进行NaOH处理，主要是由于改善了纤维的形态和拉伸性能，以及提高了天然纤维与聚合物基体之间的界面结合力，在制备多功能混杂复合材料中具有实用价值.

KEYWORDS:

• Yucca Gloriosa
• alkali treatment
• fiber properties
• response surface methodology

关键词:

• 丝兰丝兰， 碱处理
• 纤维性能
• 响应面法

Acknowledgments

are thankful to Tarbiat Modares University for providing the necessary laboratory facilities for this work.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) [98029526].