Assessment of Chemical Treatment on Hemp Fiber Utilized as Reinforcement in Polymer Composites: Association of Thermal Degradation and Activation Energy of Fiber

ABSTRACT

The primary purpose of the research is to improve the surface of hemp fibers chemically. The outcome of different chemical treatments of fibers on their chemical, morphological, physical, and thermal properties has been studied. The fiber was treated with 5w/v % alkali solution for different time intervals and with 5 w/v % silane solution. The fiber properties were analyzed using FTIR (Fourier transform spectroscopy), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Two different methods, i.e., Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (F-W-O) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (K-A-S) methods, were utilized to calculate the degradation activation energy and analyze thermal kinetics of untreated and treated fibers. The alkali treated fibers for 30 min show the maximum increment in average activation energy from 141 kJmol⁻¹ to 175 kJmol⁻¹. At 30 min, the alkali treatment of fibers shows the best thermal properties, and afterward, the fiber starts to degrade. The results obtained from silane treatment are satisfactory but not on par with results obtained from alkali treatment.

摘要

本研究的主要目的是化学改善大麻纤维的表面. 研究了不同化学处理对纤维的化学、形态、物理和热性能的影响. 用5 w/v%的碱溶液和5w/w%的硅烷溶液处理纤维不同的时间间隔. 使用傅里叶变换光谱（FTIR）、热重分析（TGA）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、X射线衍射（XRD）和能量色散X射线分析（EDX）分析纤维性能。两种不同的方法，即Flynn-Wall-Ozawa（F-W-O）和Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose（K-A-S）方法，用于计算未处理和处理纤维的降解活化能并分析热动力学. 碱处理30分钟的纤维显示平均活化能从141kjmol-1到175kjmol-1的最大增量. 在30分钟时，纤维的碱处理显示出最佳的热性能，之后，纤维开始降解. 硅烷处理的结果令人满意，但与碱处理的结果不一致.

KEYWORDS:

• Hemp fiber
• chemical treatment
• alkali
• silane
• EDX
• thermal kinetics

关键词:

• 大麻纤维
• 化学处理
• 碱
• 硅烷
• 热动力学

Highlights

• The surface of hemp fiber is modified with alkali and silane treatment.

• The treated hemp fiber have shown an increase in thermal properties.

• Silane treatment could increase the flame retardancy of composites developed with silane treated hemp fiber.

Acknowledgments

The authors are obliged for the help and financial funding from the Chemical Engineering Department of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This research does not contain any studies on human participants or animals performed by the author.

Data availability statement

All data generated or analyzed during this study will be made available by corresponding author on reasonable request.