Extraction and Characterization of Natural Fiber from the Stem of Dombeya Buettneri Plant for Biodegradable Polymeric Composites Application

ABSTRACT

The global drive for a circular economy emphasizing sustainability in composite manufacturing processes has been the driving force for current ongoing research studies in natural fibers as sustainable substitutes for non-biodegradable synthetic fibers. The present study was carried out to characterize Dombeya buettneri fiber (DBF) extracted manually from the bark of the plant stem. Determination of physical and mechanical properties, quantitative chemical analysis, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the extracted fiber. Fiber constituents and XRD results showed higher cellulose content (58.45%), crystallinity index (62.32%) and percent crystalline (72.63%). The fiber had a crystallite size of 2.16 nm as determined using the Debye-Scherrer’s equation while FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of various functional groups of lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose on the fiber structure. The results revealed that DBF fiber had a thermal resistance that is up to 229.57°C with a maximum thermal degradation temperature of 356.27°C. Based on the results of this research that are comparable with other studies on cellulosic fiber, DBF fiber has a great potential as an alternative reinforcement for the development of polymer-based bio-composites.

摘要

全球推动循环经济，强调复合材料制造过程的可持续性，这是目前正在进行的天然纤维作为不可生物降解合成纤维的可持续替代品的研究的推动力. 本研究对人工提取的东北董贝纤维进行了表征. 采用物理力学性能测定、定量化学分析、傅立叶变换红外光谱、X射线衍射、热重分析和扫描电子显微镜对提取的纤维进行了表征. 纤维成分和XRD结果表明，纤维的纤维素含量（58.45%）、结晶度指数（62.32%）和结晶率（72.63%）较高. 使用Debye-Scherrer方程测定，纤维具有2.16 nm的晶粒尺寸，而FTIR分析证实在纤维结构上存在木质素、半纤维素和纤维素的各种官能团. 结果表明，DBF纤维的耐热性高达229.57°C，最大热降解温度为356.27°C. 基于这项研究的结果，与其他纤维素纤维研究的结果相比较，DBF纤维作为聚合物基生物复合材料的替代增强材料具有巨大的潜力.

KEYWORDS:

• Ecofriendly
• natural fiber
• sustainable
• polymer composites
• extraction

关键词:

• 环保型
• 天然纤维
• 可持续的
• 聚合物复合材料
• 萃取

Acknowledgments

Dr. Mike O. Ojemaye of the Department of Chemistry, University of Fort Hare, South Africa is acknowledged for the role played in facilitating and conducting laboratory characterization of the extracted Dombeya buettneri fiber.

Disclosure statement

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

Author’s contribution

Conceptualization, I.O.O.; methodology, I.O.O., D.O.B.; validation, F.O.A., O.O.A., I.O.O.; investigation, B.O.D.; resources, I.O.O., F.O.A., O.O.A.; writing – original draft preparation, D.O.B., writing – review and editing, D.O.B, I.O.O, F.O.A., O.O.A.; supervision, I.O.O., F.O.A., O.O.A.; funding acquisition, F.O.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript

Consent

The author gives express consent to Journal of Natural Fibers to review the article and consider it for publication.

Additional information

Funding

This research received funding from the Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme, in the framework of the project: Strengthening Mobility and Promoting Regional Integration of Engineering Education in Africa [Project no: 614586-MOBAF-2019-1-1].