The effect of alkalisation on the mechanical properties of natural fibres

Symington, Mark C. and David-West, Opukuro S. and Banks, William M. and Pethrick, Richard A. and Thomason, J.L. (2008) The effect of alkalisation on the mechanical properties of natural fibres. In: 13th European Conference on Composite Materials (EECM 13), 2008-06-02 - 2008-06-05.

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Abstract

A study on the effect of alkalisaton using 3% NaOH solution was carried out on Flax, Kenaf, Abaca and Sisal to observe the impact that the common pre-treatment process has on fibre mechanical properties. The result of the investigation indicated that over-treatment of natural fibres using NaOH could have a negative effect on the base fibre properties. It is concluded that a treatment time of less than 10 minutes is sufficient to remove hemicelluloses and to give the optimum effect.