Seminar Report on

Flammability and Flame Retardant Properties of Natural Fibers and

Polymer Matrix Based Composites
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
Award of the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
In
Chemical Engineering
By

PRIYANKA SONI
Enrollment No: 18908017

Supervisor

Prof. Shishir Sinha

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE
ROORKEE – 247 667
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ms. Priyanka Soni (18908017), PhD. student is working under my
guidance and supervision. The seminar report titled " Flammability and Flame Retardant
Properties of Natural Fibers and Polymer Matrix Based Composites is being submitted by
her for the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. to the Department of
Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee.

Dr. Shishir Sinha

Professor
IIT, Roorkee
 1. INTRODUCTION

A composite is a combination of materials mixed or bonded on a macroscopic scale. There are

two phases in the composite out of that one is reinforcing phase (in the form of fibers, sheet or
particles and the other phase is matrix phase in which this reinforcing phase is embedded.
Jartiz,(1965) defined that composites are multifunctional material systems that provide
characteristics not obtainable from any individual material. They are combination of two or
more materials which are unlike in composition and properties. Kelly (1967) observed that the
composites should not be regarded simply as a combination of two material. It is the joining of
its own distinctive properties, it is better than either of the components alone or radically
different from either of them. The idea of composite material is not new, there are various
examples where composite materials are used. Wood is the best example of composite
occurring in nature which contain cellulose fibers joined with lignin matrix. During the last
couple of decade there has been an enormous growth of natural fiber based polymer composites
which are applied in several industries like automotive, sports goods, electrical, infrastructure
etc. The advantages of natural fibers as a reinforcement material in polymer composites over
synthetic fibers are numerous such as cost effectiveness, environment friendly nature and
availability in abundance. Over the Last two decades Natural fiber reinforced polymer
composites has drawn interest to the academicians and industry because of these advantages
and wide range of applications. As an agricultural country, India has tremendous potential to
use natural fibers as a reinforcement material for polymer composites.
The major issues with most of the natural fibers is moisture absorption tendency, variation in
properties and their poor adhesion with polymer matrix if used without any treatment or
modification, which ultimately leads to degradation in mechanical properties. There is an
absolute importance of fiber treatment by using physical or chemical methods to get the proper
fiber matrix adhesion thereby improving mechanical properties such as tensile strength,
flexural strength etc. Various physical methods such as stretching, plasma treatment etc. and
chemical methods like silane treatment, alkaline treatment, acetylation, acrylation, etc. have
been suggested by researchers for optimum fiber matrix adhesion which leads to improvement
in properties of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites.
In most of developing countries, agriculture plays a major role in the contribution of their
economy and employment rate. Thousands of tons of different crops are produced but most of
their wastes do not have any valuable utilization. These agricultural wastes can be utilized in
making fibre reinforced composite for commercial use and increase employment in the rural
sector. The nano-composite material is an innovative product having nano (one billionth of a
meter) fillers dispersed in the matrix. Typically, the structure is a matrix filler combination
where the fillers like particles, fibers, or fragments surrounds and binds together as discrete
units in the matrix.
The concept of using natural fibre as reinforcing agent is not new. Nearly 3000 years back in
Egypt people used to make wall with clay mixed with straw. But since 1960s, the use of
synthetic fibers has increased vividly and natural fibers have lost its market value. In December
2006, General Assembly of the United Nations declared 2009 as International Year of natural
fibers by the request of Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO). The
main objective of international year of natural fibers is to raise the awareness of natural fibers
globally, help to sustain the income of farmers, encouraging appropriate government polices
and efficient growing techniques and making environment green (FAO, 2006).

Natural fibres are a bio-based fiber which can be obtained either from plant (cellulosic) or from
animal (protein). Plant based fiber such as hemp, flak, Kenaf, sisal, coir, jute, ramie, pineapple
leaf, banana, baggasse, bamboo etc. has been used as a reinforcement materials in polymer
composites and have innumerable advantages for the replacement of conventional fibres (glass,
carbon and amarid). The tensile strength of conventional fibers is substantially higher, but ease
in processing, biodegradability and cost reduction aspects offer the great potential in natural
fiber based composites [Prasad et al 2015, Mittal et al. 2015]. Other advantages are abundant,
low density, low energy requirement, less abrasion to equipment and less skin and respiratory
irritation. However, certain drawbacks such as poor water resistance, hydrophilic nature of
natural fiber which gives poor bonding at fiber/matrix interface with hydrophobic polymers,
aggregates during processing and low thermal degradation temperature which reduce the
mechanical properties of the composites. Though various composite materials like fiberglass
and reinforced plastics are now in wide use for numerous applications, there has been continued
demand for novel composites with desirable properties for many other applications.