Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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Effect of chemical treatment on natural fiber for use in fiber reinforced

composites – Review
Rajala Ashok Reddy a, K. Yoganandam a,⇑, V. Mohanavel b
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering , Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai 602105, Tamilnadu, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering , Chennai Institute of Technology, Chennai 600069, Tamilnadu, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This review paper examines the chemical properties of fiber bolstered chemical compound secured com-
Received 15 February 2020 posites and therefore the process techniques ar compared for the bolstered composite materials. The
Accepted 29 February 2020 chemical properties of the various natural fibers composites were compared. Gift days natural fibers ar
Available online xxxx
attracting several students and researchers because of its price and for the most part accessible in nature
conjointly process of those fibers isn’t laborious as compared to the traditional fibres production. Also,
Keywords: Environmental awareness and a growing concern with the atmospheric phenomenon have triggered
Natural fiber
the development, automotive, and packing industries to observe out for eco-friendly materials that
Polylactic acid
Silane
may replace typical artificial chemical compound fibres. Natural fibers appear to be a decent alternate
NAOH as a result of they’re without delay accessible in fibrous type and might be extracted from herb leaves
Physical properties at terribly low prices. By these reasons the natural fibers ar trusty over the regular fibers.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Confer-
ence on Nanotechnology: Ideas, Innovation and Industries.

1. Introduction
In the past few years, the development of materials transferred
and shifted from conventional monolithic alloy to composite mate-
rials to meet the global industrial needs [1–6]. The need of natural
fiber-reinforced composites is increasing at very fast rate because
of their eco-friendly production, decomposition, high specific
strength, abundance, good physical and mechanical properties.
Development of novel materials is required at this moment to suit
the specific application, based on different criteria’s. Recent
research works are moving towards development of lightweight
materials and environmental friendly materials, which will serve
the purpose and also should not have impact on environment in
terms of disposal, degradability, recycling [7–10]. For develop in
biodegradable composites materials with environmental con-
sciousness, composites materials are gaining more importance,
since environmental friendly natural fibers are slowly replacing
traditional fiber for developing newer materials. From various lit-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: yogamech89@gmail.com (K. Yoganandam).
eratures it has been proved that the development of natural fiber
composite material resulted in the weight reduction and also effec-
tive cost reduction of the fabrication products.
1.1. Chemical properties of fiber reinforced polymer composites
A chemical property is a characteristic or behaviour of a sub-
stance that could be discovered when it undergoes a chemical
alternate or response. Chemical homes are visible either during
or following a response, considering the fact that the association
of atoms inside a pattern ought to be disrupted for the property
to be investigated. That is one-of-a-kind from a bodily property,
which is a attribute which may be determined and measured with-
out changing the chemical identity of a specimen. Within the aver-
age fibers we’ve got the cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin are the
principal chemical properties.
In one of the crucial ordinary fiber has the pectin, waxes and ash
in very much less number. Cellulose fibers market has been wit-
nessing strong progress over the past few years due to growing
demand from cloth industry. Developing environmental pleasant
and skin friendly.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.982
2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Nanotechnology: Ideas, Innovation and Industries.

Please cite this article as: R. A. Reddy, K. Yoganandam and V. Mohanavel, Effect of chemical treatment on natural fiber for use in fiber reinforced composites
– Review, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.982
2 R.A. Reddy et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

1.2. Cellulose
S. No Name of fiber Lignin (Wt%)
Cellulose is an important structural component of the natural 1 Jute 11.8–13
fibers. It is the most abundant organic polymer on the earth. Cellu- 2 Sisal 12.1
lose has no taste, is odourless. Cellulose Percentage is varying from 3 Banana 5
one fiber to another they are tabulate below 4 Bamboo 5–31
5 Flax 2.2
S. No Name of fiber Cellulose (Wt%) 6 Kenaf 21.5
1 Jute 59–71.5 7 Coir 42
2 Sisal 78 8 Palm 11–29
3 Banana 62–64 10 Hemp 3.7–13
4 Bamboo 26–65 11 Curaua 7.5–11.1
5 Flax 71 12 Piassava 45
6 Kenaf 45–57 13 Ramie 0.6–0.7
7 Coir 37 14 Cotton <2
15 Abaca 7–13
8 Palm 60–65
9 Hemp 57–77 16 Henequen 8–13.1
17 Alfa 14.9
10 Curaua 70.7–73.6
11 Piassava 28.6 18 Betelnut 7.20
12 Ramie 68.6–91
13 Cotton 82.7–90
14 Abaca 56–63
15 Henequen 60–77.6
2. Literature review
16 Alfa 45.4
17 Betelnut 53.20
Sanjib Kumar and Lakshya [11] studied to sum up the effective
factors that influence the mechanical properties of natural fiber
composites and their hybrid polymer composites. The author also
reviewed the potential use of agro-residues as reinforcements to
1.3. Hemicellulose the composite materials and as a alternate to synthetic fiber. Con-
cluded that the enhancement in properties has observed only
It is a mixture of several plant polysaccharides, of smaller because of better fiber choice, extraction, suitable fiber modifica-
molecular weight than cellulose. Hemicelluloses are embedded in tion treatment and interfacial engineering and processing of
the cell walls of plants. Hemicellulose percentage is varying form composites.
one fiber to another they are tabulated below Bushra Rashid et al. [12] have determined the physical, thermal,
chemical and morphological properties of Sugar Palm Fiber (SPF)
S. No Name of fiber Hemicellulose (Wt%) by treating with alkali and sea water. The alkali treated had the
enhancement in adhesion property, but lost considerably its ther-
1 Jute 13.6–20.4
mal stability. Thermal analysis revealed that there was only phys-
2 Sisal 25.7
ical change, due to sea water treatment whereas the alkali
3 Banana 19
treatment altered the chemical characteristics of SPF by eliminat-
4 Bamboo 30
ing the hemicelluloses contents in the fiber.
5 Flax 18.6–21.6
Siddika et al. [13] investigated the mechanical properties (ten-
6 Kenaf 8–13
sile, flexural, impact, hardness) of jute-coir/PP hybrid composite
7 Coir 20
for varying contents of jute and coir fibers and varying concentra-
8 Palm –
tion of NaOH treatment (5% and 10% NaOH). The study reveals that
9 Hemp 14–22.4
young’s modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact
10 Curaua 9.9
strength and hardness increase with the increase in fiber loading
11 Piassava 25.8
whereas tensile strength decreases with the increase in fiber load-
12 Ramie 5–16.7
ing. It was observed that jute fiber has more impact on all the prop-
13 Cotton 5.7
erties, except impact strength. The study also reveals that 5% NaOH
14 Abaca 20–25
treatment of fibers gives better properties to the composite com-
15 Henequen 4–28
pared to 10% NaOH treated composite.
16 Alfa 38.5
Shih et al. [14] fabricated hybrid composite containing pineap-
17 Betelnut 32.98
ple leaf fibers and recycled disposable chopstick fibers in two dif-
ferent polymer matrices, viz. poly(lactic acid) [PLA] and poly
(butylene succinate) [PBS]. The fibers were pretreated with alka-
line solution and the silane coupling agent (triethoxy-vinylsilane)
1.4. Lignin to improve compatibility between the fiber and the matrix. It
was observed that the tensile and flexural strengths and heat
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form impor- deflection temperature of the hybrid composite improve signifi-
tant structural materials in the support tissues of vascular plants cantly at 30 wt% fiber content as compared to samples made of
and some algae. Lignin’s are particularly important in the forma- pure PLA or PBS matrix.
tion of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend Yu Dong et al. [15] have evaluated the mechanical properties,
rigidity and do not rot easily. Lignin percentage is varying for dif- thermal and biodegradable properties of coir fiber reinforced poly-
ferent materials they are tabulated below. lactic acid bio-composite laminates, and also examined the effect

Please cite this article as: R. A. Reddy, K. Yoganandam and V. Mohanavel, Effect of chemical treatment on natural fiber for use in fiber reinforced composites
– Review, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.982
 R.A. Reddy et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
of alkaline treatment on fiber surface modification and impact of
coir fiber content (5–30 wt%) on their mechanical behavior.
Zahid et al. [16] have reported that the bases like sodium and
ammonium hydroxide were involved for the alkali pre-treatment
of agricultural lignocellulosic fibers and feed-stocks. Due to the
alkaline hydrolysis, the different structural modifications like dim-
inition of lignin barricade, enlargement of cellulose and limited
decrystallization and salvation of hemicelluloses and cellulose
respectively happened within the lignocellulosic material during
the pre-treatment process.
Lu and Oza [17] investigated the effect of fiber chemical treat-
ments (silane and NaOH) on the thermal and thermo-mechanical
properties of hemp/HDPE composite. The thermal stability of the
composite was observed to reduce with the increase in fiber load-
ing as well as with the chemical treatments of the fibers, when
compared to untreated fiber composite. The storage modulus of
the treated fiber composite was observed to be higher than the
untreated fiber composite. The storage modulus was noticed to
be more in silane treated fiber composite in comparison to NaOH
treated fiber composite, which showed a better fiber–matrix
adhesion.
Ramesh et al. [18] fabricated and compared mechanical proper-
ties of hybrid glass fibersisal/epoxy and glass fiber-jute/epoxy
composites. The study reveals that the reinforcement of sisal fibers
with glass fibers in epoxy matrix results in much higher tensile
strength than the glass-jute/epoxy composite. However, glass-
jute/epoxy composite shows better flexural properties.
Sakthivel and Ramesh [19] fabricated natural fiber (coir, banana
and sisal) reinforced epoxy resin matrix composite for particular
application in automotive seat shell manufacturing. The composite
was characterized to find the flexural strength, hardness, water
absorption, impact strength and density. For automotive seat shell
manufacturing, the banana fiber/epoxy composite exhibited supe-
rior material properties, as compared to any other fiber reinforced
composites.
Arrakhiz et al. [20] investigated the effect of) varying natural
fiber content on the mechanical (tensile strength, young’s modu-
lus) and thermal properties (thermal conductivity and stability)
of doum fibers/LDPE composite. The fibers used were pretreated
with alkali to improve their interfacial adhesion with LDPE matrix.
The mechanical properties of the composite were observed to
improve with the increase in fiber content in the composite. How-
ever, the thermal properties were observed to deteriorate slightly
with the inclusion of doum fibers in LDPE matrix.
Hossain et al. [21] have reported that the double stage chemical
treatment, enhanced the tensile properties of ladies finger plant
fibers compared to the alkaline and single stage treatment. Also,
thermo gravimetric analysis observation revealed that there was
no appreciable impact on thermal stability, due to the chemical
treatment.
Ronald et al. [22] have demonstrated that banana fiber (Musa
sapientum) treated with sodium hypochlorite NaClO /H2O (1:1)
at 60 °C, resulted in better physical and fewer water absorption
features than the raw banana fiber. They also authorized the degra-
dation in hydrophilic nature of fibers because of chemical treat-
ment and hence, enhancement in adhesive character towards the
hydrophobic resin phases.
Obi Reddy et al. [23] have studied the effect of alkali treatment
on fiber surface modification, and mechanical properties. They
confirmed that surface modification yielded better result with
the considerable elimination of hemicelluloses. Moreover, the ten-
sile strength and elongation at break were enhanced, due to alkali
treatment.
Kabir et al. [24] have presented after a thorough study that
intrinsic mismatch among the reinforcing and resin phases leads
to poor bonding at the interface. They also have reported that,
Please cite this article as: R. A. Reddy, K. Yoganandam and V. Mohanavel, Effect of chemical treatment on natural fiber for use in fiber reinforced composites
– Review, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.982
3
the chemical treatments of natural cellulosic fibers direct the
reduction in hydrophilic intention of the fibers and so, enhances
the compatibility towards the matrix phases. They concluded that
the chemical treatments augment the fiber adhesion characteris-
tics with the matrix.
Ahmad et al. [25] have investigated the effect of alkali treat-
ment of kenaf fibers and addition of LNR (Liquid Natural Rubber)
in polyester matrix on the mechanical properties of composites.
Alkali treated fibers resulted in better flexural and impact
strengths of the composites. The value of Environmental Stress
Cracking Resistance (ESCR) exhibited that the composite with acid
medium had the highest diffusion rate, than that of base medium,
and then followed by without any medium. Alkali treatment of
kenaf fiber reported enhanced properties on flexural, impact, and
fracture toughness compared to non treated kenaf fiber composite.
Mylsamy and Rajendran [26] examined the physical, chemical
and mechanical properties of raw and alkali-treated agave ameri-
cana fiber. Also the authors narrated the extraction process of
agave leaf fiber. It was observed that the alkali treatment dimin-
ished the hemicellulose, lignin and wax content of the fibers. They
also identified that the alkali treated fibers have better tensile
strength than the untreated fibers. The optimum alkali treatment
was confirmed with 5% NaOH treatment.
3. Conclusions
 The chemical properties are varying between all natural fibers.
Cellulose is more for sisal and Hemicellulose more for bamboo.
 The Lignin property is more for Piassava fiber. Because the fiber
content is varying between the different weight percentages.
 Density of the natural fibers is low as compared to the synthetic
fiber. Because of this property the natural fibers are mostly used
in the many field and considered as the alternative to the syn-
thetic fibers.
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Please cite this article as: R. A. Reddy, K. Yoganandam and V. Mohanavel, Effect of chemical treatment on natural fiber for use in fiber reinforced composites
– Review, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.982