Physicomechanical Properties of Treated Oil Palm-Broom Fibers for Cementitious Composites
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32, Issue 10
Abstract
The use of natural fibers such as oil palm broom fibers (OPBF) for reinforcing cementitious composites, although reported to be beneficial from economic and environmental standpoints, has generated durability concerns that have caused investigations into possible fiber treatments. In this study, three types of treatments were carried out on OPBF. These include alkalization, silanization, and hot-water treatments. For alkalization, OPBF was treated with solutions of 2%, 4%, 6%, and 10% sodium hydroxide each for 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 1,440, and 2,880 min. For silanization, OPBF were treated with solutions of 1% and 3% triethoxyvinylsilane each for 60, 120, 240, 480, 1,440, and 2,880 min. For hot-water treatment, OPBF were treated with water at 100°C for 15, 30, 60, and 120 min. The effects of treatments on the fibers were analyzed through tensile strength, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and water absorption tests. The results indicate improvements in tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of 60% and 65%, respectively. Although the average reduction in water absorption of 4% was recorded for silanization, increases of 40% and 9% were recorded for alkalization and hot-water treatment, respectively. The changes in the physical and mechanical properties of treated OPBF are attributed to the elimination of impurities, lignin, and wax, a reduction in the microfibrillar angle, alteration of fiber surface, and improvement in fiber crystallinity. The reported pretreatments could enhance the durability of composites incorporating OPBF as a reinforcement.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all of the data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request, including xlsx files from which manuscript figures were derived.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) of Nigeria for sponsoring this research.
References
Ali, M., X. Li, and N. Chouw. 2013. “Experimental investigations on bond strength between coconut fibre and concrete.” Mater. Des. 44 (Feb): 596–605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2012.08.038.
Anyakora, A. N., O. K. Abubakre, E. Mudiare, and M. A. T. Suleiman. 2017. “Effect of fibre loading and treatment on porosity and water absorption correlated with tensile behaviour of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibre reinforced composites.” Adv. Mater. Res. 6 (4): 329–341. https://doi.org/10.12989/amr.2017.6.4.329.
Ardanuy, M., J. Claramunt, and R. D. T. Filho. 2015. “Cellulosic fiber-reinforced cement-based composites: A review of recent research.” Constr. Build. Mater. 79 (Mar): 115–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.01.035.
Asim, M., M. Jawaid, K. Abdan, and R. M. Ishak. 2016. “Effect of alkali and silane treatments on mechanical and fibre-matrix bond strength of kenaf and pineapple leaf fibres.” J. Bionic Eng. 13 (3): 426–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1672-6529(16)60315-3.
ASTM. 2013. Standard test methods for mechanical properties of lumber and wood-base structural material. ASTM D4761-13. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
ASTM. 2018. Standard test method for water absorption of plastics. ASTM D570-98. West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM.
Atiqah, A., M. Jawaid, M. R. Ishak, and S. M. Sapuan. 2017. “Effect of alkali and silane treatments on mechanical and interfacial bonding strength of sugar palm fibers with thermoplastic polyurethane.” J. Nat. Fibers 15 (2): 251–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2017.1325427.
Beckermann, G. W., K. L. Pickering, and N. J. Foreman. 2004. “The processing, production and improvement of hemp-fibre reinforced polypropylene composite materials.” In Proc., 2nd Int. Conf. on Structure, Processing and Properties of Materials. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Bangladesh Univ. of Engineering and Technology.
Bilba, K., and M.-A. Arsene. 2008. “Silane treatment of bagasse fiber for reinforcement of cementitious composites.” Composites Part A 39 (9): 1488–1495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.05.013.
Boccafoschi, F., L. Fusaro, and M. Cannas. 2018. Immobilization of peptides on cardiovascular stent. Sawston, UK: Woodhead Publishing.
Bourmaud, A., C. Morvan, A. Bouali, V. Placet, P. Perre, and C. Baley. 2013. “Relationships between micro-fibrillar angle, mechanical properties and biochemical composition of flax fibers.” Ind. Crops Prod. 44 (Jan): 343–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2012.11.031.
Célino, A., S. Fréour, F. Jacquemin, and P. Casari. 2013. “Characterization and modeling of the moisture diffusion behavior of natural fibers.” J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130 (1): 297–306. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.39148.
Chieng, B. W., H. S. Lee, N. A. Ibrahim, Y. Y. Then, and Y. Y. Loo. 2017. “Isolation and characterization of cellulose nanocrystals from oil palm mesocarp fiber.” Polymers 9 (8): 355. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9080355.
Claramunt, J., F. J. Lucía, H. Ventura, and M. Ardanuy. 2016. “Natural fiber nonwoven reinforced cement composites as sustainable materials for building envelopes.” Constr. Build. Mater. 115 (Jul): 230–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.04.044.
Dasong, D., and F. Mizi. 2010. “Characteristic and performance of elementary hemp fibre.” Mater. Sci. Appl. 1 (6): 336–342. https://doi.org/10.4236/msa.2010.16049.
Deraman, M., S. Zakaria, M. Husin, R. Aziz, R. Ramli, A. Mokhtar, M. N. M. Yusof, and M. H. Sahri. 1999. “X-ray diffraction studies on fiber of oil palm empty fruit bunch and rubberwood for medium-density fiberboard.” J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 18 (3): 249–253. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006642114056.
Deraman, M., S. Zakaria, and J. A. Murshidi. 2001. “Estimation of crystallinity and crystallite size of cellulose in benzylated fibres of oil palm empty fruit bunches by X-ray diffraction.” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 40 (Part 1): 3311–3314. https://doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.40.3311.
Dharkal, H. N., Z. Y. Zhang, and M. O. W. Richardson. 2006. “Effect of water absorption on the mechanical properties of hemp fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composites.” Compos. Sci. Technol. 67 (7–8): 1674–1683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comscitech.2006.06.019.
Faizi, M. K., A. B. Shahriman, M. S. A. Majid, B. M. T. Shamsul, A. S. M. Nawawi, I. Zunaidi, Y. G. Ng, Z. M. Razlan, and W. K. Wan. 2018. “The effect of multiple surface treatments on oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibre structure.” In Proc., IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering. Bristol, UK: IOP Publishing.
Fortea-Verdejo, M., E. Bumbaris, C. Burgstaller, A. Bismarck, and K. Lee. 2017. “Plant fibre-reinforced polymers: Where do we stand in terms of tensile properties?” Int. Mater. Rev. 62 (8): 441–464. https://doi.org/10.1080/09506608.2016.1271089.
Goud, G., and R. N. Rao. 2013. “Combined effect of alkali and silane treatments on tensile and impact properties of Roystonea regia natural fiber reinforced epoxy composites.” Appl. Polym. Compos. 1 (3): 187–196.
Hestiawan, H. 2016. “A preliminary study: Influence of alkali treatment on physical and mechanical properties of Agel leaf fiber (Corypha gebanga).” In Vol. 842 of Applied mechanics and materials, 61–66. Zürich, Switzerland: Trans Tech Publications.
Ismail, S., and Z. Yaacob. 2011. “Properties of laterite bricks reinforced with oil palm empty fruit bunch fibers.” Pertanika J. Sci. Technol. 19 (1): 22–43.
Izani, M. N., M. T. Paridah, U. M. K. Anwar, M. M. Nor, and P. S. H’ng. 2013. “Effects of fiber treatment on morphology, tensile and gravimetric analysis of oil palm empty fruit bunches fibers.” Composites Part B 45 (1): 1251–1257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.07.027.
Kabir, M. M., K. Lau, T. Wang, and F. Cardona. 2012. “Chemical treatments on plant-based natural fiber reinforced polymer composites: An overview.” Composites Part B 43 (7): 2883–2892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.04.053.
Kuthi, F. A. A., K. H. Badri, and A. M. Azman. 2015. “X-ray diffraction patterns of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibers with varying crystallinity.” In Vol. 1087 of Advanced materials research, 321–328. Zürich, Switzerland: Trans Tech Publications.
Machaka, M., H. Basha, H. A. Chakra, and A. Elkordi. 2014. “Alkali treatment of fan palm natural fibers for use in fiber reinforced concrete.” Eur. Sci. J. 10 (12): 186–195.
Malenab, R. A. J., J. P. S. Ngo, and M. A. B. Promentilla. 2017. “Chemical treatment of waste abaca for natural fiber-reinforced geopolymer composite.” Materials 10 (579): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma10060579.
Masniroszaime, M. Z., A. W. Mohammad, H. Shuhaida, A. F. Nurul, and H. H. Nur. 2018. “Synergistic effects on process parameters to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of alkaline oil palm fronds.” Ind. Crops Prod. 112 (Oct): 617–626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2018.06.037.
Modenbach, A. A., and S. E. Nokes. 2014. “Effects of sodium hydroxide pretreatment on structural components of biomass.” Trans. ASABE 57 (4): 1187–1198. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.57.10046.
Momoh, E. O., and B. I. O. Dahunsi. 2017. “Suitability of oil-palm-broom-fibers as reinforcement for laterite-based roof tiles.” Int. J. Software Hardware Res. Eng. 5 (4): 27–35.
Momoh, E. O., and A. I. Osofero. 2019. “Behaviour of oil palm broom fibers (OPBF) reinforced concrete.” Constr. Build. Mater. 221 (Oct): 745–761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.06.118.
Momoh, E. O., and A. I. Osofero. 2020. “Recent developments in the application of oil palm fibers in cement composites.” Front. Struct. Civ. Eng. 14 (1): 94–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11709-019-0576-9.
Muñoz, E., and J. A. García-Manrique. 2015. “Water absorption behaviour and its effect on the mechanical properties of flax fiber reinforced bioepoxy composites.” Int. J. Polym. Sci. 2015: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/390275.
Mydin, M. A. O., N. Mohamad, A. A. A. Samad, I. Johari, and M. A. C. Munaaim. 2018. “Durability performance of foamed concrete strengthened with chemical treated (NaOH) coconut fibers.” In Vol. 2016 of AIP Conf. Proc., 020109. New York: AIP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5055511.
Nishiyamo, Y., and T. Okano. 1998. “Morphological changes of ramie fiber during mercerization.” J. Wood Sci. 44 (4): 310–313. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00581312.
Nogata, F., and H. Takahashi. 1995. “Intelligent functionally graded material: Bamboo.” Compos. Eng. 5 (7): 743–751. https://doi.org/10.1016/0961-9526(95)00037-N.
Osoka, E. C., and O. D. Onukwuli. 2015. “Optimum conditions for mercerization of oil palm empty bunch fibre.” Int. J. Innovative Res. Comput. Sci. Technol. 3 (4): 50–56.
Oushabi, A., F. O. Hassani, Y. Abboud, S. Sair, O. Tanane, and A. El-Bouari. 2018. “Improvement of the interface bonding between date palm fibers and polymeric matrices using alkali–silane treatments.” Int. J. Ind. Chem. 9 (4): 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40090-018-0162-3.
Ozerkan, N. G., B. Ahsan, S. Mansour, and S. R. Iyengar. 2013. “Mechanical performance and durability of treated palm fiber reinforced mortars.” Int. J. Sustainable Built Environ. 2 (2): 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2014.04.002.
Pacheco-Torgal, F., and S. Jalali. 2010. “Cementitious building materials reinforced with vegetable fibres: A review.” Constr. Build. Mater. 25 (2): 575–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.07.024.
Pandiarajan, P., M. Kathiresan, and T. Sornakumar. 2018. “Preparation of nanofiber particles from the leaf of Aristida hystrix and its characterization.” J. Nat. Fibres 16 (6): 886–897. https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2018.1441089.
Pangsang, N., U. Rattanapan, A. Thanapimmetha, P. Srinopphakhun, C. Liu, X. Zhao, F. Bai, and C. Sakdaronnarong. 2019. “Chemical-free fractionation of palm empty fruit bunch and palm fiber by hot-compressed water technique for ethanol production.” Energy Rep. 5 (Nov): 337–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.02.008.
Ramamoorthy, S. K., M. Skrifvars, and M. Rissanen. 2015. “Effect of alkali and silane surface treatments on regenerated cellulose fibre type (Lyocell) intended for composites.” Cellulose 22 (1): 637–654. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-014-0526-6.
Rambo, M. K. D., M. Márcia, and C. Ferreira. 2015. “Determination of cellulose crystallinity of banana residues using near infrared spectroscopy and multivariate analysis.” J. Brazillian Chem. Soc. 26 (7): 1491–1499. https://doi.org/10.5935/0103-5053.20150118.
Ratner, B. D., and A. S. Hoffman. 2013. “Physicochemical surface modification of materials used in medicine.” In Biomaterials science. 2nd ed., 256–276. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Santos, E. B. C., C. G. Moreno, J. J. P. Barros, D. A. de Moura, F. F. de-Carvalho, A. Ries, R. M. R. Wellen, and L. B. Da Silva. 2018. “Effect of alkaline and hot water treatments on the structure and morphology of piassava fibers.” Mater. Res. 21 (2). https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-5373-mr-2017-0365.
Segal, L., J. J. Creely, A. E. Martin, and C. M. Conrad. 1959. “An empirical method for estimating the degree of crystallinity of native cellulose using the x-ray diffractometer.” Text. Res. J. 29 (10): 786–794. https://doi.org/10.1177/004051755902901003.
Sellami, A., M. Merzoud, and S. Amziane. 2013. “Improvement of mechanical properties of green concrete by treatment of the vegetals fibers.” Constr. Build. Mater. 47 (Oct): 1117–1124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.05.073.
Shah, D. U. 2013. “Developing plant fiber composites for structural applications by optimising composite parameters: A critical review.” J. Mater. Sci. 48 (18): 6083–6107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7458-7.
Souza, N. F., J. A. Pinheiro, A. I. S. Brígida, J. P. S. Morais, M. M. S. Filho, and R. M. de Freitas. 2016. “Fibrous residues of palm oil as a source of green chemical building blocks.” Ind. Crops Prod. 94 (Dec): 480–489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.09.012.
Sreekala, M. S., J. George, M. G. Kumaran, and S. Thomas. 2001. “Water-sorption kinetics in oil palm fibers.” J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 39 (11): 1215–1223. https://doi.org/10.1002/polb.1095.
Sreekala, M. S., M. G. Kumaran, and S. Thomas. 1997. “Oil palm fibers: Morphology, chemical Composition, surface modification, and mechanical properties.” J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 66 (5): 821–835. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4628(19971031)66:5%3C821::AID-APP2%3E3.0.CO;2-X.
Sreekala, M. S., and S. Thomas. 2002. “Effect of fibre surface modification on water-sorption characteristics of oil palm fibres.” Compos. Sci. Technol. 63 (6): 861–869. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(02)00270-1.
Symington, M. C., O. S. David-West, W. M. Banks, R. A. Pethrick, and J. Thomason. 2008. “The effect of alkalisation on the mechanical properties of natural fibres.” In Proc., 13th European Conf. on Composite Materials (EECM 13). Leeds: Maney Publishing.
Tagne, N. R. S., E. Njeugna, M. Fogue, J.-Y. Drean, A. Nzeukou, and D. Fokwa. 2014. “Study of water absorption in Raffia vinifera fibres from Bandjoun, Cameroon.” Sci. World J. 2014: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/912380.
Terán-Hilares, R., A. L. Reséndiz, R. T. Martínez, S. S. Silva, and J. C. Santos. 2016. “Successive pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification of sugarcane bagasse in a packed bed flow-through column reactor aiming to support biorefineries.” Bioresour. Technol. 203 (Mar): 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2015.12.026.
Van de Weyenberg, I., T. C. Truong, B. Vangrimde, and I. Verpoest. 2006. “Improving the properties of UD flax fibre reinforced composites by applying an alkaline fibre treatment.” Composites Part A 37 (9): 1368–1376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.08.016.
Wang, B., S. Panigrahi, L. Tabil, and W. Crerar. 2007. “Pre-treatment of flax fibers for use in rotationally molded biocomposites.” J. Reinf. Plast. Compos. 26 (5): 447–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731684406072526.
Wei, J., and C. Meyer. 2014. “Improving degradation resistance of sisal fiber in concrete through fiber surface treatment.” Appl. Surf. Sci. 289 (Jan): 511–523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.11.024.
Zannen, S., L. Ghali, M. T. Halimi, and M. B. Hssen. 2014. “Effect of chemical extraction on physicochemical and mechanical properties of doum palm fibers.” Adv. Mater. Phys. Chem. 4 (10): 203–216. https://doi.org/10.4236/ampc.2014.410024.
Zhou, Y., M. Fan, and C. Lihui. 2016. “Interface and bonding mechanisms of plant fiber composites: An overview.” Composites Part B 101 (Sep): 31–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.06.055.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 32 • Issue 10 • October 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 14, 2019
Accepted: Apr 23, 2020
Published online: Jul 30, 2020
Published in print: Oct 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Dec 30, 2020
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.