Chapter 3 - Alfa fibers, their composites and applications

Abstract

There has been a rapid increase in research and innovation in the field of natural fiber composite materials to explore the potential and application of biodegradable materials as alternatives to conventional materials. Plant-based natural fibers obtained from various different renewable resources have been crucial in the development of biocomposite materials. Today, as an alternative to reinforcements of this category of materials, Alfa fibers have captivated researchers and engineers in various fields such as packaging, construction, aerospace, and automotive industry. Moreover, Alfa fiber-based composites are important to the development of high-performance engineering materials because of their easy availability, recyclability, and environmental friendliness. This chapter is devoted to the studies of Alfa fibers and its modification, processing of Alfa fibers-based composites, their characteristics, and their applications. A detailed overview will be given on Alfa fibers and the treatments widely used in the modification of Alfa fibers. Herein, we discussed different techniques used in several research studies to prepare composites based on Alfa fibers as matrix reinforcement. Most importantly, we discussed in detail that alfa fiber and its derivatives can be a potential reinforcement of matrices in different applications.