Effect of Alkaline Treatment on the Thermal Stability of Pineapple Leaf Fibers

Abstract

Recently, most of the industries are looking towards to incorporate sustainable, renewable, eco- friendly and affordable raw materials and production process. To achieve this goal, engineers and technologist are working on biocomposite material. The primary reason behind the selection of natural fiber based material in the automobile, construction, and aerospace industry is its low cost, lightweight, high specific strength and modulus, biodegradability, and friendly processing. Inspite of all beneficial features, one of the main barriers to their utilization in all mentioned sectors is thermal degradability. Natural fibers can be subjected to thermal degradation during composite processing and their application in the high-temperature field. So it is practically significant to understand the thermal decomposition of lignocellulosic fibers and to modify it for the purpose of high-temperature stability. In this work, alkaline treatment of varying concentrations (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10 wt %) was used to study the effect of alkaline treatment on thermal stability of pineapple leaf fibers. The thermal behavior of untreated and alkali treated pineapple leaf fiber was examined by using a thermal gravimetric analysis instrument (TGA). The results show that 4 wt% NaOH treated pineapple leaf fiber have maximum thermal stability. The decomposition of untreated and treated PALF was a two-stage process attributed to the thermal decomposition of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin. The results also showed that the temperature of initial degradation 251 0C increased to 285 0C after 4% alkaline treatment due to partial removal of hemicellulose and lignin.