Effect of water retting on the physical and mechanical properties of extracted pine needle fibers

Abstract

Due to the negative impact of synthetic fibers on the environment, natural fibers are being increasingly used in composite preparation. The hilly area of Uttarakhand state in India has an abundance of pine needle fibers (PNFs). This study focuses on extracting the PNFs using water retting, varying the retting duration (2 weeks, 4 weeks and 6 weeks) and measuring its physical and mechanical properties. After 4-weeks of retting, the extracted PNFs exhibited the lowest moisture content, resulting in improved hydrophobicity and rendering them suitable for reinforcement in composites. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the 4-weeks retting PNFs were 52.89 ± 12.77 MPa and 1.48 ± 0.39 GPa, respectively. Mechanical characteristics of extracted fibers have been assessed using Weibull’s statistical method in terms of tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Based on the findings, PNFs are predicted to serve as a reinforcement in environmentally friendly composites.