Mehanske lastnosti in absorbcija vode izbranih naravnih vlaken kot zamenjava za azbest

Abstract

This work investigates the influence of banana (Musa Sapientum) and jute fibers as a reinforcement in a cement/waste brown paper pulp matrix for applications in housing construction in Nigeria. The natural fibers were extracted from banana trunk and cocoa sack and, thereafter, treated with 1-M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for 2 h to expose the lignin and cellulose and thus expose the hemicellulose content of the fibers. The treated fibers were allowed to dry in air for 7 days before cutting into short fibers of 10 mm length. Paper pulp was prepared by soaking waste brown cardboard papers in water for 24 h, thereafter, it was grinded in the paper pulp machine to form a paper pulp slurry, and then sun-dried for 5 days. The treated fibers were thoroughly mixed with the dried paper pulp to develop Fiber Cement Board (FCB) samples of varied weight content (5, 10, 15, and 20) w/% using the hand lay-up technique with the aid of a cold compacting machine. Thereafter, an appropriate quantity of cement as binder and treated sugarcane bagasse as filler material were added to the mix. The developed FCB samples were allowed to cure in air in the laboratory for 28 days before testing. Flexural, compressive, thermal conductivity, and water absorption tests were carried out on the samples using a universal testing machine, Lee's disk apparatus, and the percentage weight of different immersed samples in water, respectively. The results of the mechanical properties examined showed that FCB sample D containing (10 w/% banana fiber, 10 w/% jute fiber, 15 w/% cement/bagasse and 65 w/% paper pulp) gave the optimum results for the flexural and compressive properties with a respective value of 0.843 MPa and 7.333 MPa, while FCB sample F gave the best results for the thermal conductivity and water-absorption property.