Palm Composites Research Articles

New HCHO-scavenger for enhancing the HCHO-based adhesive in production environmentally friendly agro-based composites

Recently, green products are essential requirements. This work deals with synthesizing novel formaldehyde-scavenger based on black liquor to enhance the urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesive for production of eco-friendly bio-composites. These HCHO-scavengers are synthesized from black liquor-based aerogel precursors. The assessment is carried out via estimating the HCHO adsorption capacities versus type of black liquor; as well as its beneficial effect on characterization of UF adhesive (Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)-curing temperature; gel time and adhesive strength). The UF-scavenger system, which provides palm fiber-composite with properties (static bending, internal bond, and free-HCHO) compliance with the standard specifications is optimized. The data evidenced the effective role of black liquor (BL) from alkali pulping RS in presence of borohydride in resulting aerogel precursor of scavenger with higher HCHO-adsorption capacities (∼64 mg/g) than that produced from native aerogels (AG) in absence of BL. The kinetic adsorption is most applicable with the pseudo-second order equation. This observed behavior reflected on reducing the gel time and improved the bond strength of scavenger (Scv)-UF systems. It is interesting to note that all investigated BL-scavengers provide reduction in free HCHO of palm composites (from 30.7 mg/100g to 5–11 mg/g). These values are lower than that obtained from scavengers in absence of BLs (17.4 mg/100g). Based on the value of free-HCHO and mechanical properties, we recommend the scavenger resulted from black liquor of alkali pulping RS in presence of anthraquinone and borohydride (NaOH-AQ-BH) of screened RS as effective scavenger to provided eco-palm-wood composites with MOR, MOE, IB, free-HCHO and thickness swelling ∼ 27 MPa, 0.72 MPa, 7157 MPa, 7 % and 11 %, respectively. According to international standard specifications this type of palm-composite fulfills the grade H-3 and E1 according to environmental specification.

Effect of Advanced Chemical Treatments on the Tensile and Bending Properties of Date Palm Composites

Effect of Advanced Chemical Treatments on the Tensile and Bending Properties of Date Palm Composites

Revealing the Mechanism of Ink Flaking from Surfaces of Palm Leaves (Corypha umbraculifera).

Palm leaves are the primary literary support in South and Southeast Asia before the widespread use of paper. However, palm leaf manuscripts face the threat of information loss due to the persistent issue of ink flaking during long-term preservation. Herein, we focus on studying the botanical structure, surface properties, and surface composition of palm leaves to gain an insightful understanding of the mechanism of ink flaking. According to the surface energy analysis, the surface of palm leaves is dominated by the dispersive component due to the presence of hydrophobic substances, resulting in the weak interaction between the handwriting and palm leaves. Moreover, the accumulation of silicon on palm leaves creates a "cuticle-silicon double layer", leading to a dense structure that hinders deep ink absorption. These two main reasons are considered to cause the ink flaking easily, which is further proven by the ink flaking test with the simulated palm leaf manuscripts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in-depth technical study on the adhesion performance of handwriting on plant leaves. This work also provides a theoretical basis for the study of the deterioration, adhesive repair, enhancement of flexibility, handwriting reinforcement, and beyond, which contributes to the conservation of precious palm leaf manuscripts.

Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the Mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis L.)

The dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis) is an important Mediterranean species traditionally used against different diseases and further developed in some local factories. The aim of the present review is to detail the traditional uses of dwarf palm, its phytochemical composition, and pharmacological activities. Scientific research databases were used to collect all published data on the plant, namely: Google-Scholars, Medline, Science-Direct, Scopus, Sci-Finder, Web of Science. Several combinations of research terms have been used including the different aspects to be explored by this study. Botany, ecology, distribution, taxonomy, but mainly ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the Mediterranean dwarf palm were explored. It was found that the majority of medicinal uses of dwarf palm are mainly known and practiced in North Africa, including its use against diabetes and gastrointestinal diseases. Conversely, non-medicinal uses are mainly known in the Mediterranean part of Europe, where the plant is used mostly as ornaments, nutrition and crafts. The chemical composition of drawf palm appears to be quite rich in steroids, flavonoids, volatile oils, triterpenoids, fatty acids and vitamins. Several links between the traditional medicinal uses of the plant, its chemical composition and the pharmacological properties have been explored and discussed in this review, in particular the uses against pulmonary, urinary infections, diabetes, gastric problems, kidneys, skin and hair loss as well as its ethno-veterinary use. C. humilis is a Mediterranean plant that has long been used by the local populations of the Mediterranean basin. However, there is a paucity in the exploration of this plant, both ethnobotanically and pharmacologically. This study identified gaps in the known data on this species, and presents several findings to show its value to the fields of ethnobotany and phytochemistry. Several ethnobotanical uses need to be justified on the pharmacological level. There are still some unknown uses and proprieties of the plant that must be investigated for the purpose of fighting cancer. The conservation of this species must also be reinforced due to the reduction of its natural populations across the Mediterranean basin.

Nutritional quality of selected commercially available seed oils and effect of storage conditions on their oxidative stability.

The primary objective of this research was to investigate nutritional composition of soybean, canola, cottonseed, palm and rapeseed oils under and the effect of storage conditions on their oxidative stability. Nutritional quality of selected seed oils was determined in term of fatty acids, tocopherols and tocotrienols compositions, total phenolic, total flavonoids and mineral contents. High resolution gas chromatography (HR-GC) analysis showed the presence of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids having range from 9.21-43.25, 27.01-58.87 and 29.23-57.75 g/100g, respectively in all the oils. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed that γ-tocopherol was the major tocopherol followed by α-tocopherol in most of the oils. Spectrophotometric analysis showed that the total phenolic contents were 2.84-14.44 mg/g of oil, measured as gallic acid equivalent and total flavonoid contents were 0.44-1.56 mg/g of oil, measure as quercetin equivalent. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrophotometer analysis revealed that Mg, Fe and Mn were present in higher concentration ranging from 57.14-114.85, 126.87-460.06 and 106.85-538.39 μg/ml respectively. For study the effect of various storage conditions on the oxidation parameters, free fatty acid, peroxide value, para-anisidine value, conjugated dienes and trienes values were determined and ranging from 0.48-1.65, 10.65-40.15 meq/kg, 9.98-33.30, 8.74-28.41 and 3.86-15.02, respectively after 90 days storage. Statistical analysis revealed that various storage conditions exerted significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on the oxidative stability of selected oils to different extent.

Decomposition, biochemical composition and nutrient cycling of macauba palm in a Cerrado Entisol

Decomposition, biochemical composition and nutrient cycling of macauba palm in a Cerrado Entisol

Micromechanical Characterization of Continuous Fiber Date Palm Composites

ABSTRACT Date palm fiber composites with aligned, continuous fibers and epoxy matrix were prepared and mechanically characterized using micromechanical models. A hydrothermal process with microwave heating was utilized to extract the date palm frond (midrib) fibers, making the process eco-friendly as opposed to the commonly reported chemical extraction method. Single fibers were then characterized and found to have an average elastic modulus and ultimate tensile strength of 17.1 ± 1.5 GPa and 333 ± 27.4 MPa, respectively. Interfacial shear strengths ranging between 6 and 12 MPa were determined using a single-fiber pull-out test. Fibers were aligned to make uniaxial tensile samples with volume fraction ranging from 11% to 56%, elastic modulus ranging from 1.72 GPa to 9.52 GPa and ultimate tensile strengths ranging from 16.9 MPa to 43.8 MPa. All the results were found to obey “Rule of Mixtures” theory. The composite’s mechanical properties are similar to or exceeding those of the commercially available wood products such as medium density fiberboard, oriented strand board, thick particle board, hard fiber board, and plywood, making the hydrothermal approach with microwave heating as a promising approach for preparation of date palm composites and further opens up similar process pathway for other natural fibers.

Effect of hybridization on mechanical and water absorption properties of short palmyra palm leaf stalk/carbon fibers reinforced polyester composites

AbstractRecently, there has been interest in the development of hybrid composites for diverse industrial applications. In this aspect, this paper explores the mechanical (tensile, flexural, impact, and dynamic mechanical analysis) and water (distilled and seawater) absorption properties of palmyra palm leaf stalk/carbon fiber‐based composites. Hybrid composites with various reinforcement weight ratios were manufactured for the experiment employing the compression molding procedure. To analyze the hybridization effect, composites with a single reinforcement were also produced and evaluated. The results demonstrated that adding carbon fiber to palmyra fiber in the matrix enhances the composites' overall mechanical properties. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) was used to assess the broken surface of mechanically tested composites to better comprehend the failure causes. The findings of the moisture absorption test have shown that using carbon fiber in composites reduces moisture absorption due to their hydrophobic behavior. In addition, the specimens dipped in seawater absorbed more water due to the higher pH value of seawater and gained more weight due to salt deposition. The results of this study indicate that the hybrid composite formulation P25C75 exhibits a balance between its mechanical properties and environmental resilience, making it a possible lightweight material for structural applications.Highlights Various properties of palmyra palm/carbon hybrid composites were investigated. Addition of carbon fibers to palmyra palm composites enhanced their properties. Hybrid composites exhibit better‐damping property. Performance, environmental effect, and cost are balanced in hybrid composites.

Uso da espectroscopia no infravermelho próximo para previsão da composição químico-bromatológica de palma forrageira

Four varieties of forage palm (Gigant, Hand of Maiden or Ipa sertânea, Sweet, Little and Ear of elephant mexican) collected in three states of Northeastern Brazil, were read in natura and pre-dried and ground in a NIR Perten DA 7250 instrument. Models for in natura samples showed satisfactory performance for dry matter and crude protein. Better model deviation performance was given for dry matter for samples in natura, dry matter and crude protein, insoluble fiber in acid detergent and in vitro digestibility of dry matter for samples pre-processed. NIR technology can be used to predict the bromatological chemical composition of forage palm. The pre-processing of the sample proved to be efficient, increasing the robustness of the models for the evaluated nutrients, with the exception of crude protein and dry matter, whose performances were considered as models of excellence, even for the in natura sample.

Phytochemical screening and proximate composition of bitter kola (Garcinia kola) and oil palm (Elaeis guinensis) syrup

The rising cases of diet-related diseases such as obesity, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, inflammatory diseases, diabetes mellitus and cancer have stimulated interest in the use of plant-based food as an alternative to synthetic food. G. kola and palm syrup are plant-based food with proven nutritional and health benefits. In the present study, phytochemical and proximate analysis of (Elaies guineensis) syrup, bitter kola Garcinia kola). Preliminary phytochemical screening, proximate analysis and mineral analysis were conducted. The aqueous extracts of palm syrup, cola seeds and their infusion were further subjected to highperformance liquid chromatography analysis to determine the phenolic compounds, organic acids and sugar composition of the extracts. Result of preliminary phytochemical screening, mineral composition, as well as phenolic compound and organic acid indicate that Garcinia kola, and palm syrup are nutritionally suitable. Results show that the proximate analysis of oil palm syrup and bitter kola shows high concentrations of crude protein (9.52), ash (4.02), crude fibre (12.23), and fat (15.01) compare to palm syrup (P< 0.05). While palm syrup showed high concentrations of Moisture content (34.50) and Carbohydrates (61.67). while The Oil palm syrup contained saponins, glycoside and flavonoids. While Bitter kola had a wider range of phytochemicals including the above-mentioned alkaloids, tannins and terpenoids.

Revalorization of Australian royal palm (Archontophoenix alexandrae) waste as reinforcement in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for use in 3D printing pen

This study assesses the potential revaluation of solid waste from palm residues for use as reinforcement in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) matrix to develop a composite filament that is more environmentally friendly. Filaments were processed using a thermokinetic mixer and then processed by a mini extruder using different fiber loadings (5, 10, 15, and 20% wt.). The effect of the fiber contents on the morphological, chemical, and thermal properties was evaluated, and environmental analysis was performed using the life cycle assessment. For a concept-proof, the materials were printed using a 3D printing pen. Pristine ABS presented no porosity, while filament composites showed a porous structure due to fiber presence and higher fiber loading induced pores with a diameter smaller than 50 μm. ABS and filament composites presented similar FTIR spectra; however, the hydrogen-bonding coefficient indicated a better fiber-matrix interaction for the ABS/15%Palm composition, increasing 42% compared to ABS. Filament's composites presented a slight decrease in thermal stability, which does not compromise its processing temperature, while the Tg presented similar values to pristine ABS. The life cycle assessment demonstrated beneficial environmental gains with fiber inclusion, especially for agricultural land occupation and ozone depletion impact categories. The filaments were successfully printed using a 3D printing pen showing the viability of using the developed filaments, and new applications may be promoted. Thus, the revalorization of palm fibers in the ABS matrix presents a low-cost alternative for filaments production and may expand 3D printing applications with more sustainable materials that could enable new applications in the additive manufacturing area.

Evaluation of Mechanical Properties for Epoxy reinforced with palm oil /Zinc oxide composites

In this research, the effect of reinforcing epoxy resin composites with a filler derived from chopped agriculture waste from oil palm (OP). Epoxy/OP composites were formed by dispersing (1, 3, 5, and 10 wt%) OP filler using a high-speed mechanical stirrer utilizing a hand lay-up method. The effect of adding zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, with an average size of 10-30 nm, with different wt% (1,2,3, and 5wt%) to the epoxy/oil palm composite, on the behavior of an epoxy/oil palm composite was studied with different ratios (1,2,3, and 5wt%) and an average size of 10-30 nm. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and mechanical properties (tensile, impact, hardness, and wear rate) were used to examine the composites. The FTIR results show a strong interaction between ZnO and oil palm fiber and epoxy resin. Tensile strength was reduced from 22.78 MPa to 19.03 MPa for the epoxy/OP composite as the wt% of OP was increased but increased to 29.224MPa for epoxy /oil palm / 5% ZnO samples. Young modulus increased from 1.9 MPa to 4.3 MPa while elongation decreased (9.6 to 6.8 %) with the increase of wt% OP and ZnO. The impact and hardness increased for all composites between (6.94 - 10.8 KJ/m2) and between (80.8- 84.55 KJ/m2) respectively. Also, wear resistance of the epoxy/OP and epoxy/OP/ZnO samples increased with the increase of wt% OP and ZnO. This studied in order to provide a new step in the utilization of green nanoparticle fillers for sustainable and renewable structural products for biodegradability.

Water absorption and soil burial degradation of Poly (lactic) acid (PLA)/Oil palm fibres (OPF) composite.

: This research investigated the biodegradation of cellulose based PLA with oil palm composites on two sizes of fibre (0.25mm and 1.0mm). Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) was blended with oil palm fibre using twin screw extrusion technique.The use of oil palm can enhance the biodegradability of PLA since it is compostable under soil burial and easier absorb by water before disintegration for a few weeks. PLA was found to be biodegradable but rather slow in compostability unless at high temperature and humidity. In this study,the biodegradation rate was tested using soil burial and water absorption test. The samples were buried in soil and tested in aqueous water for specific duration at different pH. The higher the fibre content of 25%, the higher the weight loss and water absorption through soil burial and water absorption testing respectively . For soil burial testing, tsample PLA OPF 25% higher weight loss of 3.7% were found for sample fiber size 1.0mm as compared to 1.6% (0.25mm). While for water absorption testing, sample has different behaviour at pH 5.5, 7 and 8. The higher the fibre content, the higher water and soil burial weight loss. For bigger fibre sizes of1.0 mm, higher water absorption and mass loss reading were observed.

Pertumbuhan Batang Bawah Karet pada Beberapa Komposisi Media Tanam dalam Root Trainer

The rubber tree rootstock nursery using the root trainer method is aimed to promote root growth through the use of non-soil growing media in a special container. This technology offers the advantages of a shortened breeding process, good rooting, and ease of delivery. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the planting media composition of oil palm bunches compost, manure, rice husk, solid decanter, and Trichoderma viride on the growth of rubber rootstock under the root trainer method. The research was carried out in the greenhouse of the Sungei Putih Research Center, Indonesian Rubber Research Institute, Deli Serdang, North Sumatra in January-May 2019. The observation included plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, dry weight, and root length, and successful grafting percentage. The results indicated that the mixture of oil palm bunches compost, solid decanter, and Trichoderma viride (Te treatment) was the most potential to be developed as a planting media for rubber rootstock nursery under root trainer system. At 18 weeks after planting, the Te treatment had an average height of 82.66 + 14.27 cm with an increment rate of 3.25 + 0.81 cm/week, number of leaves 11.33 + 3.21 leaves with the increment of 0.52 + 0.20 leaves/week, stem diameter 5.29 + 0.73 mm with an increase of 0.33 + 0.05 mm/week. The Te treatment had a length and root weight of 41.97 + 2.40 cm and 1.68 + 0.77 g, respectively, with the grafting successfulness percentage of 47.37%. Besides showing good growth, these materials are also available in large and continuous quantities. The use of Trichoderma viride not only for increasing plant growth but also as a biocontrol of white root disease. Keywords: growth, growing media, Hevea brasiliensis, rootstock, root trainer

Effect of fiber content and their hybridization on bending and torsional strength of hybrid epoxy composites reinforced with carbon and sugar palm fibers

This study aims to investigate the effect of fiber hybridization of sugar palm yarn fiber with carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites. In this work, sugar palm yarn composites were reinforced with epoxy at varying fiber loads of 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt % using the hand lay-up process. The hybrid composites were fabricated from two types of fabric: sugar palm yarn of 250 tex and carbon fiber as the reinforcements, and epoxy resin as the matrix. The ratios of 85 : 15 and 80 : 20 were selected for the ratio between the matrix and reinforcement in the hybrid composite. The ratios of 50 : 50 and 60 : 40 were selected for the ratio between sugar palm yarn and carbon fiber. The mechanical properties of the composites were characterized according to the flexural test (ASTM D790) and torsion test (ASTM D5279). It was found that the increasing flexural and torsion properties of the non-hybrid composite at fiber loading of 15 wt % were 7.40% and 75.61%, respectively, compared to other fiber loading composites. For hybrid composites, the experimental results reveal that the highest flexural and torsion properties were achieved at the ratio of 85/15 reinforcement and 60/40 for the fiber ratio of hybrid sugar palm yarn/carbon fiber-reinforced composites. The results from this study suggest that the hybrid composite has a better performance regarding both flexural and torsion properties. The different ratio between matrix and reinforcement has a significant effect on the performance of sugar palm composites. It can be concluded that this type of composite can be utilized for beam, construction applications, and automotive components that demand high flexural strength and high torsional forces.

Comparison between some fertilization treatments on growth and chemical composition of Foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcate A.K. Irvine) seedlings

This experiment was held at the nursery of Hort. Res. Inst., ARC, Giza, in 2018 and 2019 seasons to clarify the consequence of fertilization with NPK mixture (2:1:2) at the rates of 2 and 4 g/plant, osmocote slow-release fertilizer at the rates of 10 and 20 g/plant and humic acid (HA) liquid fertilizer at the rates of 10 and 20 cm3/l of water on growth and chemical composition of Foxtail palm cultured in 20-cm-diameter polyethylene bags. NPK mixture and HA fertilizers were applied as a soil drench, five times with one-month interval, while osmocote was incorporated into the soil, once at commencement of the season. The results indicated that means of various vegetative and root growth parameters were significantly increased in response to the different fertilization treatments used in this study over control in most cases of the two seasons. However, the dominance was for both NPK mixture and osmocote treatments, but the upper hand was for the high rates of both (4 g NPK and 10 g osmocote per plant). On the other hand, the least improvement was achieved by HA treatments, especially when applied at a low level (10 cm3/l). A similar effect was also obtained regarding chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids, N, P and K concentrations in the leaves, with few exceptions. Thus, to obtain a picturesque pot plant of Foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata), it is recommended to fertilize with osmocote (the slow-release fertilizer active for 10 months) at 10 g/plant/season as one batch applied at beginning of the season.

Tensile attributes and material analysis of kevlar and date palm fibers reinforced epoxy composites for automotive bumper applications

Bumper beam is the most important components in the automotive sector for the passenger safety. In this work Kevlar fiber and Date palm fibers were selected as the material for bumper beam. The different weight percentages of Kevlar and date palm reinforced epoxy composites specimens were fabricated through hand lay-up method. The fabricated specimen utilised for the tensile test. The tensile test results expose the better enhancement in tensile strength and tensile modulus. Afterward, the bumper design was modelled by CATIA. The designed bumper beam structure was analysed in FEA software (ANSYS). In ANSYS, for predicting the mechanical properties of each layer, elastic properties of hybrid laminate structure were calculated from the classical laminate theory (CLT). Static and dynamic analysis of Kevlar/date palm composites were analysed and these theoretical values are compared with GMT. Subsequently, the experimental tensile test results were compared with finite element analysis.

Genomic diversity and genome-wide association analysis related to yield and fatty acid composition of wild American oil palm

Existing Elaeis guineensis cultivars lack sufficient genetic diversity due to extensive breeding. Harnessing variation in wild crop relatives is necessary to expand the breadth of agronomically valuable traits. Using RAD sequencing, we examine the natural diversity of wild American oil palm populations (Elaeis oleifera), a sister species of the cultivated Elaeis guineensis oil palm. We genotyped 192 wild E. oleifera palms collected from seven Latin American countries along with four cultivated E. guineensis palms. Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia palms are panmictic and genetically similar. Genomic patterns of diversity suggest that these populations likely originated from the Amazon Basin. Despite evidence of a genetic bottleneck and high inbreeding observed in these populations, there is considerable genetic and phenotypic variation for agronomically valuable traits. Genome-wide association revealed several candidate genes associated with fatty acid composition along with vegetative and yield-related traits. These observations provide valuable insight into the geographic distribution of diversity, phenotypic variation and its genetic architecture that will guide choices of wild genotypes for crop improvement.

Characterization of benzoyl treated sugar palm/glass fibre hybrid composites

This paper studies the influence of glass fibre addition and benzoylation treatment on the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of sugar palm composites. Glass fibre (GF) was added in various fibre ratios: 30%, 50% and 70%, related to the amount of sugar palm fibre (SPF). The results obtained revealed that the EP/30TSPF/70 G F composites exhibited the best tensile properties by increasing the tensile strength by 55.7%. For thermal analysis, the results show that EP/TSPF/GF composites had the most improvement in the initial and final degradation temperature. It can be concluded that, benzoylation treatment help improves the adhesion of the SPF to the GF and to the epoxy matrix. Glass fibre addition helps enhanced the characteristics of the SPF composites as the GF overcome the weakness of SPF. This hybrid composites show promising characteristics to be applied for non-structural application as example food tray table.

A Critical Review on Date Palm Tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Fibres and Their Uses in Bio-composites

The increasing environmental awareness and demand for utilizing waste materials have aroused the interest in utilizing agricultural wastes in developing sustainable composites for various applications. The date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is considered as the most abundant agricultural crop in the MENA region which produces around 2.6–2.8 million tons of waste, deposited annually in landfills. This paper thoroughly discusses date palm tree fibres, including fibres resources, properties and treatments required, and their composite developments. Critically reviewing the literature shows a need for interpretation of the current findings and highlights the areas that have not yet been developed and covered. Various chemical treatment methods have been adopted to pre-treat the fibre, technically and economically feasible treatments are yet to be found. Commercial production of date palm composites is still in its infancy, more efforts should be made in optimising the formulations and processing parameters. This review provides a comprehensive database and platform for researchers and industries to better determine how to utilize date palm fibres in producing more sustainable and renewable materials and how to effectively design and use date palm fibre composites for various applications.