Analysis of Ethylene Glycol Degumming Process and Characterization of Hemp Fibers

To overcome the shortcomings of traditional degumming process,an efficient and environmentally friendly ethylene glycol(EG) degumming process was adopted to degum hemp fibers.The surface morphology,chemical composition,chemical structures,and mechanical properties of the fiber samples were analyzed to explore the mechanism of the degumming process.It was found that the EG degumming process could be divided into the main degumming stage(heating) and the supplementary degumming stage(insulation).The removal rates of hemicellulose and lignin in the main degumming stage were 70.56% and 60.17%,respectively.In the supplementary degumming stage,9.95% hemicellulose and 25.39% lignin were removed.It is confirmed that EG can separate hemp fibers effectively with less damage,which holds great potential for the biomass fiber separation technology.

Morphological, mechanical and thermal properties of cyanate ester/benzoxazine resin composites reinforced by silane treated natural hemp fibers

This present study deals with the reinforcement of thermosetting resin blends composed of cyanate ester(CE) and benzoxazine(BOZ) resins with natural hemp fibers(NHFs). These NHFs were initially treated by using a silane coupling agent(SCA) in order to chiefly enhance their distributions as well as adhesions within the CE/BOZ resin matrix,then incorporated with various weight amounts ranging from 5 wt% to 20 wt% with a regular interval of 5 wt%. The obtained results showed that at the maximum treated fiber loading(20 wt%), distinctive enhancements in the mechanical properties in terms of flexural strength and microhardness were obtained. Besides, the thermal stability and glass transition temperature(Tg) were appreciably enhanced and were higher than those of the pure CE/BOZ resin properties. With respect to the astonishing properties of the NHFs, these enhancements could be possibly due to the good dispersion and adhesion of the treated NHFs inside the CE/BOZ resin achieved upon using the SCA. Therefore,we believe herein that these renewable and cheap NHFs have considerable potential to be used as reinfocer materials for CE/BOZ resin composites to be used in various industrial sectors.

Effect of Different Pretreatments on Solubility of Hemp Fibers in Ionic Liquids

Hemp fibers were treated with different pretreatments before being put into ionic liquid dissolved systems. NaOH,HCI,N,N-dimethylacetamide（ DMAc） solution and ultrasonic were utilized to activate fibers. Scanning electron microscopy（ SEM）,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（ FTIR） and X-ray diffraction（ XRD） were used to analyze the morphological and molecular structures of the fiber before and after activation for the comparative analysis. The pretreated fibers were dissolved and the dissolving process of fibers were observed until they were dissolved completely. Experimental studies found that NaOH solution made fibers crystal form change from cellulose Ⅰ to cellulose Ⅱ,and others didn＇t have this kind of change. By comparison,fibers treated by DMAc solution worked best, various methods which affected solubility could be sorted roughly as follows： DMAc ＆gt; ultrasonic ＆gt;HCI ＆gt; NaOH ＆gt; untreated.

The Manufacture of Structured Flax/Hemp Fiber Thermoplastic Composites and Its Flexural Properties

Flax and hemp fibers were used as reinforcing materials to commingle with polypropylene(PP)fiber to realize the mixture of two materials at the stage of yarn.Meanwhile,PP filaments were introduced to produce a core-spun yarn with flax/PP as core and PP filament as outer sheath.The commingled yarns were woven into 2D fabric which was used as the prefabricated material.The composite laminates were prepared by hot press technology.The effects of manufacture technology,yarn structure,and fiber weight fraction on flexural properties of composites were investigated.