Potential of Thai Bast Fibers for Injection Molded PLA Composites

Thailand has a huge variability of bast fiber plants,some of which have been little researched regarding their applicability in composites.Bast fiber(bundle)s from different species were investigated and incorporated into a polylactide(PLA)matrix by injection molding.Hemp and kenaf were used as well-studied fibers,while roselle,Fryxell and paper mulberry are less extensively characterized.Tensile strength,tensile modulus and interfacial shear strength(IFSS)of single fiber(bundle)s were highest for hemp,followed by kenaf,roselle,Fryxell and paper mulberry.Despite the lower tensile strength and IFSS of paper mulberry,the highest tensile strength was achieved for the paper mulberry/PLA composite followed by hemp/PLA.Scanning electron microscope(SEM)analyses showed that the single cells in paper mulberry fiber bundles,in contrast to the other fiber types investigated,were only partially bonded to each other,which explains the lower strength of the fiber bundles.The higher aspect ratio of fiber(bundle)s of paper mulberry in the PLA composite can explain the good composite characteristics.Apart from hemp,paper mulberry shows the best reinforcing effect in the PLA matrix and offers interesting potential for composite applications.Compared to neat PLA,the tensile strength could be increased by 24%and the tensile modulus by 54%.

Toddy Palm (Borassus Flabellifer) Fruit Fibre Bundles as Reinforcement in Polylactide (PLA) Composites: An Overview About Fibre and Composite Characteristics

Toddy palm fruit have an apparent density below 0.8 g/cm³and offer an interesting lightweight construction potential in polylactide(PLA)composites reinforced with 37 mass-%fibres.Single fibre bundles show similar mechanical properties compared with coir:tensile strength of 240 MPa,Young´s modulus of 3.8 GPa and an elongation at break of 31%.However,density and diameter(~50μm)of fruit fibre bundles are significantly lower.The compression moulded composites have a density of 0.9 g/cm³and achieved an unnotched Charpy impact strength of 12 kJ/m^(2),a tensile strength of 25 MPa,Young’s modulus of 1.9 GPa and an elongation at break of 9%.Due to the high porosity of the composites and the different stress-strain behaviour of fibre and matrix the fibre-reinforcement potential could not be fully used.Maximum stress of the composite was reached at the elongation at break of the PLA-matrix(~2%)while the fibre achieved its maximum stress at an elongation of~31%.After reaching the maximum stress of the composite,the fibres were pulled out from the matrix with low energy absorption,resulting in a decrease in stress and a limited reinforcement potential.Additionally,the study investigates whether an insect attack by the Asian fruit fly on the mesocarp has a significant influence on the mechanical fibre characteristics.The results have shown that only the rough surface of the fibre bundles is smoothed by insect infestation.The mechanical properties were not significantly affected.For this reason insect-infested fruits of the toddy palm,which are no longer suitable for food production,can be used for the production of sustainable composite materials.