Agave fibers

Agathendisaure, /. agathenedioic acid. Agave faser, /, agave fiber, sisal. hanf, m. 

Figure 26.2 SEM micrographs of an LDPE-agave fiber interface for 10 wt% (a) and 20 wt% (b) of fiber composition.

Recently, WPCs have been used as carriers for biopolymers and microorganisms (Fig. 26.4). Robledo-Ortiz et al. [50] used a composite material of recycled HDPE and agave fibers for bacterial immobilization. According to the results reported, the natural adhesion of Pseudomonas putida FI onto the composite surface is strongly affected by temperature, pH, ionic strength, and initial biomass concentration. Vdzquez et al. [51] coated the same material (agave fibers/HDPE) with chitosan to be applied in heavy-metal adsorption. These studies showed that composite materials represent an attractive low-cost recycled support for bacterial and biopolymers with potential applications in biotechnological and environmental cleanup processes. 

Robledo-Ortiz JR, Ramirez-Arreola DE, Gomez C, Gonzalez-Reynoso O, Gonzalez-Nunez R. Bacterial immobilization by adhesion onto agave fiber/polymer foamed composites. Bioresour Technol 2010 101(4) 1293. 

Fibers collected from seeds or seed cases, e.g. cotton and kapok Fibers collected from leaves, e.g. fique, sisal, banana and agave Fibers are collected from the skin or bast surrounding the stem of their respective plant. These fibers have higher tensile strength than other fibers. Therefore, these fibers are used for durable yam, fabric, packaging, and paper. Some examples are flax, jute, kenaf, industrial hemp, ramie, rattan, and vine fibers. 

Composites of banana, hemp, and agave with high-density polyethylene resin were separately prepared in different ratios 60 40, 55 45, 50 50, and 45 55 (wt/wt). These fibers were also treated with maleic anhydride, and the effect of maleic anhydride on surface resistivity and volume resistivity of wood polymer composites was studied. The surface resistivity decreased with an increase in fiber content in the composites, while volume resistivity increased. The maximum surface resistivity and volume resistivity were observed in the untreated banana fiber composite, while minimum surface resistivity and volume resistivity were found in the maleic anhydride-treated agave fiber composite. The decrement in volume resistivity and surface resistivity was due to the increase in cross-linking between the polymer and fiber by treatment with maleic anhydride. 

Figure 19.4 Flow process of purification agave bagasse and preparation to hydrogels. In the pictures, (a) agave fibers treated with different concentration of NaOCl (0, 5 and 10 vol%) and (b) agave solutions prepared with the agave fibers treated.

LiCl and DMAc were added to the swelled agave fibers in order to adjust the concentration of the solution to 1 wt%. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 days until a viscous solution was obtained. Figure 19.4b shows pictures of the bleached fiber solution. The brown color remained depending on the NaOCl concentration, meaning that lignin components still remained in the case of lower NaOCl. 

Figure 19.7 Viscoelasticity of the swelled hydrogel films prepared with agave fibers treated with different concentration of...

REINFORCING VIRGIN, REPROCESSED OR RECYCLED POLYPROPYLENE WITH AGAVE FIBER AND A POLYMERIC COUPLING AGENT... 

Agave fibs- can be used to improve mechanical properties of polypropylene, espeeially if a coupling agent is present. Its usefulness apphes for PPv, PPr and PPp. As the agave fiber is a disearded byproduet, it ean be used to lower the production cost of useful plastie objeets in the wood/agrieultural fiber eomposites field. 

Figure 1. Impact Resistance as a fimction of fiber content for virgin, reprocessed and recycled PP, reinforced with agave fiber, with or without coupling agent. T=23°C.

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