Natural fiber reinforced thermosets

Thielemans, W. and Wool, R.P. (2004) Butyrated kraft lignin as compatibilizing agent for natural fiber reinforced thermoset composites. Composites Part A Applied Science and Manufacturing, 35,327-338. Satheesh Kumar, M.N., Mohanty, A.K., Erickson, L. and Misra, M. (2009) Lignin and its applications with polymers. Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy, 3, 1-24. 

Paiva J M F and Frollini E (2000), Natural fibers reinforced thermoset composites , in Frollini E, Leao A L and Mattoso LHC, Natural Polymers and Agrofibers Based Composites, Sao Paulo, Brazil, USP/UNESP/EMBRAPA, 229-255. 

Laminar composites are combinations of several layers of composite sheets that are bonded together. Polyolefin sandwich structures are a laminar composite. They are composed of two or more layers of polyolefin with a different material in between the layer (long fiber mat or short fiber). Sandwich panel and laminar composites are common methods for thermoset resins and thermoplastic composites. This simple method can be applied to natural fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites using the hot press method. The addition of a reinforcement material between polyolefin layers does not require extrusion or injection molding and minimizes fiber degradation [35, 36]. 

K. Adekunle, D. Akesson and M. Skrifvars, Biobased composites prepared by compression molding with a novel thermoset resin from soybean oil and a natural-fiber reinforcement ,/App/ Polym Sci, 2010,116,1759-65. 

Cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide in nature with approximately 180 billion tons produced and broken down every year (Engelhard 1995). Cellulose, which occurs as microfibrils, is the component responsible for the excellent load bearing properties of plant cell walls (for a summary for the cellulose content of the different cell wall layers, see Table 6-1). The cellulose microfibrils in wood fibers are important raw material for the pulp and paper industries, and those in cotton and hemp for the textile industries. Moreover, the renewable plant fibers have substantial potential to replace man-made fibers in fiber-reinforced thermosets and thermoplastics to produce environmentally friendly materials (Mohanty et al. 

The main aim of the work is to focus on maize fibers for reinforcement with thermosetting polymers in the process of vacuum assisted RTM and examine the prepared composite material. Natural fibers reinforced polymers have large advantages such as high specific properties, high mechanical properties, low density, low weight, and low cost. The study focused much on maize stalk based fiber its chemical and thermal properties and also its influence in thermosetting polymers. 

In recent years, natural fibers have attracted much attention as reinforcements for both thermoplastic and thermosetting polymer composites. It should be pointed out that a lot of previous work focused on developing partially biodegradable composite materials including natural fibers-reinforced nonbiodegradable matrices... 

Current research indicates that there is a growing interest in natural fibers. Natural fibers Ifom jute were tested in thermosetting and thermoplastic resins. Lignin fillers were used in phenol-formaldehyde, SBR, SBS, and S1S ° and with good results. The opportunities for applications of natural fibers in industrial products have been the subject of recent reviews. Cellulose whiskers with a high reinforcing value were obtained from wheat straw. " Wood fibers were found applicable to such diverse materials as polypropylene... 

The demand for better fuel efficiency based on the strict governmental regulations on safety and emission has led to the wide application of composites and plastics in the automotive industry in the place of the traditionally used steels [32]. Thermoplastic materials reinforced with natural fibers have reported to have excellent mechanical properties, recycling properties, etc. [33-36]. Several natural and biorenewable fibers such as wheat, isora, soybean, kenaf, straw, jute, and sisal are used in the fiber/plastic composite industry, and the use of namral fibers as reinforcements for composite has attracted many industries [37, 38]. Compared to polymer resin, polymer biocomposites that are reinforced with natural fibers have many applications due to its ease of processing, comparatively lower cost, and excellent mechanical properties [39]. For more than a decade, European car manufacturers and suppliers have been using natural fiber-based composites with thermoplastic and thermoset matrices. These biocomposites and bionanocomposites... 

Alkaline treatment or mercerization is one of the most used chemical treatments of natural fibers when used to reinforce thermoplastics and thermosets. Mercerization leads to the increase in the amoxmt of amorphous cellulose at the expense of crystalline cellulose. The important modification expected here is the removal of hydrogen bonding in the network structure. 

Typical Brazilian Lignocellulosic Natural Fibers as Reinforcement of Thermosetting and... 

Ihere is a growing trend to use natural fibers as fillers and/or reinforces in plastic composites as thermosetting and thermoplastic materials. Ihe use of lignocellulosic materials as reinforcements has received increasing attention due to the improvements that natural fibers can provide such as low density, biodegradabihty and highly specific stiffness, as well as the fact that these materials are derived from renewable and less expensive sources [11-... 

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