Palm fibers

Palma istle, 11 296 Palm fibers, processing of, 11 298 Palmitic acid, 22 756 boiling point, 5 53t percentage in selected fats and oils, 2 519t 5 47t... 

The main by-products and wastes produced from the processing of palm oil are the empty fruit bunches (EFB), palm oil mill effluent (POME), palm fiber, and pahn kernel shell. EFB and POME have been used extensively as mutch and organic fertilizers in oil palm plantations while palm fiber and shell are used as fuel, making the palm oil mill self-sufficient in energy (Figure 23). Excess shell has been used for road surfacing in estates. 

Palm Fiber. Palm press fiber or pericarp fiber includes not only palm press fiber from the oil extraction process but also empty fruit bunches and kernel shells. Its high fiber and lignin content, comparable to wood, and low palatability limit its use in animal feed (55). It exhibits very slow digestion in the bovine rumen such that processing to increase its nutrient content is required prior to use (59). Supplementation with molasses, urea, and vitamins allows palm press fiber to be... 

R. Kahraman, S. Abbasi, and B. Abu-Sharkh. Influence of Epolene G-3003 as a coupling agent on the mechanical behavior of palm fiber-polypropylene composites. Int. J. Polym. 

Aromatic vinyl monomer based Conjugated diene based Adhesives for palm fibers, bedding Mori et al. JP 08269274, 1995 Nippon Zeon... 

Polyethylene (LDPE) Palm fiber Construction and consumer [15]... 

Polypropylene Date palm fiber Automotive industry [16]... 

Figure 6.10 depicts the morphology of POCs reinforced with date palm fiber (DPF) and Mg(OH)2 added as flame retardant. The SEM micrograph shows the stmcrnre of (a) pure MgOH flame retardant as filler, (b) natural fiber as a reinforcement material in PO matrix, and (c) distribution of MgOH in PO matrix. Figure 6.11 shows the use of POCs with fire retardant filler. 

Fig. 6.10 Shows a microsize Mg(OH)2 flakes b date palm fiber-reinfoiced PO matrix filled with...

M. Asadzadeh, M.R. Khalili, R. EslamiFarsani, S. Rafizadeh, Bending properties of date palm fiber and jute fiber reinforced polymeric composite. Int J. Adv. Des. Manuf. Technol. 5, 59-63 (2012)... 

Al-Oqla, F.M. and Sapuan, S.M. (2014) Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites in industrial applications feasibility of date palm fibers for sustainable automotive industry. / Cleaner Prod, 66, 347-354. 

The effect of fiber surface modification on the mechanical performance of oil palm fiber is shown in Table 4.9. 

Sreekala MS, Kumaran MG, Joseph S et al (2000) Oil palm fiber reinforced phenol formaldehyde composites influence of fiber surface modifications on the mechanical performance. Appl Comp Mater 7 295-329... 

Sreekala MS, Kumaran MG, Thomas S (2002) The mechanical performance of hybrid phenol-formaldehyde-based composites reinforced with glass and oil palm fibers. Compos Sci Technol 62 339 353... 

Chapter 5 summarizes the investigation of lignocellulosic flax fiber-based reinforcement requirements to obtain structural and complex shape polymer composites. This chapter discusses in detail the possibility of forming complex shape structural composites which are highly desirable for advanced applications. Chapter 7 focuses on the structure and properties of cellulose-based starch polymer composites, while Chapter 8 focuses on the spectroscopic analysis of rice husk and wheat gluten husk-based polymer composites using computational chemistry. Chapter 9 summarizes the processing, characterization and properties of oil palm fiber-reinforced polymer composites. In this chapter, the use of oil palm as reinforcement in different polymer matrices such as natural rubber, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyester, phenol formaldehyde, polystyrene, epoxy and LLDPE is discussed. Chapter 10 also focuses on... 

Ismail et al. [26] reported the effects of concentration and modification of surface in oil palm fiber-reinforced rubber composite. After modification of the fiber surface, the physical properties of the oil palm fiber/rubber composites increased. Although the tensile strength decreased with the increase of concentration of oil palm fiber, the modulus and hardness increased. Moreover, modification of surface improved the adhesion between fiber and rubber, as observed under scanning electron microscope. 

Yusoff et al. [30] reported the mechanical properties of oil palm fiber/epoxy. The fiber used was in the form of short random fibers. A hand lay-up technique was conducted to produce 5,10,15, and 20% fiber by volume. A decreasing trend of tensile and flexural properties was reported as fiber loading increased. 

Khalil et at [36] studied the combination of oil palm fiber and glass fiber as hybrid composite in polyester matrix. Hybrid laminate composites with different weight ratio were prepared to study the hybrid effect of glass and EFB fibers on the physical and mechanical properties of the composites. Generally, the hybrid composites showed better properties as compared to EFB/polyester composites without glass fiber. 

In order to explore more properties beside mechanical properties, Yousif et at [38] determined the tribological performance of oil palm fiber/polyester composites. It was reported that the existence of oil palm fiber in the matrix improved the wear properties by up to four times compared to unfilled polyester. The friction coefficient of the composite was less by about 23% than that of unfilled polyester. In terms of wear mechanisms, there was debonding, bending and tear of fibers, and high deformation in the resinous region was observed. 

We can see that there have been many efforts to study oil palm fibers with various matrices and various treatments. However, the properties are still limited and cannot compete with the synthetic fibres. Further development is still needed before the composites can face the competition in the market. Some issues that have not been well studied and need further work regarding fiber and its composites are [24] ... 

This presents both a challenge and opportunity for researchers who are working toward a conclusive outcome regarding the properties of oil palm fiber and its... 

Z. Leman, S.M. Sapuan, M. Azwan, M.M.H.M. Ahmad, Maleque, The effect of environmental treatments on fiber surface properties and tensile strength of sugar palm fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. Polym. Plast. Technol. Eng. 47(6), 606-612 (2008). 

C. Hill, and H. Abdul, The effect of enviromnental exposure upon the mechanical properties of coir or oil palm fiber reinforced composites. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 77(6), 1322-1330 (2000). H. Rozman, M. Saad, and Z. Mohd Ishak, Flexural and impact properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB)-polypropylene composites—the effect of maleic anhydride chemical modification of EFB. Polym. Test. 22(3), 335-341 (2003). 

A.B.A. Hariharan, and H.A. Khahl, Lignocellulose-based hybrid bilayer laminate composite part I-studies on tensile and impact behavior of oil palm fiber-glass fiber-reinforced epoxy resin. J. Compos. Mater. 39(8), 663-684 (2005). 

H.A. Khalil, S. Hanida, G.W. Kang, and N.N. Fuaad, Agro-hybrid composite The effects on mechanical and physical properties of oil palm fiber (EFB)/glass hybrid reinforced polyester composites. J. Reinf. Plast. Compos. 26(2), 203-218 (2007). 

B. Yousif, and N. El-Tayeb, The effect of oil palm fibers as reinforcement on tribological performance of polyester composite. Surf. Rev. Lett. 14(6), 1095-1102 (2007). 

Keywords Oil palm fiber, polypropylene composites, polyurethane composites, polyester composites, polyvinyl chloride composites, phenol-formaldehyde, composites, epoxy composites, polystyrene composites, LLDPE composites... 

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