Thermogravimetric Analysis of Natural Fibers

1 Thermal Degradation of the Main Components of the Lignocellulosic Fibers 

The thermal stability of lignocellulosic fibers used as a filler or reinforcement in polymer matrix composites is of paramount importance [66-70]. The manufacturing of 

It can be found in the literature that for lignocellulosic fibers four different degradation stages occur [23, 24, 53, 66, 72]. These stages are listed and discussed in the following  

First stage related to water loss and low-molecular-weight components degradation. The physical desorption of water generally occurs at temperatures from 50 °C to 150 °C while thermal dehydration process 

However, it is interesting to note that the thermal stability was more pronounced and the main decomposition of cellulose was higher for DIP as compared to EUG and PIE specimens. This behavior may be associated with the higher crystalline index and crystallite size of cellulose for this wood. In addition, the higher crystallinity values in DIP in comparison with ITA, may indicate a more closed packaging cellulose structure that acts as a barrier and difficult the heat transfer. Moreover, there is an increase in the wood thermal stability for this specie. In a recent study, Kim et al. showed that the thermal decomposition of cellulose shifted to higher temperatures with increasing crystallinity index and crystallite size [16]. 

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