Effect of Alkali Treatment of Nettle Fibers on Oil Absorbency

Abstract

Nettle is a cellulosic plant fiber with a reasonably large lumen and they are a cheap, easily renewable source of fibers with the potential for oil absorbency. To the author’s best knowledge, there are no published data available on the oil absorbency behavior of alkali-treated nettle fibers. In this work, alkali treatment on nettle fibers was carried out with a view to improve their oil absorbency. The effects of treatment time, temperature, concentration, and solid: liquor ratio of nettle fibers on oil absorbency was assessed. As compared to raw nettle fibers, the oil absorbency of alkali-treated nettle fibers was considerably higher. Nettle fibers were also characterized by FTIR, TGA, SEM, and reusability tests. Oil absorbency capacity of alkali-treated nettle fibers has also been compared with other natural materials.

Keywords

• nettle
• alkali
• oil absorbency
• vegetable oil
• reusability
• cellulose material