Investigation of Physiochemical and Thermal Properties of Eichhornia Crassipes Fibers

Abstract

The physical, chemical, structural, crystallographic, thermal and surface topographical properties of fiber extracted from the steam of Eichhornia crassipes (EC) plant was characterized for the first time in this study. Physical and chemical analysis results revealed that Eichhornia crassipes fiber (ECF) has comparatively lower density (1350 kg/m3) and higher cellulose content (59.86 wt.%). The chemical functional groups and relevant chemical composition of the ECF were documented by the FTIR. The XRD results acknowledged that ECF has the crystallinity index (44.32%) and crystalline size of 5.09 nm, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimeter analysis (DSC) results of ECF exhibited that it can be thermally stable up to 200° C. All the results of ECF establish that it is a suitable substitute for the artificial fibers used as reinforcement in fiber-reinforced plastics.

Keywords

• eichhornia crassipes fiber (ecf)
• crystallinity index
• chemical functional groups
• thermal analysis
• atomic force microscopy