Superheated Steam Treatment of Oil Palm Mesocarp Fiber Improved the Properties of Fiber-Polypropylene Biocomposite
Noor Ida Amalina Ahamad Nordin,
Hidayah Ariffin,
Mohd Ali Hassan,
Yoshihito Shirai,
Yoshito Ando,
Nor Azowa Ibrahim,
Wan Md Zin Wan Yunus
Affiliations
Noor Ida Amalina Ahamad Nordin
Universiti Putra Malaysia; Malaysia
Hidayah Ariffin
Universiti Putra Malaysia; Malaysia
Mohd Ali Hassan
Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Yoshihito Shirai
Department of Biological Functions and Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and System Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 2-4 Hibikino, Wakamatsu, Fukuoka 808-0196, Japan; Japan
Yoshito Ando
Department of Biological Functions and Engineering, Graduate School of Life Science and System Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, 2-4 Hibikino, Wakamatsu, Fukuoka 808-0196, Japan; Japan
Nor Azowa Ibrahim
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; Malaysia
Wan Md Zin Wan Yunus
Department of Defence Science, Faculty of Defence Science and Technology, National Defence University of Malaysia, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Malaysia
The effect of fiber surface modification by superheated steam (SHS) treatment and fiber content (30 to 50 wt.%) was evaluated relative to the mechanical, morphology, thermal, and water absorption properties of oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF)/polypropylene (PP) biocomposites. SHS treatment of OPMF was conducted between 190 and 230 C for 1 h, then the SHS-treated fiber was subjected to melt-blending with PP for biocomposite production. The biocomposite prepared from SHS-OPMF treated at 210 C with 30 wt.% fiber loading resulted in SHS-OPMF/PP biocomposites with a tensile strength of 20.5 MPa, 25% higher than untreated-OPMF/PP biocomposites. A significant reduction of water absorption by 31% and an improved thermal stability by 8% at T5%degradation were also recorded. Scanning electron microscopy images of fractured SHS-OPMF/PP biocomposites exhibited less fiber pull-out, indicating that SHS treatment improved interfacial adhesion between fiber and PP. The results demonstrated SHS treatment is an effective surface modification method for biocomposite production.
