Properties of chemically treated oil palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) fibres

• Published in: Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences
• Main Author: Ibrahim Z.; Ahmad M.; Aziz A.A.; Ramli R.; Hassan K.; Alias A.H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Penerbit Akademia Baru 2019
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85065613423&partnerID=40&md5=2779f70da2fe0d23b0692bfe470fe863

Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) fibres have been used in the production of many types of biocomposites, such as fibreboards and fibre-reinforced plastic composite. Hence, the understanding of the EFB characteristic is very important in determining the quality of the products. In this study, the physical, mechanical, anatomical and surface properties of the EFB fibres have been analysed, and the properties of two types of treated EFB fibres; 1) alkaline treated fibre, and 2) acid treated fibres were investigated. The fibres were treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and acetic acid at different concentration levels (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8%). The effects of the treatments towards the physical, chemical, mechanical and anatomical properties of EFB fibre after they were subjected to thermo-mechanical pulping (TMP) were studied along with the chemical composition, tensile strength and fibre morphology of the treated fibres. The results from the study indicated that the concentration levels of both NaOH and acetic acid had influenced the fibre properties. © 2019 Penerbit Akademia Baru.