• Carbon letters
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.131-137
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• 2011

Kenaf fibers, cellulose-based natural fibers, were used as precursor for preparing kenafbased carbon fibers. The effects of carbonization temperature ($700^{\circ}C$ to $1100^{\circ}C$) and chemical pre-treatment (NaOH and $NH_4Cl$) at various concentrations on the thermal change, chemical composition and fiber morphology of kenaf-based carbon fibers were investigated. Remarkable weight loss and longitudinal shrinkage were found to occur during the thermal conversion from kenaf precursor to kenaf-based carbon fiber, depending on the carbonization temperature. It was noted that the alkali pre-treatment of kenaf with NaOH played a role in reducing the weight loss and the longitudinal shrinkage and also in increasing the carbon content of kenaf-based carbon fibers. The number and size of the cells and the fiber diameter were reduced with increasing carbonization temperature. Morphological observations implied that the micrometer-sized cells were combined or fused and then re-organized with the neighboring cells during the carbonization process. By the pre-treatment of kenaf with 10 and 15 wt% NaOH solutions and the subsequent carbonization process, the inner cells completely disappeared through the transverse direction of the kenaf fiber, resulting in the fiber densification. It was noticeable that the alkali pre-treatment of the kenaf fibers prior to carbonization contributed to the forming of kenaf-based carbon fibers.

• 한국자원식물학회지
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• 제35권6호
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• pp.820-824
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• 2022

Ecologically sustainable means of development is the point to support environmental homeostasis. One of our roles is to find bio-degradable resources that can be substituted for petroleum-based products to effectively abide by the natural viability. To counter the issues of deforestation and preserve biodiversity, it is necessary to produce a non-wood crop that can fulfill the requirement for raw material from which several products can be produced. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus), a member of the family Malvaceae, is showing sufficient potentiality along this road-map. Due to its rich fiber content, it has been used extensively in various fields for long, probably as early as 4,000 BC. At present, kenaf has been used as provider of paper, plastics, fiber glass, biofuel, activated carbon and epoxy composite. This obviously catch one's attention towards its capability to replace petroleum-based products as a whole. Moreover, the plant shows considerable relevance in decreasing pollutants by virtue of its enormous absorption capacity. These multiple applications of kenaf justify its credibility to be the best resource for the better world. The paper presents an overview on its numerous uses reported in the literature that we have investigated and its great potential as a valuable multipurpose crop.

• 펄프종이기술
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.66-71
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• 2011

Biocomposites were fabricated with biodegradable polymers and natural fibers. Biocomposites have benefits of low cost, low density, and biodegradability over inorganic fiber composite, and give comparable strength properties. Hydrophobic polymer used for sizing in paper industry, AKD (Akenyl Keten Dimer), was applied to natural fibers, red algae fibers (RAF) in this study, to make fiber surfaces more compatible to hydrophobic nature of matrix polymers. Composites with RAF, kenaf, glass fibers, and carbon fibers have been fabricated by a compression molding method and their thermo-mechanical properties have been studied. Also, the thermal dimensional stability test was done from at 30 to $100^{\circ}C$. The storage moduli and the thermo-mechanical stabilities of polypropylene and poly lactic acid based biocomposites were improved by reinforcing with the RAF and much more with AKD treated fibers. Dimensional stability of biocomposite was also markedly improved by AKD pretrement on RAF.