MERCERIZATION EFFECT ON THE MECHANICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF BANANA FIBER POLYESTER COMPOSITE

The surface modification of natural fiber is a major key in enhancing fiber properties. It aids to reduce certain weakness in the fiber such as poor surface adhesion to hydrophobic polymers, etc. Thus, in order to improve the properties of Banana Fruit Bunch Fiber (BFBF), sodium Hydroxide (Mercerization) was used to modify (treat) BFBF at constant concentration but at various treatment time (1-3hours). The result showed that maximum tensile strength and impact strength of the treated fiber were 7.918MPa and 82.184j/m, both at 3hours optimum soaking time, while their untreated gave 7.204MPa and 84.421j/m respectively. The maximum flexural strength and modulus of the treated fiber gave 83.092MPa and 6416.54MPa, both at 1hour optimum soaking time, and their untreated were 30.515MPa and 3708.506MPa respectively. The maximum Bundle Fiber Tensile Strength and Water Absorption of the treated fiber was 30.648MPa and 3.379%, both at 3hours and their untreated were 78.518MPa and 1.455% respectively. Also, the maximum density of the treated fiber was 1145.871g/cm at 2hours, while the untreated gave 1099.860g/cm. The method used for composite preparation is Hand Lay-up method. The SEM result showed a better fibermatrix surface adhesion of the treated fiber than the untreated. The TGA/DTA results showed improvement in the thermal stability of the composite at 450C. The XRD test also showed greater percentage crystallinity of the fibers. These results showed that NaOH treatment improved the property of banana fibers at different optimum soaking time. Thus, it is established that alkali treatment can be used for the improvement of the properties of Banana fibers for industrial applications. KeywordsBanana Fruit Bunch Fiber (BFBF), Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Thermo-gravimetric Analysis (TGA), X-Ray Diffraction(XRD).