Preparation and Evaluation of Abaca and Pineapple Leaf Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Thermoplastic Composites

Ruhul A. Khan; Haydar U. Zaman

Abstract

Natural, biodegradable, and renewable materials are intended to take the place of synthetic ones in current research. Natural fiber composites are the subject of extensive research due to their special qualities and environmental friendliness. The fact that natural fibers are readily available, manageable, and biodegradable makes them advantageous. Evaluation of the changes in the mechanical properties of polypropylene reinforced with chopped pineapple leaf and abaca fiber is the objective of the current study. The effect of the fiber's composition, ratio, and chemical processing on its mechanical properties was also looked at. Abaca and pineapple leaves are two examples of the many sources of fiber in Bangladesh. Chemically, 5% sodium hydroxide was used to cure both pineapple leaf and abaca fiber. Compression molding was used to create sporadic and discontinuous hybrid polypropylene composites reinforced with pineapple leaf and abaca fiber. The proportion of pineapple leaf fibers to abaca fibers varied from 3:1 to 1:1 to 1:3. The fiber loading percentages were 5, 10, 15, and 20%. When polypropylene was reinforced with 5 wt% pineapple leaf and abaca fiber at a ratio of 3:1, the best set of mechanical properties were reached. However, fiber reinforced composites that had had a sodium hydroxide treatment fared better in terms of their mechanical properties than composites that had not.