Invited Review

Journal of Reinforced Plastics

and Composites

A review on the sustainability 2016, Vol. 35(1) 3–7

! The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0731684415611974
reinforcement – A practical perspective jrp.sagepub.com

O Adekomaya, T Jamiru, R Sadiku and Z Huan

Abstract
Fiber reinforced composites have been used in several applications for several years and the market is continuously
growing. It is known that the addition of fibers for reinforcing of matrix has advantages, especially the mechanical
properties of the composites. Environmental and economic concerns are stimulating new research in the development
of sustainable fiber for reinforcing polymer matrix. Particularly attractive are new materials in which a good part is based
on natural and renewable resources, hence aggravating the environmental concerns that may result in the depletion and
dwindling of wood resources from forest. This assessment report provides detailed world production of natural fiber and
the inherent looming danger envisaged if attention is not shifted from its continuous usage. It has been stated that natural
fibers are renewable and sustainable, but they are in fact, neither i.e. living plants are renewable and sustainable, from
which natural fibers are taken, but not the fibers themselves. The US market reports that the composite market was
2.7 billion pounds sterling in 2006 and it is estimated to reach 3.3 billion pound sterling by 2012 with a 3.3% annual
growth. Natural fiber market in the US experienced a 13% growth rate (275 million kilograms) between 1994 and 2004
and the demand for the natural fibers continues to rise. The average global annual market growth for natural fibers
between 2003 and 2007 was 38%, while Europe saw the highest annual growth rate of 48%. This market was estimated at
0.36 million metric ton in 2007 and it is expected to reach 3.45 million metric ton in 2020. Fiber reinforced market is a
multibillion dollar business and the natural fiber composites take a fair part of it.

Keywords
Environment, sustainability, natural fiber

reported significant progress in the laboratory scale

Introduction
Natural fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites have
successfully proven their high qualities in various fields
of engineering application. Over the past two decades,
natural fibers have received considerable attention as a
substitute for synthetic fiber reinforcements in plastics.
As replacements for conventional synthetic fibers like
aramid and glass fibers, natural fibers are increasingly
used for reinforcement in thermoplastics due to their
low density, good thermal insulation and mechanical
properties, reduced tool wear, unlimited availability,
low price, and these application has necessitated high
global attention in these area and daily consumption of
these natural resources has aggravated environmental
concern and global issue. A lot of literature has
production and modification in the existing natural
fibers but there still a wide gap in terms of what
needed to be done to bridge the vacuum created as a
result of enormous depletion of the nature. Ecological
problems in recent decades have urged the necessity to
look for new alternatives which could replace the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built
Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
Corresponding author:
O Adekomaya, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering and Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology,
Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Email: adekomayao@tut.ac.za

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4 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 35(1)
Table 1. Natural fibers: origin and occurrence.1
Fiber Origin
Cellulose Wood, Jute, hemp bamboo, palm leaves
Textile fibers Vegetable and animal Fibers; wool, cotton, linen,
jute, hemp, sisal, coconut fiber
Dietary fibers Vegetables: e.g. oat gum, oat bran, psyllium,
pectin, soy fiber, wheat bran, cellulose
traditional fibers reinforced composites (FRCs) with
lower environment impact materials.
Natural organic fibers are a heterogeneous group of
compounds of plants or animal origin.1 Some are
majorly used in industry and some occur in food.
Table 1 shows different sources of natural fibers and
the secondary products emanating from them.
World production of natural fiber
The aim of the natural fibers production in the different
countries is to use several strategies toward bringing
income and labour positions to the countrymen and
women. These points have been under discussion in
several countries. Leão et al.2 presented a position
paper on the sustainability of natural fibers, mainly
abaca. This paper focussed on new opportunities ema-
nating from increase demand by the car makers in
applying natural fibers in their parts. Several crop
fibres have been developed in Brazil for reinforcing pur-
poses. For the automotive industry, which requires
large quantities with uniform quality, the alternatives
are sisal (170,000 ton/yr.). For South America, the
alternatives are fique in Colombia, abaca in equator,
flax in Argentina and curaua in Venezuela. It must be
understood by the target countries of drugs, is that crop
fibre can be an economic alternative to coca in the
Andes region, therefore an instrument of land
reform and drug reduction plantations. This new
exploits has brought a wide gap in the replenishment
of these natural resources as daily discovery and
application of these fibres have depleted the reserve
thereby bringing the World to a dire agony of global
warming.3
Several companies have a strong program which
makes them apply natural fibers based components in
their products. This is noticeable in some companies
like Volkswagen do Brazil, DaimlerChrysler, General
Motorsdo Brazil. Some of the natural fibers currently
being used are Pematec (curaua), Toro (sisal, coir and
jute), Incomer (sisal and jute), Ober (jute, curaua),
Indaru (jute and sisal), Antolin (imported kenaf,).
Table 2 shows a detailed world production of natural
fibers and it is evident that fibers are being exploited
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Products
Paper, cardboard, binder in cement-based building
boards and reinforced plastics
Textiles
Naturally occurring in foods, used as additives in
food to promote health
daily and efforts need to be sustained to replenish the
quantum being utilized.
Although Brazil is nowadays world biggest producer
of natural fibers, with about 200 thousand hectares of
planted area, accounting for the production of about
175,000 tons per year of fiber, since the decade of 1980s
its production tends to dwindle because efforts are not
deployed to grow this business, lack of incentives result-
ing in the Brazilian fiber low prices in the external
market; the low technological level of the sector, and
non-existence of integrated research and extension pro-
grams. The cultivation using traditional systems, with
low return on investments have resulted in workers
under high degree to the occupational risks.
Environmental concern
and human impact
In December 2004, the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) Intergovernmental Group on
Hard Fibres and on Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibres,
thought of calling for a United Nations International
Year dedicated to natural fibers. The purpose was to
focus world’s attention on the role that natural fibers
play in contributing to food security and poverty
alleviation. After extensive preparations by the FAO,
the UN General Assembly declared 2009 as the
International Year of Natural Fibres.4 The
International Steering Committee set up in 2005 to
guide the activities of the IYNF, adopted a definition
of natural fibers as ‘‘those renewable natural fibres of
plant or animal origin which can be easily transformed
into a yarn for textiles’’. This definition, by limiting to
‘‘yarn for textiles’’, does not do justice to the enormous
diversity of products natural fibers can produce, like, in
addition to textiles for clothing, strings, ropes, paper,
and to strengthen building materials, etc. These are
other application currently explored in the usage of
Natural fibers.
Addition of more value to natural fibers by convert-
ing fibers to products is also a common practice.5 Jute,
for instance, is a natural fiber, grown in a crop rotation
system with rice/vegetables, providing the farmers with
a profitable crop all year round. Jute is biodegradable.6
Adekomaya et al. 5

Table 2. Natural fibers production and their producers. improved fiber-matrix adhesion as reported in the lit-
erature. Frequently used physical reagent are corona
World production
and plasma treatment while chemical additives mostly
Fiber (103 ton) Largest producers
cited in literature include silane, alkaline, acetylation,
Bast maleated coupling and enzyme treatment as affirmed by
Flax 830 Canada, France, Belgium the author.2 Growth and utilization of natural fibers is
Hemp 214 China, France, Philippines a socially responsible venture, supporting livelihoods of
Jute 2300 India, China, Bangladesh millions of small-scale farmers and low-income work-
Kenaf 970 India, Bangladesh, USA ers.8 The jute industry in India, for instance, the biggest
Ramie 100 China, Brazil, Philippines, India in the world, provides direct employment to about 0.26
Leaf million workers and supports the livelihood of around
Abaca 70 Philippines, Ecuador, Costa Rica 4 million farm families. Bangladesh in 2008 produced
Curaua >1 Brazil, Venezuela 931,000 tons of jute, involving 750,000 farmers, 145 jute
Pineapple 74 Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia
mills, and a total work force of 2.5 million.3
Fernando et al.9 conducted an extensive study on the
Sisal 378 Tanzania, Brazil
environmental aspects of bast Ebers crop production
Seed
and use, through the analysis of the crop’s interaction
Coir 100 India, Sri Lanka
with its environment, management practices and pro-
Cotton 25,000 China, India, USA
cessing options. In addition, several bio based chains
Oil Palm 40 Malaysia, Indonesia were considered in the analysis. Assessment of data
Grass retrieved from literature was supplemented with results
Bagasse 75,000 Brazil, India, China obtained from national and international organizations
Bamboo 30,000 India, China, Indonesia such as the Food and Agriculture Organization. This
study came up with global energy requirement in terms
of natural fibers materials and residues used to produce
All parts of the jute plant are useful: leaves for food, energy at the end of life cycle of these fibers. This is
husk for firewood, and the pith to make the fiber. Jute illustrated in Figure 1.
bags are reusable, with a life of approximately 3–4 years. More than 60% of the world’s cotton is grown in
Jute bags have one of the lowest carbon footprints of China, India, and Pakistan, where it is cultivated
all available reusable bags, largely due to the manual mainly by small farmers and its sale provides the pri-
processes involved in their production. Jute scores mary source of income of some 100 million rural house-
equally well in water footprint. Nearly all growth in holds.10 An estimated 1.5–2 million small farms in West
the world population of about 2.3 billion people, and Central Africa grow cotton with about 10 million
between 2009 and 2050, is forecast to take place in the people employed in the region’s cotton sector. Raw
developing countries. Large numbers of people living in cotton with about 50% of exports is vital to the econo-
these countries are dependent on agriculture, while they mies of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Togo.11
also cherish an improved quality of life.
Faruk et al.4 embarked on comprehensive literature
review on natural fibers with emphasis on environment
Replacement strategy
and sustainability issues, the study explained that the During the first part of the last century, efforts are
greatest challenge in working with natural fiber rein- geared toward developing a more viable means of
forced plastic composites is their large variation in replacing the usage of natural fibers and this is noticed
properties and characteristics. Nayak et al.7 reported by the alternative application of synthetic fiber in vari-
that a bio-composite’s properties are influenced by a ous facets of life. Natural fibers are being displaced by
number of variables, including the fiber type, environ- synthetic, man-made materials such as polyester,
mental conditions (where the plant fibers are sourced), acrylic, and nylon. These materials are much cheaper
processing methods, and any modification of the fiber. and easier to manufacture in bulk, and easily create
It is also known that recently there has been a surge of uniform colours, lengths, and strengths of materials
interest in the industrial applications of composites that can be adjusted according to specific requirements.
containing bio fibers reinforced with biopolymers. Synthetic materials like fibers and plastics with their
The overall characteristics of reinforcing fibers used in products like synthetic fabrics and acrylic carpets
biocomposites, including source, type, structure, com- have successfully taken over the markets, which were
position, as well as mechanical properties, will till then a domain of natural fibers and materials.
greatly affect matrix reinforcement. Moreover, chemi- In just over 15 years (1939–1954), the percentage of
cal treatment of natural fiber appears to have recorded American women who preferred silk hosiery dropped

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6 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 35(1)
Figure 1. Global warming potential of selected natural fibers.9
down from 93% to 0.2%, while nylon went up from
around 5% to 98.7%.12 The production of synthetic
materials, however, is a strong contributor to carbon
emissions and waste.13 According to the United
Nations Industrial Development Organization, it is esti-
mated that every person in the world is responsible for
19.8 tons of carbon dioxide emissions in their lifetime,
simply because the clothes include synthetic fibers.14
Materials of renewable resources on their own can
contribute toward sustainable development too, if they
are exploited in such a way that the rate of use does not
exceed the rate of renewal.15 These natural materials
are being rediscovered for applications in product
design. Agricultural fibers, like flax, hemp, sisal, etc.,
are currently receiving considerable interest in the field
of industrial applications, as a source of reinforcement
to manufacture polymer composites. This interest is
partly due to the environmental concern about syn-
thetic fiber composites. Second, they have a potential
in cost and weight reduction. They can be used as rein-
forcing fibers instead of glass fibers in composite mater-
ials.16 They have a high specific stiffness (e.g., flax has a
stiffness comparable to glass at half the density) and
natural fiber composites have non brittle fracture
behaviour, which is an advantage in automotive inter-
iors. Finally, from the view of occupational (during
assembly and handling) health and safety, natural
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fibers are preferred to glass fibers.17 Natural fibers are
less abrasive for tooling while glass in the form of air-
borne particles can cause respiratory problems. During
the last decade, the automotive sector, especially in
Germany, has responded with considerable interest in
these materials. Automotive brands such as
Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Opel,
Peugeot, Renault, and Mercedes Benz trucks have com-
ponents made of natural fiber composites.10
Conclusion
Reinforcing of matrix with natural fibers and/or bio-
polymers have developed significantly over the past
years because of their significant processing advan-
tages, biodegradability, low cost, low relative density,
high specific strength and renewable nature. The impact
on the matrix has not been fully welcome in many lit-
erature due to its conflicting outcome as discussed in
this study.
Further research is required to overcome obstacles
such as moisture absorption, inadequate toughness,
and reduced long-term stability for outdoor applica-
tions which are all major drawback to natural fibers.
Significant research is currently underway around the
world to address and overcome the obstacles mentioned
above. This effort to develop a sustainable reinforcing
Adekomaya et al.
materials with improved performance for global appli-
cations is an ongoing process.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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