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Effect of fiber extraction methods on some properties of kenaf bast fiber

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DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2012.12.015

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Industrial Crops and Products 46 (2013) 117–123

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Effect of fiber extraction methods on some properties of kenaf bast fiber

B. Ahmed Amel a,∗∗ , M. Tahir Paridah a,∗ , R. Sudin b , U.M.K. Anwar b , Ahmed S. Hussein c
a
Laboratory Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
b
Forest Product Division, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), 52109 Kepong Selangor, Daurl Ehsan, Malaysia
c
Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology Lab., Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia,43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different extraction methods on the fiber
Received 6 September 2012 morphology, density, chemical composition and tensile strength of kenaf bast fiber. Kena fbast fibers
Received in revised form 5 December 2012 were extracted using different methods (crude, decorticated, water retted, 5% sodium hydroxide retted
Accepted 16 December 2012
and 5% benzoate retted) and their physicochemical characteristics were investigated. The morphological
characteristics showed a significantly reduced lumen diameter and increased cell wall thickness after
Keywords:
treated with NaOH at 5%. On the other hand, increased lumen diameter and a decreased cell wall thickness
Kenaf
were observed with the decorticated and water retted bast fibers. A slight increase in fiber density was
Decortications
Density
observed for NaOH and benzoate retted bast fibers indicating cell wall densification. Interestingly, the
Fiber morphology extraction methods used in this study produced bast fibers with high cellulose content and low sugar
Chemical constituent and starch due to the removal of wax, oil, pectin and hemicelluloses. Regarding the tensile strength, the
Tensile strength water retted bast fibers showed highest tensile strength (426.05 MPa), while there was one no difference
between decorticated and NaOH retted fibers (386.83 and 393.03 MPa, respectively).
© 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Bangladesh, Thailand, and to a small extent in Southeast Europe,

Cellulosic fibers produced from plant stems, such as kenaf, sisal,
hemp, flax, jute, and ramie, are a viable reinforcement in compos-
ite materials, and there has been tremendous increase in a research
interests regarding their applications over the past few years, pos-
sibly due to their biodegradability and low cost (Mohan and Kanny,
2012). Currently, natural fibers are used mainly in low performance
applications such as construction and automotive industries (Placet
et al., 2012). Before fibers can be used as reinforcement in high
performance applications, it is a prerequisite to accurately under-
stand their micro-mechanical behavior. This requires application
of advanced and sophisticated experimental techniques, as well as
a development of theoretical tools, in order to correctly relate the
microstructure and complex organization of such fibers to their
mechanical properties (Placet et al., 2012).
Among these natural fibers kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.)
belongs to the Malvaceae family and grows annually in tropical
and sub-tropical areas (Kaldor et al., 1990). Kenaf has a long his-
tory of cultivation for its fiber especially in United States, India,
∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of
Tropical Forestry and Forest Product (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel.: +60 1 32093195; fax: +60 3 89471780.
∗∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 123499784.
E-mail addresses: amel basher@yahoo.com (B.A. Amel),
parida@putra.upm.edu.my (M.T. Paridah).
parts of Africa as well as in Brazil where it is cultivated through-
out the year (Shi et al., 2011). There are two distinct types of
fiber in kenaf stem, namely bast fiber and inner core which con-
stitutes about 30–40% and 60% of the total dry weight of the stalk,
respectively (Abdul Khalil et al., 2010). Kenaf bast fiber is a lig-
nocellulosic fiber and has been used for production of fiber board
and particle board, textiles, a fuel and as a reinforcement material
for composites (Aleksandra et al., 2007; Abdul Khalil et al., 2009).
Ligno-cellulosic fibers have a complicated structure. Kenaf bast
fiber is made up from elementary fibers which are glued together
by a pectin interface, to form technical fiber bundles. These bundles
are separated from one another through partial decomposition of
the cell wall, induced by bacteria or mechanical processes.
Many studies reported that methods of retting are important in
determining fiber properties (Paridah and Khalina, 2009; Kawahara
et al., 2005). Retting or so-called as degumming is a process for
removing non-cellulosic material attached to the fibers to release
the individual cellulosic fibers (Sur, 2005; Zhang et al., 2005).
During the retting process phloem-derived fiber bundles are loos-
ened from other stem tissue composed of hemicelluloses, lignin
and pectin. Recently, some mechanical methods for separating
the kenaf fiber have been described and practically performed
(Abdolreza et al., 1997). However, in some developing countries
due to cost effective wages, kenaf fibers are separated manually
rather than mechanically. Even though, some researchers have also
reported that the mechanical decortications is a fast and simple
process compared to water and chemical retting, and produces a

0926-6690/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2012.12.015
 Author's personal copy
118 B.A. Amel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 46 (2013) 117–123
big quantity of fiber with high quality (Liu, 2005; Zhang, 2003;
Abdolreza et al., 1997). From SEM analysis it was also reported that
3% NaOH was ineffective concentration for removing the impuri-
ties from kenf bast fibers surface, while 6% NaOH was the optimum
concentration for the chemical treatment to remove the impurities
(Mwaikambo and Ansell, 2002; Edeerozey et al., 2007). Jinshu et al.
(2011), Keshk et al. (2006), Song and Obendorf (2006) have reported
that high cellulose content can be obtained from kenaf bast fiber
using water and NaOH retting processes. It was also reported that
the cross-sectional shape of the kenaf fiber varied widely from
noncircular shapes such as a kidney bean shape for cotton to the
reasonably circular one for wool (Goswani et al., 2004).
However, there have been many studies on kenaf and very
limited information is available on the effect of extraction meth-
ods on the properties of kenaf bast fiber. Therefore, the purpose of
the current research is to investigate the effect of different extrac-
tion methods, i.e. water retting, chemical retting and mechanical
decortications on the characteristics of kenaf bast fibers. These
characteristics include changes in fibers morphology such as fiber
length, diameter, lumen diameter, and cell wall thickness, density,
chemical composition and tensile strength.
2. Materials and methods
Kenaf, sp.V36, was collected from Taman Pertanian Universiti
(TPU) Malaysia. Stalks were harvested at the age of 3.5 month. A
total of five hundred kenaf stems were used in this study. The chem-
icals (methanol, ethyl alcohol, acetone, acetic acid, sodium chlorite,
sodium hydroxide, sodium benzoate, sulfuric acid, barium hydrox-
ide, barium sulphate, anthrone, glucose, fructose, potato starch,
10% potassium iodide, 0.01 N potassium iodate and perchloric acid)
used in this study were of analytical grade and obtained from Fisher
Scientific Malaysia.
The kenaf samples were divided into five groups and treated
with different extraction methods. Except the decorticated bast
fibers, all other samples were peeled manually to separate the bast
and core. The samples were kept in ambient conditions in the room
temperature of 25 ◦ C and 50% relative humidity for 3 weeks before
extraction process was carried out in Table 1.
2.1. Analysis for fiber surface morphology
About 30 g of kenaf bast fiber was sampled from each extraction
method used in the study. Hitachi H-7100 transmission electron
microscope (TEM) was employed to examine the morphology of
kenaf bast fibers, i.e. fiber length, cell diameter, lumen diameter
and cell wall thickness. The samples were cut into 1 mm thick-
ness and placed into beam capsules. Then the cross sections were
further cut into 1 ␮m thickness using glass knife and ultra micro-
tome. Finally ultra-thin sections (0.1 ␮m) were prepared using ultra
microtome, stained with 2% uranyl acetate and viewed under TEM.
A total of 200 individual fibers were taken from different extraction
methods. Forty individual fibers from each extraction method were
examined and the results were expressed as a mean value for each
treatment. A Leo 1455 variable pressure scanning electron micro-
scope (SEM) was also used to examine the effect of the extraction
methods on the surface morphology of kenaf bast fibers. The accel-
eration voltage was set to 20 kV and all samples were cut into 2 mm
length and 1 mm thickness, stacked onto an aluminum stub; sam-
ples were coated with gold, and finally they were viewed under the
SEM.
2.2. Fiber density
In this study 40 g kenaf bast fibers and three replicates were used
from each extraction methods. The densities of kenaf bast fibers
Fig. 1. Fiber bundle diameter.
were measured by using 70 mm fiber bundles length. The densities
of kenaf bast fiber bundles were measured by using Archimedes
Method (ASTM-D3800-99, 2005). Based on the standard, the
method involves immersion of a known weight of fibers into a liq-
uid of lower density than the fiber. Canola oil with a density of about
0.915 g/cm3 was used as a liquid. Prior to testing, the kenaf fibers
were conditioned in an oven at 60 ◦ C until the moisture content
was reduced to below 5%.
2.3. Chemical analyses
From each extraction methods, about 2 kg of kenaf bast fibers
was used to investigate the chemical composition. Five samples
from each extraction methods were used in the study. The chemical
composition (alcohol acetone solubility, holocellulose, ␣-cellulose
and lignin) of the kenaf bast fibers was determined according to
the standard Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Indus-
try (TAPPI) T 204 os-76, Wise et al., 1946, T 203 os-76 and T 222
os-76, respectively. The alcohol acetone solubility was determined
using alcohol acetone solution to extract the samples. The holo-
cellulose content (␣-cellulose + hemicelluloses) of the kenaf bast
fibers was determined by treating the fibers with a mixture of acetic
acid and sodium chlorite solutions. The ␣-cellulose content of the
fibers was then determined by further treating the holocellulose
with 17.5% and 8.3% sodium hydroxide to remove the hemicellu-
loses. The lignin content of the kenaf bast fibers was determined by
treating them with a sulfuric acid solution. The method developed
by Yemm and Willis (1954) was applied to determine the sugar
content. Also total starch was investigated using Humphreys and
Kelly (1961) method.
2.4. Tensile properties
The tensile strength test was conducted according to ASTM
D885 (1995) using an Instron Universal Testing Machine (Instron:
Model 3365) with cell load capacity 5 kN, at a crosshead speed of
1 mm/min. The standard specifies that the gauge should be three
times the fiber length (in this case 90 mm – 3 mm × 30 mm), but
after it is glued to a cardboard on each end for better gripping, the
effective gauge length was 60 mm. In this study, 30 g of kenaf bast
fiber bundles in eight replicates was used as representatives for
each extraction methods. The fiber diameter was obtained using an
optical microscope with camera (image analyzer) at 300× magni-
fication. The fiber bundle diameter was calculated as an average of
three readings (Fig. 1). Using the calculated fiber bundle diameter,
the tensile strength was calculated.
2.5. Statistical analysis
The data were statistically analyzed using Statistical Analysis
System (SAS) software, Version 9. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
was used to examine the effects of extraction methods on some
properties of kenaf bast fibers. Least Significant Difference (LSD)
method was used for further evaluation of the effect of extraction
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B.A. Amel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 46 (2013) 117–123 119

Table 1
Fiber extraction procedures of kenaf using different medium.a

Type Procedure

Crude bast fiber Peeling manually (control) – aggregates of fibers still intact in sheet form.
Decorticated bast fiber Separation of kenaf bast fibers was done using a decorticator machine.
Water retted bast fiber 8 kg kenaf bast fibers were soaked in 40 L water (1:5) for 24 days. The water was changed every 12 days after 24 days
the stalks were washed with water, air driedb and combed.
NaOH retted bast fiber For each chemical extraction methods about 8 kg of kenaf bast fibers were soaked in 40 L
Benzoate retted bast fiber solutionc (1:5) for 24 days, the stalks were washed with water, air driedb , and combed
Note:
a
Mode of fiber production.
b
12% moisture content.
c
5% (by weight) for each (NaOH and benzoate).

methods. LSD ranks the means and calculates the minimum value
to be significantly different with each other at p ≤ 0.05. Means
followed by the same letter a, b, c, . . ., etc. are not significantly
different.
3. Result and discussion
The analysis of variance for the fiber morphology, density, chem-
ical analyses and tensile strength of different extraction methods,
i.e. crude, decorticated, water-, NaOH- and benzoate retted from
kenaf bast fibers are presented in Table 2. Based on the test results;
it is obvious that the extraction methods were significantly (at
p ≤ 0.01) influenced the fiber morphology, i.e. fiber length, diam-
eter, lumen diameter and cell wall thickness, density, chemical
analyses, i.e. alcohol acetone solubility, ␣-cellulose, lignin, starch
and sugar and tensile strength of the kenaf bast fiber. However the
effect of extraction methods on the holocellulose was insignificant.
3.1. Effect of extraction methods on the morphology of kenaf bast
fibers
Table 3 shows the effect of extraction method on the fiber mor-
phology. It was generally found that the fiber length, diameter
and lumen diameter decreased as more severe treatments were
used. Compared to fibers obtained from crude bast fiber, treatment
using 5% NaOH seemed to be the most severe with fiber length
reduced from 3228 ␮m to 1757 ␮m similarly with diameter and
lumen diameter. Nevertheless, the cell wall thickness increased
significantly. The reduction in both length and diameter may be
attributed to the reduction in the number of elementary fibers in
the fiber bundles after being treated with 5% NaOH. A mild alkali
hydrolysis may have degraded the middle lamella thus separating
the elementary fibers from the bundles. Similar finding was pre-
viously reported by Bos (2004). The cell wall, on the other hand,
experienced swelling as a result of reduction in crystalline region
(increase in amorphous region) after being treated with alkali. The

Fig. 2. TEM micrographs of the cross sections of kenaf bast fibers: (A) crude bast fiber; (B) decorticated bast fiber; (C) water retted bast fiber; (D) benzoate retted bast fiber
and (E) NaOH retted bast fiber (magnification at 4000×).
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120 B.A. Amel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 46 (2013) 117–123

Table 2
Summary of ANOVA for the effect of extraction methods on the morphology, density, chemical analyses and tensile strength of kenaf bast fiber bundle.

Parameters DF p value

Fiber morphology Chemical composition Density Tensile

strength

Fiber Fiber Lumen Cell wall Alcohol Holo-cellulose Cellulose Lignin Sugar Starch
length diameter diameter thickness Acetone

Extraction 4 <0.0001*** <0.0001*** <0.0001*** <0.0001*** <0.0001*** 0.8752, ns <0.0001*** <0.0001*** <0.0001*** <0.0001*** <0.0001*** <0.0001***
methods

ns: no significant difference at p ≥ 0.1.

***
Significant difference at p ≤ 0.01.

Table 3
Effect of extraction method on fiber length, diameter, lumen diameter and cell wall thickness of kenaf bast fibers.a

Extraction method Fiber morphology (␮m)b

Length Diameter Lumen diameter Cell wall thickness

Crude bast fiber 3228 a (2) 24.1 a (1.3) 13.4 a (1.03) 5.8 c (0.3)
Decorticated bast fiber 2315 b (1.5) 18.2 c (1.9) 8.9 b (0.44) 4.0 c (1.98)
Water retted bast fiber 3389 a (2) 17.4 cd (0.58) 9.6 b (0.49) 5.3 d (0.8)
5%Benzoate retted bast fiber 2225 b (1.2) 21.7 b (1.12) 7.7 c (0.4) 6.7 b(0.1)
5% NaOH retted bast fiber 1757 c (1) 16.1 d (0.7) 3.6 d (0.54) 7.3 a (0.2)
a
Values are average of 20 specimens; ( ) standard deviation.
b
Means followed by the same letters (a, b, c, d) in each column are not significantly different at p ≤ 0.05 according to Least Significant Difference (LSD) method.

increase in cell wall thickness is due to the presence of swollen treatments performed on kenaf bast fibers have modified the fibers
cellulose in the cell wall. surface where fine structural changes of the fibers were observed
There is no significant difference in the fiber length between on SEM micrographs. On the other hand, for water retted samples
crude fiber (3228 ␮m) and water retted (3389 ␮m). This finding is the lumen became larger and more rounded compared to the oth-
expected since water acts as a medium to better degrade pectinees ers. Similar results were reported by Munawar et al. (2006); they
materials and carbohydrates that bind the fiber together; there are found that all the cross-sectional shapes of single fibers provided
mild chemical reaction initiated by the microbe. Thus, the fibers were polygonal to round. Generally, the bundle shape, single fiber
experienced little degradation therefore resembled those of origi- shape, and the lumen diameter observed are different based on the
nal crude bast fibers. Both decorticated and benzoate retted fibers extraction methods. Except for NaOH retted fiber, all other types
are of similar quality. These results are similar to findings by Abdul of fiber exhibited noncircular shapes on the cross section of fiber
Khalil et al. (2010), who reported that bast fibers length of 3600 ␮m bundles, very small lumen and densified cells (Fig. 3).
for crude bast fiber whilst, Ashori et al. (2006) reported an average
of 2480 ␮m. 3.2. Effect of extraction methods on the density of kenaf bast
The average fiber diameter, lumen diameter and cell wall thick- fibers
ness of the crude kenaf bast fibers was observed 24.1, 13.4 and
5.8 ␮m, respectively. However, there was no significant difference The density generally represents all the solid material as well
in the diameter between decorticated (18.2 ␮m) and water retted as the pores within the fibers. Table 4 depicts the densities of
(17.4 ␮m) as well as between water and NaOH (16.1 ␮m) retted but kenaf bast fiber produced from different methods of extraction,
they are significantly different from each other and from benzoate i.e. crude, decorticated, water, NaOH and benzoate retted bast
retted (21.7 ␮m). It was interestingly found that decortications pro- fibers. There is no significant difference between all extraction
cess degraded most fiber properties in particular cell wall thickness. methods. However, a positive slight change in fiber densities
Figs. 2 and 3 show the cross section micrographs on different was observed in the order: NaOH-retted > benzoate-retted > water-
extraction methods of kenaf bast fibers viewing under TEM and retted > decorticated > crude bast fibers. A positive change in fiber
SEM. It can be clearly seen that, the whole cross sections of kenaf densities normally signifies cell wall densification as a result of
bast fiber bundles after extraction methods are polygonal to cir-
cular. For the crude fibers in their original state, surface is filled Table 4
with impurities and the fibers are intact while for the decorticated Effect of extraction methods on the density (g/cm3 ) of kenaf bast fibers.
and benzoate retted fibers the lumen shape is similar to that of the
Extraction methods Density (g/cm3 )a Change in density (%)b
crude fibers and their surfaces are clean, Fig. 2. The presence of sur-
face impurities on the surface of kenaf bast fibers was very clear; Crude bast fiber 1.191 a 0
Decorticated bast fiber 1.193 a 0.17
except for the 5% NaOH retted bast fibers which showed smooth
Water retted bast fiber 1.195 a 0.34
surface compared to other kenaf bast fibers. These results indi- Benzoate retted bast fiber 1.195 a 0.34
cate that the extraction methods improve surface characteristics NaOH retted bast fiber 1.198 a 0.59
of the kenaf bast fibers as a result of removing natural and artifi- Kenaf bast fiberc
cial impurities, hence producing a smooth surface topography. This A. Untreated 1.193 0
B. Treated with 6% NaOH 1.222 2.4
result is in accordance with that found by Mohanty et al. (2006) who
reported that treating fibers with NaOH removes lignin, pectin, wax Note:
a
Means followed by the same letter (a) are not significantly different with each
substances, and natural oils that cover surface of the fiber cell wall.
other at p < 0.01 according to Least Significant Difference (LSD) method.
Morphological examinations carried out by Aziz and Ansell b
Change over crude bast fiber.
(2004) and Edeerozey et al. (2007) exposed that alkalization c
Aziz and Ansell (2004).
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B.A. Amel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 46 (2013) 117–123 121

Fig. 3. SEM micrographs of the cross sections of different kenaf bast fibers: (A) crude bast fiber; (B) decorticated bast fiber; (C) water retted bast fiber; (D) benzoate retted
bast fiber (E) and NaOH retted bast fiber (magnification at 1000×).

removal of impurities (less dense fats and waxes) by alkali. A posi- have low lignin content (9.3–13.2%). The higher ␣-cellulose at 5%
tive change would signify cell wall leading to polymerization of the NaOH and water retted is probably due to removed pectin, wax and
cellulose molecule. Aziz and Ansell (2004) observed a small posi- part of hemicellulose. These are in line to some findings by Jinshu
tive change in fiber density for both hemp and kenaf fibers after 6% et al. (2011) and Keshk et al. (2006); they reported that high cel-
NaOH treatment, indicating a cell wall densification of their fibers. lulose content from kenaf bast fiber can be obtained when using
Sawpan et al. (2011) and Mwaikambo and Ansell (2006) also found water and NaOH retting process.
that the density of hemp fibers increased upon alkali treatment. Moreover, the total sugar percentage for crude, decorticated,
water retted, NaOH retted and benzoate retted bast fibers were
3.3. Chemical analyses 0.0038, 0.0035, 0.0033, 0.0037, and 0.0050%, respectively. The total
starch percentage for the respective kenaf bast fibers were 1.4769,
As shown in Table 5 the chemical composition is greatly affected
by extraction methods. All extraction methods namely crude,
Table 5
decorticated, water, NaOH, and benzoate retted fibers decreased Chemical analyses of the kenaf bast fiber.
alcohol acetone solubility whereas increased both ␣-cellulose and
Chemical Extraction methods
lignin. NaOH retted produced higher ␣-cellulose (73.89%) followed
constituenta
by water retted (72.68%), decorticated (70.89%), benzoate ret-
ted (68.94%) and crude (66.94%). However, the lignin contents Crude Decorticated Water NaOH Benzoate
increased from 9.87% to 11.43%, 13.93%, 14.55% and 13.07%. These Alcohol 2.26 a 1.55 b 0.66 c 0.48 c 0.58 c
changes can be attributed to the effects of retting process as well acetone
as to those of extracted by hand (crude). The increase in lignin is solubility
Holocellulose 81.55 a 80.15 a 80.94 a 77.06 a 79.55 a
expected to decrease wax, pectin and part of hemicelluloses. In
␣-Cellulose 66.94 e 70.89 c 72.68 b 73.89 a 68.94 d
addition the increase in cellulose observed in this study could be Lignin 9.87 c 11.43 bc 13.93 a 14.55 a 13.07 ab
attributed to the increase in lignin present in the primary wall and Sugar 0.0038 b 0.0035 c 0.0033 c 0.0037 b 0.0050 a
secondary wall mainly S1 and S2 layers thus increase in the pack- Starch 1.4759 a 0.6532 d 0.6514 d 0.8789 c 1.3226 b
ing order of the crystalline material. Previous study by Villar et al. a
At the same rows, chemical constituent mean with the same lower case letters
(2009) and Thi Bach et al. (2003) showed that the kenaf bast fiber (a, b, c, d) were not significantly different from each other (p < 0.01).
 Author's personal copy
122 B.A. Amel et al. / Industrial Crops and Products 46 (2013) 117–123
Table 6
Effect of extraction methods on the tensile strength of kenaf bast fibers.
Extraction methods Tensile strength (MPa)a
Crude bast fiber 171.2 d
Decorticated bast fiber 386.8 b
Water retted bast fiber 426.1 a
Benzoate retted bast fiber 290.7 c
NaOH retted bast fiber 393 ab
a
Means followed by the same letters (a, b, c, d) in each column are not significantly
different at p < 0.01 according to Least Significant Difference (LSD) method.
0.6532, 0.6514, 0.8789, and 1.3226%, respectively. These results
indicate that the lowest starch and sugar contents were recorded
for water retted and decorticated bast fibers. The percentages of all
the chemical constituents of kenaf are more or less similar to those
of wood materials. The average total sugar content was 0.0038 of
dry weight of kenaf bast fibers with different extraction methods
which is less than that in bamboo 4.92% (Sudin and Swamy, 2006)
and rubber wood 1.23% (Kadir and Sudin, 1989).
3.4. Effect of extraction methods on the tensile strength of kenaf
bast fibers
Table 6 shows the effect of different extraction methods under
normal temperature on the tensile strengths of kenaf bast fibers.
The crude bast fiber and benzoate retted showed the lowest tensile
strength among the other samples and the values were 171 and
291 MPa, respectively. While water retted bast fibers showed the
highest value of tensile strength (426.1 MPa). This higher tensile
strength is probably due to the fiber length. Therefore, the tensile
strength of 5% NaOH (393 MPa) retted significantly was similar to
that of water retted and decorticated (386.8 MPa) kenaf bast fibers.
However, the tensile strength of 5% NaOH retted kenaf bast fibers
were increased compared to that of kenaf crude bast fibers. This
may be attributed to the improvement of cellulose chain packing
order. The alkali treatment hydrolyses the amorphous parts of cel-
lulose present in the fibers and thus the material contains more
crystalline cellulose. The reaction between cellulose and caustic
soda is as follows:
(␣-Cellulose)-OH + NaOH → (␣-Cellulose-O− )Na+ + H2 O
+ impurities
These results correlate with the findings by Troedec et al. (2008)
and Cao et al. (2007) they reported that 5% NaOH retted kenaf bast
fibers increased ␣-cellulose and tensile strength. As stated in the
literature (Sawpan et al., 2011; Taha et al., 2007) alkali treatment
of natural fibers causes a reduction in the spiral angle of cellulose
microfibrils which in turn allowed for the rearrangement of the
cellulose chains to a more linear arrangement and consequently
improves tensile strength. Habibi et al. (2008), Munawar et al.
(2007) and Bledzki and Gassan (1999) have also reported that the
tensile strength of kenaf bast fibers depend on density, cellulose
content, and morphological properties of the fiber.
4. Conclusions
The morphological properties of kenaf bast fibers were found be
significantly affected by the extraction methods used in this work.
NaOH retted fibers resulted in significant reduction in their lumen
diameter and an increase in cell wall thickness, whilst both water
retting and decorticated fibers showed a decrease in the lumen
diameter and cell wall thickness. There was a small positive change
in the fiber density that was observed for NaOH and benzoate retted
bast fibers indicating a cell wall densification. Among the different
extraction methods used water retting, decorticated, and NaOH
retting have produced significantly high tensile strengths. Some
apparent correlations exist between cellulose content in kenaf bast
fibers and the tensile strength.
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