POTENTIAL OF NATURAL FIBRE COMPOSITES FOR

TRANSPORT INDUSTRY: A REVIEW

R.A. Ilyas1,2,3*, S.M. Sapuan1,2,3, Mohd Nurazzi Norizan2, M.S.N. Atikah4,

M.R.M. Huzaifah1, A.M. Radzi1,5, M.R. Ishak6, E.S. Zainudin2,3, S. Izwan2,
A.M. Noor Azammi2,7, R. Jumaidin8, Ainun Zuriyati Mohamed1, R. Syafiq1, A.
Nazrin1, A.Atiqah9
1
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400
UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
3
Advanced Engineering Materials and Composites Research Centre, Department of Mechanical and
Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
4
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
5
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Linton University College, Persiaran Utl, Kampung Gebok
Batu 12, 71700 Mantin, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
6
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor,
Malaysia
7
Automotive Engineering Technology Section, UniKL-MFI, 43650 B.B.Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
8
Fakulti Teknologi Kejuruteraan Mekanikal dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka,
Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka
9
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, 43000 Kajang, Selangor,
Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Currently high strength fibers such as kevlar, carbon, spectra, glass fiber, aramid, carbon nanotube and
zylon, reinforced composites material are commonly used in advanced transport structure. However,
the world is changing and green material is at the forefront due to the depletion of inorganic material
such as petroleum and other minerals source. Natural fibers can be classified as green material, where
green material can be defined as materials that are renewable. This review describes the recent advanced
in biocomposites, specifically natural fibre polymer composites (NFPC), a material with significant
mechanical and barrier properties, economical, biodegradability, renewable and low density character.
The above properties makes NFPC promising for various advanced application in such fields as in
automotive part, papermaking, flexible optoelectronic, scaffolds, optical device, pharmaceutical
products, substitutes/ medical biomaterials,
_______________________________
Article history:
spacecraft, aircraft and tissue repair (wound
Received: 1 December 2018 dressing). In this short review, the application of
Accepted: 2 December 2018 the natural fibres reinforced polymer composites
_______________
are summarized. The present review will cover
E-mail addresses: reinforcement of natural fibres with polymer
ahmadilyasrushdan@yahoo.com (R.A. Ilyas) composites for five types of transport industry
sapuan@upm.edu.my (S.M. Sapuan)
mohdridzwan@upm.edu.my (M.R. Ishak) namely, car automotive, train, aircraft, and ship.
edisyam@upm.edu.my (E.S. Zainudin)
sitinuratikah_asper7@yahoo.com (M.S.N. Atikah)
mr_iez88@yahoo.com (S. Izwan)
Keywords: transport; natural fibre; automotive,
mradzi9595@gmail.com (A.M. Radzi) biocomposite, aircraft; train; ship
mdhuzaifahroslim@gmail.com (M.R.M. Huzaifah)
azammi@unikl.edu.my (A.M. Noor Azammi)
ridhwan@utem.edu.my (R. Jumaidin) INTRODUCTION
ainun.zuriyati@upm.edu.my (Ainun Zuriyati Mohamed)
mosyafiqrazali@gmaill.com (R. Syafiq)
nazrinnurariefmardi@gmail.com (A. Nazrin) The growing demand of natural fibre in
atiqahafdzaluddin@gmail.com (A.Atiqah) development of the composites has grown rapidly
*Corresponding Author due to cost effectiveness, low density,
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biodegradability, renewability, and abundance in nature. The natural fibres can be originated from sugar
pam fibres, oil palm fibres, water hyacinth fibre, cellulose, bamboo, pine, jute, sisal, softwood and
hardwood (Asrofi et al., 2018; Ilyas, Sapuan, & Ishak, 2018; Ilyas, Sapuan, Ishak, & Zainudin, 2017,
2019; Ilyas, Sapuan, Sanyang, Ishak, & Zainudin, 2018; Sapuan, Ishak, Leman, Huzaifah, et al., 2017;
Syafri, Kasim, Abral, Sudirman, et al., 2018; Syafri, Kasim, Abral, & Asben, 2018; Halimatul, Sapuan,
Jawaid, Ishak & Ilyas, 2019). There are three major chemical compositions that made natural fibres that
are cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Natural fibres can be considered as a composite of hollow
cellulose fibrils collected by lignin as a binder in a hemicellulose matric (Ilyas et al., 2017). Crystalline
cellulose is responsible for the strength of fibre (Ilyas, Sapuan, Ishak, & Zainudin, 2018b; Ilyas, Sapuan,
Sanyang, et al., 2018). The products made with the cellulose fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites
can have improved specific strength as they have low density and stiffness. Moreover, the toughness
and strength of manufactured goods will be better than their predecessors (Sapuan & Ilyas, 2017).
In biocomposites as shown in Fig. 1, as well as in any other natural fibre composite materials, the
reinforcement of fibers within polymer have to show a high stiffness and tensile strength, whereas the
embedding polymer matrix provides the shape of the composite structure, in which transmits the shear
forces between the fibers, and hence protects them against aggressive media and radiation (Hazrol,
Sapuan, & Ilyas, 2018; Huzaifah, Sapuan, Leman, Ishak, & Ilyas, 2018; Ilyas, Sapuan, Ishak, &
Zainudin, 2018a; Ilyas, Sapuan, Sanyang, et al., 2018; Nazrin, Sapuan, & Ilyas, 2018; Sapuan et al.,
2018; Sapuan, Ishak, Leman, Ilyas, & Huzaifah, 2017; Syafiq, Sapuan, & Ilyas, 2018). The selection of
suitable natural fibres can be determined by the required values of the tensile strength and stiffness of
a composite. However, additional benchmarks for the choice of suitable reinforcing natural fibers must
be considered such as processing costs, price of the natural fibre, thermal stability, dynamic and long-
term behaviour, elongation at failure and adhesion of fibers and polymer matrix. The mechanical
properties of natural fibre and synthetic fibres are display in Table 1. From the Table 1, it can observed
that tensile strength of natural fibre are 3 times lowered compared to synthetic fibre of E-glass and S-
glass. However in term of tensile modulus, flax, hemp and pineapple fibres are comparable to synthetic
fibres.
In past decade, many researchers are focusing on the nano-size of the natural fibres. Plant fibre can
be isolated into nanocellulose using mechanical treatments, chemical treatments or combination of both
treatments (Ilyas, Sapuan, & Ishak, 2018; Ilyas et al., 2017, 2019; Ilyas, Sapuan, Ishak, Zainudin, &
Atikah, 2018b). For plant fibres, there are two types of nanocellulose can be produced which are
nanocrystalline cellulose and nanofibrillated cellulose. To isolate nanofibrillated cellulose, mechanical
treatments such as refining and homogenizing, micro-fluidization, grinding, cryocrushing, and high
intensity ultrasonication, are used instead of chemical treatments. Meanwhile, chemical approaches to
diminish cellulosics fibres into nano-sized fibre can be isolated using hydrolysis treatments such as
H2SO4 hydrolysis, HCL hydrolysis, TEMPO-oxidation followed by HCl hydrolysis, combination of
H2SO4/ HCl hydrolysis (Ilyas, Sapuan, Ishak, Zainudin, et al., 2018c; Ilyas, Sapuan, & Ishak, 2018;
Ilyas, Sapuan, Sanyang, & Ishak, 2016; Ilyas, Sapuan, Sanyang, et al., 2018). Nanocellulose can be
applied in various industries such as food packaging, automotive, furniture, construction and biomedical
(Ilyas, Sapuan, Sanyang, et al., 2018). Table 2 displays the recent advances in nanocellulose-
thermoplastic composites. Nanocellulose is discerned as one of the promising reinforcing agents of
bionanocomposite owing to the interaction between the nano-sized components that form a percolated
network connected by hydrogen bonding. Nanocellulose have big application potential in the
automotive industry; particularly because the use of nanocellulose with biocomposite in the automotive
sector provides eco-friendly applications (Ilyas, Sapuan, Ishak, & Zainudin, 2018c; Ilyas, Sapuan,
Ishak, Zainudin, & Atikah, 2018a; Sanyang, Ilyas, Sapuan, & Jumaidin, 2018). They also curtail weight
by substituting the high density glass fibre (GF) with low density natural fibre such as nanocellulose
(Gurunathan, Mohanty, & Nayak, 2015). The development of nanocomposites derived from renewable
sources with nanocellulose as reinforcement is currently a hot research area.

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 Fig. 1: Components of biocomposites. composite (Nickel & Riedel, 2003)

TABLE 1: Natural and synthetic fibre mechanical properties (Sanyang, Sapuan, Jawaid, Ishak, &
Sahari, 2016)

Fibre Tensile strength Tensile modulus Elongation at break

(MPa) (GPa) (%)
Abaca 980 - -
Bagasse 20-290 19.7-27.1 1.1
Banana 355 33.8 5.3
Coie 220 6 15-25
Cotton 400 12 3-10
Flax 800-1500 60-80 1.2-1.6
Hemp 550-900 70 1.6
Henequen 430-580 - 3-4.7
Jute 400-800 10-30 1.8
Kenaf (bast) 295 - 2.7-6.9
Oil palm (Empty fruit 248 3.2 2.5
bunch)
Pineapple 170-1627 82 1-3
Ramie 500 44 2
Sisal 600-700 38 2-3
Sugar palm (frond) 421.4 10.4 9.8
E-glass 2000-3500 70 2.5
S-glass 4570 86 2.8

TABLE 2: Recent advances in nanocellulose-thermoplastic composites (Abitbol et al., 2016; Abral et

al., 2019; Ilyas, Sapuan, Sanyang, et al., 2018)

Polymer component Manufacturing Applications

technique
Starch Solution casting Thermally stable starch, decrease water
sensitivity, increase mechanical strength
Maize amylopectin Solution casting Continuous papermaking
Polyacrylamide Solution casting Films with good mechanical, optical thermal
and oxygen barrier properties
PVA Solution casting Flexible displays, optical devices, food
packaging and automobile windows,
stretchable photonic devices,
wound diagnosis/ biosensor scaffolds,
conductive materials
Carboxymethyl cellulose Solution casting Edible coatings and packaging materials

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 Polyethylene Extrusion High performance cellulosics,
environmentally friendly HDPE, evaluation
of cotton filler in LDPE
Polyethylene glycol PEG-g-CNF ribbons Ultra-high tensile strength and modulus for
via stretching optoelectronic and medical devices
hydrogel
Amorphous dialcohol Oxidation + reduction Barrier film
cellulose of CNF surface
Polyvinyl amine Layer by layer Self-healing polymer film
Poly(butylene adipate-co- Injection molding Light-weight and high performance
terephthalate) materials for defense, infrastructure and
energy

Ethylene-co-vinyl acetate Solution mixing and Transparent, rubbery materials

rubber vulcanization
PC based polyurethane Solution casting Smart actuators and sensors
blend
PC Matster batch melt Optical devices
extrusion process
Cellulose esterified with Solution casting and Interface melting
lauroyl chloride thermorpressing

AUTOMOTIVE

The advanced applications of natural fibre polymer composites are growing rapidly in automotive
engineering field as shown in Table 1. Besides, the increasing demand for the advanced materials with
tailored physical and mechanical properties, makes the nanocellulose, which can be isolated from
natural fibre, the most attractive nanomaterial for high-performance application. Table 2 shows the
polymer component reinforced nanocelluloses and its manufacturing technique and applications.
Lightweight vehicles will reduce fuel consumption, resulting in reduction of CO2 gas emission. In a
study conducted by Yang et al., (2012), it was reported that a 25% reduction in vehicle weight
corresponds to a reduction of 250 million barrels of crude oil consumption per annum. Car
manufacturers in Brazil, such as Ford, General Motors, Volkwagen and Honda are already applying
natural fibre (i.e jute, hemp, kenaf etc.) biocomposite in, roofs, dashboard coverings, car seats and trunk
lids (Pegoretti, Mathieux, Evrard, Brissaud, & Arruda, 2014). Fig. 2 illustrates 20 % of wheat straw
natural fibre reinforced polypropolyne (PP) polymer matrix used in the Ford flex quarter trim panel,
cover line assembly and storage bin.
In order to replace the glass fibre reinforced plastic and expand into other commercial uses,
biocomposites must have desirable properties (high quality performance, durability and reliability
standards) such as in typical petroleum plastics used especially in automotive applications. Request for
a light weight automotive vehicle parts along with good end of life disposal had indirectly open a
gateway to easing on the fuel consumption automotive issue and thus reduced greenhouse gas emission.
Besides, the car makers in major industries blocks such as Europe, Korea, United States, Japan and
Brazil are expected to use this natural fibres reinforced polymer matrix materials to achieve an improved
in weight reduction, processing efficiency as well as better mechanical properties.

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 Fig. 2: 20 % of wheat straw natural fibre reinforced polypropolyne (PP) polymer matrix used in the
Ford flex quarter trim panel, cover line assembly and storage bin (Ahmed, Akampumuza, Li,
Wambua, & Qin, 2016)

TABLE 3: The application of NFPC in automotive industry (Mohammed, Ansari, Pua, Jawaid, &
Islam, 2015)

Country Manufacturer Model Applications

Saturn L300 Package trays and door panel
Trucks Internal engine cover, engine insulation, sun
visor, interior insulation, bumper, wheel
box, and roof cover
France Peugeot 406 Front and rear door panels, seat backs, and
parcel shelf
France Citroen C3 Picasso, C5 Parcel shelves, boot linings, door panels,
interior door panelling, and mud guards
Germany Opel Vectra, Astra, Zafira Door panels, pillar cover panel, head-liner
panel, and instrumental panel
Germany Volkswagen Passat Variant, Golf, Seat back, door panel, boot-lid finish panel,
A4, Bora and boot-liner
Germany Audi A2,A3, Boot-liner, spare tire-lining, side and back
A4,A4Avant,A6, A8, door panel, seat back, and hat rack
Roadstar, Coupe
Germany Daimler A, C, E, and S class, Pillar cover panel, door panels, car
Chrysler EvoBus (exterior) windshield/car dashboard, and business
table
Germany BMW 3, 5 and 7 series and Seat back, headliner panel, boot-lining, door
other Pilot panels, noise insulation panels, and
moulded foot well linings
Germany Mercedes C, S, E, and A classes Door panels (flax/sisal/wood fibers with
Benz epoxy resin/UP matrix), glove box (cotton
fibers/wood molded, flax/sisal), instrument
panel support, insulation (cotton fiber),
molding rod/apertures, seat backrest panel
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 (cotton fiber), trunk panel (cotton with
PP/PET fibers), and seat surface/backrest
(coconut fiber/natural rubber)
Italy Fiat Punto, Brava, Marea, Door panel
Alfa Romeo 146,
156, 159
Japan Toyota ES3 Pillar garnish and other interior parts
Japan Mitsubishi Fiat SpA Floor mats, indoor cladding, seat back
linings, cargo area floor, door panels,
instrumental panel, and floor panels
United Rover 2000 and others Rear storage shelf/panel, and insulations
Kingdom
United Lotus Eco Elise (July 2008) Body panels, spoiler, seats, and interior
Kingdom carpets
United Vauxhall Corsa, Astra, Vectra, Headliner panel, interior door panels, pillar
Kingdom Zafira cover panel, and instrument panel
United General Cadillac De Ville, Seat backs, cargo area floor mat
States Motors Chevrolet Trail
Blazer
United Volvo V70, C70 Seat padding, natural foams, cargo floor
States tray, dash
boards and ceilings
United Ford Mondeo CD 162, Floor trays, door inserts, door panels, B-
States Focus pillar, and boot-liner

TRAIN

Interior panelling for rail vehicles

Biocomposites panelling for air columns were developed for the Light Innovative Regional express
(LIRex), which was launched at the Innotrans in Berlin, funds from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food,
Agriculture, and Forestry with concept study by Alstom. The biocomposites panelling columns form
connection elements between two of the train’s side windows (Nickel & Riedel, 2003).

Train seat panelings

In addition, biocomposite seat panelings (Fig. 3 b) have been developed fulfilling similar requirements
and resulting in weight savings of 30% compared with glass fiber reinforced materials. In a pilot
scheme, five Hamburger Hochbahn trains have been equipped with these panels as a first series
application and are now being tested in long-term usage (Nickel & Riedel, 2003).

Door leaves

TRB Lightweight Structures Ltd, based in Huntingdon, UK, is one of the country’s more established
composite component manufacturers ranging from rail and Formula one to automotive and aerospace.
Recently it has been at the forefront of the development of innovative, sustainable materials, with the
launch of a new biocomposite resin-based carbon fibre reinforced (CFRP) sandwich panel door leaf
with a 100% recycled foam core. The resin-based materials used is polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) resin
which are derived from a natural waste bi-product from refined sugar production. Besides,
manufacturing of the leaf included the development of a new, proprietary carbon fibre compatible bio
resin matrix system that is created from a sustainable and “green” resource. The biocomposite panel
door leaf resulting in weight saving of 35% that are from 40 kg to 26 kg (Nickels, 2018).

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 Fig. 3: (a) Seat paneling element (Nickel & Riedel, 2003) and (b), ‘green’ biocomposite material
option for carriage door leaves at a comparable cost to aluminium bonded door leaves, with a 35%
weight saving (Nickels, 2018)

AIRCRAFT

An aircraft radome generally refer to dome-shape structures of radar transparent which functions to
protects radar antennas on aircraft from aerodynamic loading, weather as well as impacts from bird
strikes. Fig. 4 shows the potential application of natural fibre reinforced polymer composite in radome.
Fiberglass reinforced plastic is the primary material used to provide RF (radio-frequency) transparency.
RF transparent material are materials in which RF fields can penetrate with no heating occurred. For
high frequency applications, more specialized materials are required such as Teflon, PPL, PVC and
ABS, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). During the past decades, natural fibers
have attracted the interest of material scientists, researchers and industries because of their specific
advantages as compared to synthetic fibers. Advantages of natural fibers are low density, low cost,
renewable and biodegradable. Usually, materials that are used for light aircraft radome usually have
low dielectric constant and high toughness composites. According to preliminary review of compilation
data of natural fibre (bamboo, banana, kenaf, oil palm and pineapple leaf fibres) that was collected by
Haris et al., (2011), a hybrid kenaf (treated with NaOH)-glass fibers with epoxy can be the potential
material for radome application. According to Haris et al., (2011) the standard mould size for generic
radome is ranging 15 inches to 20 inches. The fabricating method used in the experiment was hand lay-
up and vacuum bag with laminate of glass fibres and kenaf fibre. Kenaf fibres has shown good overall
performance compared to bamboo, banana, oil palm and pineapple leaf fibres.

Fig. 4: Potential application of natural fibre reinforced polymer composite in radome

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NAVAL

More recently, natural fibre reinforced plastic (NFRPs) have provided an alternative solution for boat
builders with enhanced of bio-reinforcement, however, they suffer from questionable mechanical
properties and their performance (Yang, Hamid, & Abdullah, 2018). According to Yang, Hamid, &
Abdullah, (2018), the utilization of cellulose fibre reinforced polymer composites, in replacement of
synthetic materials, is of great interest in order to reduce the utilization of non-renewable or petroleum-
based resources. These cellulose fibres reinforced polymer composites was indicated to have a density
around 0.9 g/cm3, good sound absorption ability, impact strength of 25 kJ/m2, and stiffness around 3000
MPa, which can be improved further respectively looks promising. Sugar palm fibre has been found to
have great potential to be used as fibre reinforcement in polymer matrix composites. Misri et al., (2010)
investigates the mechanical properties of woven glass/sugar palm fibres reinforced unsaturated
polyester hybrid composite. The small boat were fabricated using a compression moulding and lay up
technique (Fig. 5). They had concluded that the usage of glass fibre had improved the tensile properties
sugar palm fibre composites.

Fig. 5: (a,b,c,d,e) Steps of boat fabrication from hybrid material of sugar palm fibre and glass fibre
(Misri et al., 2010)

CONCLUSION

Transportation industry is rapidly developing due to its size and importance which affects on various
aspects of life. Transportation industries functioned to assist mobility of goods or peoples whether by
land, air or sea, such as automotive, trains, aircraft and ships, etc. Usually, kevlar, carbon, spectra, glass
fiber, aramid, carbon nanotube, zylon and others non-renewable fibres reinforced composites material
are commonly used in advanced transport structure. Nevertheless, the world is changing and green
material is at the forefront due to the depletion of inorganic material such as petroleum and other
minerals source. Hence changing to biocomposite materials can fulfil the demands for sustainability in
the transportation industry by shifting to renewable, recycled and lightweight materials, considering the
requirements of each category of transport vehicles. Through the shifting of some of the heavier parts
materials with natural fibre composites of high performances properties can reduced transport weight,
which then lowered the fuel consumption and CO2 emission.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to thank Universiti Putra Malaysia and Ministry of Education, Malaysia for the
financial support through the Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) scholarship, Universiti Putra
Malaysia Grant scheme Hi-CoE (6369107) and Fundamental Research Grant Scheme
FRGS/1/2017/TK05/UPM/01/1 (5540048).
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ISBN: 978-983-44426-8-2 Prosiding Seminar Enau Kebangsaan 2019

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