Characterization of chemical treated and untreated natural fibers from Pennisetum orientale grass- A potential reinforcement for lightweight polymeric applications

The current work deals with the study extraction and characterization of fibers from Pennisetum orientale grass. The fibers were extracted, treated chemically with hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide (alkali) solutions. The chemically modified and unmodified fibers were analyzed for its thermal, chemical, crystalline, physical, morphological and tensile characteristics. The test results showed that chemical treatment using alkali helped to increase the cellulose content by 65.1% with a reduction in amorphous contents and moisture. But the hydrochloric acid treatment reduced the cellulose contents due to its more acidic attack whose values were lower than the untreated one. The crystalline size of alkali treatment based fibers had 42.92 nm, which is lower than untreated one 62.02 nm. Thus the Pennisetum orientale grass can be suggested as a potential reinforcement for light-weight polymeric applications. © 2020 The Authors