Sugar Palm Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites: Influence of Chemical Treatments on Its Mechanical Properties

In the era of globalisation, decreasing synthetic resources, especially petroleum, have encouraged global communities to apply biomass waste as a substitute material for green technology development. The development of plastic products from lignocellulosic fibre-reinforced composites has been a hot topic among material scientists and engineers due to their abundance, sustainable in nature, and less toxic towards health. For the Malaysian scenario, sugar palm is a plant found in the wild and locally planted in certain areas in Malaysia and Indonesia. Generally, sugar palm can be harvested for traditional foods, fruits, starch sugar (gula kabung), and alcohol, whereas sugar palm fibre (SPF) is used in conventional products (brushes and brooms). Various researchers are working on the characterisation of fibre and its composites for engineering and packaging products. The main drawback of SPF is its hydrophilic behaviour, which leads to high moisture uptake and inhibits a good bond between the fibre and the matrix. Thus, a solution for this problem is by implementing chemical treatments on the fibre. From the literature review, no comprehensive review paper has been published on the influence of chemical treatment on the mechanical behaviour of SPF-reinforced polymer composites. Thus, the present review examines recent studies on the mechanical properties of sugar palm lignocellulosic fibres with various chemical treatments to evaluate their potential in structural applications.

Automated summary

In the era of globalisation, the use of biomass waste as a substitute material for green technology development has gained popularity due to the decreasing availability of synthetic resources. The development of plastic products using lignocellulosic fibre-reinforced composites has been a hot topic, especially for its abundance, sustainability, and non-toxic nature. In Malaysia, sugar palm is a plant that can be harvested for various purposes, including traditional foods, fruits, starch sugar, and alcohol. The fibre from sugar palm is commonly used in conventional products such as brushes and brooms. However, its hydrophilic behaviour poses a challenge in achieving a strong bond between the fibre and the matrix. Chemical treatments have been explored as a solution to improve the mechanical behaviour of sugar palm fibre-reinforced polymer composites. This review aims to evaluate recent studies on the mechanical properties of sugar palm lignocellulosic fibres with various chemical treatments for potential structural applications.