Physico-Chemical Properties of Alkali-Treated Acacia leucophloea Fibers

The attractive properties of raw Acacia leucophloea fibers (ALFs) resulted in this present study evaluating the physio-chemical properties of alkali-treated ALFs. The treatment of raw ALFs with 5% (w/v) sodium hydroxide solution with 45min soaking time was found to be optimum. It was found that optimally treated ALFs had relatively higher tensile strength (357-1809MPa), Young's modulus (10.45-87.57GPa), and percentage of elongation (1.91-5.88%) and high thermal stability. The optimally treated ALFs had high cellulose (76.69wt.%) and low hemicellulose (3.81wt.%) and lignin (13.67wt.%) contents and higher crystallinity index (74.27%), as evidenced by the results of chemical and X-ray diffraction analyses.