ARS | Publication request: CELLULOSIC FIBERS AS REINFORCING AGENTS

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: February 2, 2003
Publication Date: February 1, 2003
Citation: Inglesby, M.K., Buschle-Diller, .G., Guttman, M.E., Gray, G.M., Wood, D.F., Bailey, D.A. 2003. Cellulosic fibers as reinforcing agents. 225th American Chemical Society National Meeting, March 2003, New Orleans, Lousianana.

Technical Abstract: Cellulose obtained from a variety of agricultural sources was utilized as the fiber-reinforcing dispersed phase in biodegradable starch-based composites. Materials included rice straw, kenaf, linen, hemp, cotton, Whatman filter paper, and Avicel PH101. Fiber properties, such as crystallinity, particle size and content of noncellulosic impurities were taken into account regarding the effectiveness of these fibers as reinforcing agents. Further, the fiber surface properties were assessed with electrokinetic analysis as well as by microscopic methods. Thermal and mechanical characteristics of the composite materials were studied. As reinforcing agent, cotton proved to be more difficult to process than fibers containing small amounts of lignin and other impurities. Linen and Hemp fibers showed fairly high tensile moduli and good cohesion properties.