It’s all a matter of fiber
Natural fibers are increasingly attracting the attention of researchers because of their advantages over other established materials. They are environmentally friendly, fully biodegradable, widely available, renewable and have lower densities.
Global applications for Natural fiber composites are expected to reach $ 2.Ibn in 2011 due to rising prices of petroleum based products, strong government support for eco-friendly products, higher acceptance and positive growth in different end use industries.
Plant fibers are lighter than glass, carbon and aramid fibers. The biodegradability of plant fibers can contribute to ecosystems while their high performance meets most industrial applications.
Natural fiber-reinforced plastics are amongst the most environmentally friendly materials. When natural fiber-reinforced plastics are combusted or land-filled, their release of CO2 is neutral with respect to the assimilated amount during their growth.
Natural fibers also tend to be less abrasive which leads to advantages during in processing and recycling of their respective composite materials. Increasing numbers of automotive components previously made from glass fiber composites are now being manufactured using environmentally friendly composites.
Although natural fibers and the composites derived from them are environmentally friendly and renewable, they continue to suffer from poor wettability and incompatibility with several polymeric matrices due to their high moisture absorption. As a result, composite materials made from these unmodified plant fibers frequently exhibit unsatisfactory mechanical properties. To overcome this, surface treatment or compatibilizing need to be considered prior or during composite fabrication.
Properties are often improved both through physical or chemical treatments, which helps their mechanical properties.
While natural fibers such as flax, kenaf, hemp have been the material of choice in automotive, wood plastic composites are preferred in building and construction products.
We are convinced that higher specific properties of natural fiber composites can be achieved, thereby making them an attractive solution for many application areas. Good anti-vibration properties & lower costs are key drivers for their adoption in the sporting goods segment; golf clubs may be made from composites using jute fibers, whereby tennis rackets may be stiffened with coconut hair. Bicycle frames are already deriving their strength from bamboo and other plant-fiber reinforced plastics.
The automotive industry has been using composites based on textile waste for years. These materials are mainly based on polypropylene, incorporating fibers such as flax, hemp, and jute.
JSP is currently taking a closer look at natural fiber composites, also in an attempt to come up with truly alternative technology to many of todays petroleum based materials and without the idea of simply greenwashing existing solutions. Our focus is on plant based fibers with improved interfacial bonding thereby reducing moisture pickup. It is clear that surface modification of our fibers will be the key parameter that will determine the success of some of these projects. JSP is working on several possibilities.
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