Elsevier

Materials & Design

Volume 32, Issues 8–9, September 2011, Pages 4107-4121
Materials & Design

Review
Kenaf fiber reinforced composites: A review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2011.04.008Get rights and content

Abstract

The development of high-performance engineering products made from natural resources is increasing worldwide, due to renewable and environmental issues. Among the many different types of natural resources, kenaf plants have been extensively exploited over the past few years. Therefore, this paper presents an overview of the developments made in the area of kenaf fiber reinforced composites, in terms of their market, manufacturing methods, and overall properties. Several critical issues and suggestions for future work are discussed, which underscore the roles of material scientists and manufacturing engineers, for the bright future of this new “green” material through value addition to enhance its use.

Highlights

Kenaf fiber is unique and potentially reliable. ► Kenaf fiber is extracted from bast fiber of kenaf plants. ► Properties of kenaf fiber composite are comparable to conventional fiber composites. ► Kenaf fiber composite can be produced using conventional fiber composite manufacturing. ► Kenaf fiber composite have a bright future due to its renewability and eco-friendly.

Introduction

Fiber crops have existed in human society since the beginning of time. History shows that humans collected raw materials from the wild to use as ropes or textiles. Later, societies learned to cultivate such crops. Natural fiber crops are among the earliest known cultivated plants and humans have continued to domesticate these crops over time. Fiber crop varieties have been extensively developed through breeding and selection according to societies’ needs and values [1]. The worldwide availability of natural fibers and other abundantly accessible agro-waste is responsible for this new polymer science and engineering research, and the search for a sustainable technology. Natural fibers were introduced with the intention of yielding lighter composites, coupled with lower costs compared to existing fiber glass reinforced polymer composites. Natural fibers have a lower density (1.2–1.6 g/cm3) than that of glass fiber (2.4 g/cm3), which ensures the production of lighter composites [2]. Conventional petroleum based plastics, such as polypropylene and polyethylene, are used extensively with natural fibers, such as hemp, jute, sisal, and kenaf [3].

Recently, the rapidly expanding use of composite components in automotive, construction, sports and leisure, and other mass production industries, has been focused on sustainable and renewable reinforced composites [4]. This interest encompasses a wide variety of shapes and materials ranging from synthetic to natural, in order to fulfill the demands of producing composites with desired properties. The incorporation of reinforcements, such as fibers and fillers into composites affords a means of extending and improving the properties of the composites that meets the requirements of most engineering applications. Consequently, these improvements will be associated with economic advantages, such as low production costs and low resin consumption [1]. As a result, the demands for natural fiber reinforced composites have increased drastically over the past few years, for various commercial applications in the industrial sector.

In this scientific review article, the overall characteristics of kenaf fiber reinforced composites, in terms of mechanical properties, thermal properties, as well as water absorption properties, will be reviewed. Moreover, the manufacturing processes will be discussed, and the key technical issues that need to be solved in the future, will also be addressed. Whilst review articles and even books on the overall properties of natural fiber reinforced composites have been published [3], [5], the authors have concluded that a specific review article on the overall characteristics of kenaf fiber reinforced composites, has not yet been published; it is believed that such an article should be of significant value to the composite research community.

Section snippets

Natural fiber composites

Over the past few decades, there has been a growing interest in the use of natural fibers in composite applications. These types of composites present many advantages compared to synthetic fibers, such as low tool wear [6], low density, cheaper cost, availability, and biodegradability [7]. The most common natural plant used in applications are bast fibers, such as hemp, jute, flax, kenaf, and sisal [8]. One of the reasons for this growing interest is that natural fibers have a higher specific

Conclusions

Research on kenaf fiber reinforced composite is generating increased attention due to its excellent properties and ecological considerations. A brief discussion of kenaf fiber reinforced composites is given along with a review, in the previous study. The aforementioned topics are aimed at bringing scientists to look at the potential of kenaf fiber as an alternative medium to replace conventional materials or synthetic fibers as reinforcement in composites. Processing techniques for kenaf fiber

Developments for the future

Kenaf fiber reinforced composite shows a bright future among other natural fiber reinforced composites for the several specific reasons that were highlighted in the previous discussion. The most interesting development of kenaf fiber reinforced composite is utilizing its availability and readiness to be used with various manufacturing processes that have never been associated with other natural fibers before, such as pultrusion and potentially, filament winding. Based on this brief review, the

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) for their assistant and supportive Grants (814023 and 811070), the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) Malaysia, the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), the National Kenaf & Tobacco Board (NKTB), Malaysia, for their assistance, which has resulted in this article.

References (79)

  • M. Baiardo et al.

    Flax fiber–polyester composites

    Compos Part A: Appl Sci Manuf

    (2004)
  • S.H. Aziz et al.

    Modified polyester resins for natural fiber composites

    Compos Sci Technol

    (2005)
  • C. Ogbonnaya et al.

    Physical and histochemical properties of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) grown under water deficit on a sandy soil

    Ind Crops Prod

    (1997)
  • S.A. Lee et al.

    Ground kenaf core as a filtration aid

    Ind Crops Prod

    (2001)
  • A. Mohamed et al.

    Chemical composition of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seed oil

    Ind Crops Prod

    (1995)
  • W.H. Morrison Iii et al.

    Chemical and instrumental characterization of maturing kenaf core and bast

    Ind Crops Prod

    (1999)
  • N. Nishimura et al.

    Structural characterization of kenaf lignin: differences among kenaf varieties∗ 1

    Ind Crops Prod

    (2002)
  • G.N. Ramaswamy et al.

    Kenaf nonwovens as substrates for laminations

    Ind Crops Prod

    (2003)
  • V. Tserki et al.

    Novel biodegradable composites based on treated lignocellulosic waste flour as filler. Part II. Development of biodegradable composites using treated and compatibilized waste flour

    Compos Part A: Appl Sci Manuf

    (2006)
  • V. Vilay et al.

    Effect of fiber surface treatment and fiber loading on the properties of bagasse fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

    Compos Sci Technol

    (2008)
  • A. Edeerozey et al.

    Chemical modification of kenaf fibers

    Mater Lett

    (2007)
  • W. Liu et al.

    Influence of fiber surface treatment on properties of Indian grass fiber reinforced soy protein based biocomposites

    Polymer

    (2004)
  • F. Corrales et al.

    Chemical modification of jute fibers for the production of green-composites

    J Hazard Mater

    (2007)
  • I. Merdas et al.

    Factors governing water absorption by composite matrices

    Compos Sci Technol

    (2002)
  • H.J. Kim et al.

    Effect of water absorption fatigue on mechanical properties of sisal textile-reinforced composites

    Int J Fatigue

    (2006)
  • H. Dhakal et al.

    Effect of water absorption on the mechanical properties of hemp fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

    Compos Sci Technol

    (2007)
  • G. Yew et al.

    Water absorption and enzymatic degradation of poly (lactic acid)/rice starch composites

    Polym Degrad Stabil

    (2005)
  • M.S. Huda et al.

    Effect of fiber surface-treatments on the properties of laminated biocomposites from poly (lactic acid)(PLA) and kenaf fibers

    Compos Sci Technol

    (2008)
  • M.F. Omar et al.

    Dynamic properties of pultruded natural fiber reinforced composites using Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar technique

    Mater Des

    (2010)
  • S. Ochi

    Mechanical properties of kenaf fibers and kenaf/PLA composites

    Mech Mater

    (2008)
  • K. Oksman et al.

    Natural fibers as reinforcement in polylactic acid (PLA) composites

    Compos Sci Technol

    (2003)
  • S.H. Lee et al.

    Biodegradable polymers/bamboo fiber biocomposite with bio-based coupling agent

    Compos Part A: Appl Sci Manuf

    (2006)
  • R. Arib et al.

    Mechanical properties of pineapple leaf fiber reinforced polypropylene composites

    Mater Des

    (2006)
  • X. Qu et al.

    Effect of lactic/glycolic acid side chains on the thermal degradation kinetics of chitosan derivatives

    Polymer

    (2000)
  • H. Gu

    Dynamic mechanical analysis of the seawater treated glass/polyester composites

    Mater Des

    (2009)
  • W. Liu et al.

    Influence of processing methods and fiber length on physical properties of kenaf fiber reinforced soy based biocomposites

    Compos Part B: Eng

    (2007)
  • C. Chow et al.

    Moisture absorption studies of sisal fiber reinforced polypropylene composites

    Compos Sci Technol

    (2007)
  • M. Beg et al.

    Mechanical performance of kraft fiber reinforced polypropylene composites: influence of fiber length, fiber beating and hygrothermal ageing

    Compos Part A: Appl Sci Manuf

    (2008)
  • N. Nosbi et al.

    Degradation of compressive properties of pultruded kenaf fiber reinforced composites after immersion in various solutions

    Mater Des

    (2010)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text