banana fibers
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Abstract: The world that is evolving at a very fast pace, the anxiety of the environment pollutions increasing has tip the necessity for new eco-friendly materials, researchers have started to develop sustainable materials that are renewable as well as biodegradable in nature. The natural fibers have certain advantages above synthetic fiber materials, they are lower in cost and density with comparable strength. In the present study, banana fiber is reinforced in the epoxy matrix and a composite material is prepared and impact strength of these composites are estimated. This composite samples are prepared by Wet lay-up method with varying banana fibers volume percentages by (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%) and by changing the fibers orientation in the epoxy matrix by (00 ,900 , woven Bi-directional). The results shows that there is gradual increase in the impact strength of the epoxy for 900 banana fiber orientation, the optimum results were found for 40% banana fiber and 60% epoxy resin, as for woven BD there was an increase in the impact strength up to 20% banana fiber reinforcement, as for 00 orientation the strength increases up to 10% fiber reinforcement above this there was a drastic reduction in the impact strength. Keywords: Banana Fiber, Epoxy Resin, Volume percent, Fiber Orientation, Impact Strength

The present environmental condition indicates the immediate need for sustainable materials containing mainly natural elements for composite fabrication. Encouragement of natural fibers in composite materials can significantly reduce the greenhouse effect and the high cost of manufacturing synthetic fiber-based polymer composites. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the physio-mechanical properties of banana fiber (BF) fiber -based epoxy (EP) composites filled with walnut shell powder (WNP). Fabrication was carried out by mixing and cold pressing with fixed BF proportion and varying percentages of WNP (0%, 5%, 10%, 15 wt. %). The results obtained in the study suggest the mechanical properties of the BF/EP composite were enhanced with the addition of WNP as a filler. This is because the WNP filler occupies the spaces in the composite, which bridge the gaps between the banana fibers and the epoxy matrix; also, the inclusion of walnut powder in the BF/EP composites greatly enhanced their wear resistance. The microstructural properties of the composites were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Starch based green composites have been studied as potential materials to be used in several biomedical applications. This paper explores utilizing starch based composites reinforced with pseudostem banana fibers in fabricating biodegradable maxillofacial bone plates. Corn starch plasticized by 30 wt.% glycerin and 20 wt.% distilled water was used as a matrix. The produced thermoplastic starch (TPS) matrix is reinforced with pseudostem banana fibers at different weight fractions using hot pressing at 5 MPa and 160ºC for 30 minutes. Our experimental results showed that increasing the banana fibers weight fraction progressively improved the mechanical properties reaching a maximum at 50 wt.% fibers. The improvement in the mechanical properties of starch/banana fibers composite was attributable to the strong interaction between fibers and the starch matrix, as evidenced by a series of scanning electron micrographs of the fracture surface. Furthermore, experiments investigating thermal properties and water uptake also showed that the best results are achieved at the 50 wt.% banana fibers. The experimental results show that the starch matrix-banana fiber composites satisfy the maxillofacial bone fixation requirements.

Four types of nonwovens were prepared from different sections of the banana tree e.g., outer bark (OB), middle bark (MB), inner bark (IB) and midrib of leaf (MR) by wet laid web formation. They were reinforced with two different types of matrices e.g., epoxy and polyester, to make eight variants of composites. Treatments including alkali on raw fibers, water repellent on nonwovens and gamma radiation on composites were applied in order to investigate their effects on properties of the composites such as water absorbency, tensile strength (TS), flexural strength (FS) and elongation at break (Eb%). Variations in the morphological structure and chemical composition of both raw banana fibers and fibers reinforced by the treatments were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). OB composites exhibited higher water absorbency, TS and FS and lower Eb% compared to other types of composites. Epoxy composites were found to have 16% lower water absorbency, 41.2% higher TS and 39.1% higher FS than polyester composites on an average. Water absorbency of the composites was reduced 32% by the alkali treatment and a further 63% by water repellent treatment. TS and FS of the composites were on average improved 71% and 87% by alkali treatment and a further 30% and 35% by gamma radiation respectively.

Abstract: This work investigates the mechanical properties (Tensile Strength & Impact Strength) and thermal properties (Thermal conductivity & diffusivity) of a natural fiber composite that includes banana fiber as reinforcement in epoxy (LY 556) matrix as the base material with the addition of silicon carbide particles by 5% and 10% by weight. This Banana Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite (BFREC) prepared by hand lay-up technique. After curing for a sufficient period, samples taken out and tested. The results suggest that on increasing SiC wt% in the matrix, there is enhancement of its tensile strength, impact strength, and thermal conductivity. Bulk density also increases while thermal diffusivity decreases. Due to low density as compared to metals, improved tensile and impact strength and low elongation at break of banana fibers, BFREC composite with SiC have very good potential use in the various sectors. Keywords: Banana fiber, SiC, hand layup technique, mechanical characterization, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity

Abstract Banana Pseudo stem waste after each harvest contributes about 70–80 Milli Tons Per hector. The banana pseudo stem will be thrown as waste biomass after each harvest as it is unstable for the upcoming harvest. The biggest challenge in banana cultivation is the utilization of biomass of banana pseusostem waste into valuable products. In this study, Xylano-pectinase enzyme extract was produced from banana pseudo stem waste under solid-state fermentation by Enterobacter cloacae PMC04. The highest pectinase and xylanase activities obtained using banana pseudo stem as carbon source were 124.62 U/ml and 173.81 U/ml respectively. Thermodynamics stated that range 40-50oC were considered to be the optimal temperature for xylano-pectinase enzyme production and subsequent degumming of banana fibers. The crude enzyme extract were then used in the degumming of banana fibers for textile application. Textile processing of banana fiber necessitates the removal of hemicellulose substance which can be achieved by crude xylano-pectinase enzyme. It was found that crude xylano-pectinase was efficient in the removal of hemicellulose substance from the fibers. Results obtained from this study demonstrate that the proposed bioprocess could be successfully applied for the degumming of banana fibers sustainably.

Currently, the growing field of technology has paved the way for using environmental friendly resources; in particular, plant origin holds ecological concern and renewable aspects. Currently, natural fiber composites have widening attention, thanks to their eco-friendly properties. In the present work, the composite material is reinforced with natural fibers from the bark of banana trees (banana fibers), a material available in Vietnam. Banana fibers are extracted from banana peels, pretreated with NaOH 5%, and then cut to an average length of 30 mm. Banana fiber is reinforced for epoxy resin Epikote 240 with mass percents: 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, 20 wt.%, and 25 wt.%. The results were evaluated through structural morphology (SEM), mechanical properties, fire resistance, and thermal properties. Experimental results show that the tensile, compressive, and impact strengths of biosynthetic materials up to 20% by weight have increased compared to epoxy neat. Flame retardant and thermal properties are kept stable; 20 wt.% banana fiber gives a limiting oxygen index of 20.8% and satisfactory thermal stability.

Over the past years and present, the expanding number of oil spills occurrences has gotten an overwhelming chemical test to the marine or oceanic environment, and the environmental issues around the globe are becoming more problematic and more acute, be it oil spills or effluents caused by oil and gas or petrochemical industries. The main point of this current investigation is the synthesis of activated carbon (AC) from various agricultural waste materials, bamboo, and banana fibers, as one of the most promising methodologies or applications in treating oil spills constitutes high sorption capacity. The physicochemical feature of the synthesized AC samples was analyzed by FTIR spectra and N2 physisorption. More specifically, the AC samples derived from bamboo (BAMB-AC) at activation temperature 550 ℃ indicate the highest specific surface area (2,760.47 m2/g), and sorption capacity at 3.3678 g/g with the total pore volume, mesopore volume, external surface area being 3.364 cm3/g, 1.811 cm3/g, and 1,601.634 m2/g, respectively, and maximum oil sorption capacity at 4.418 g/g for BANA-AC with activation ratio 7:1 (H3PO4), and surface area at 2,172.234 m2/g.