Dipul Kalita

Physico-Mechanical Properties of Banana Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite as an Alternative Building Material

Utilization of natural fiber as reinforcing material is the latest trend in polymer science to produce higher strength with lower weight composite materials having wide range of applications. As a natural fiber, banana fiber is getting importance in recent years in the reinforcement arena of polymer composite. Two species of banana viz Musa sapientum and Musa paradisica available in North East India were selected considering their higher fiber yield and adequate strength properties of the fibers. The chemical compositions, spectroscopic and thermal properties of these fibers were studied in order to study their suitability for commercial exploration. Low density polyethylene (LDPE)-banana fiber reinforced composites were prepared using hydraulic hot press. Physico-mechanical properties (e.g. tensile strength, flexural strength, elongation at break, Youngs modulus) of the prepared composites were determined. The tensile strengths and flexural strengths of the composites increased while using LDPE 10 to 30 % of the fiber and then started to decrease gradually. Young moduli of the composites increased with the increase of fiber mass. Water absorption also increased accordingly with the increase of the fiber weight. The elongation at break decreased with increasing fiber quantity. The mechanical strength properties of chemically treated banana fiber-LDPE composites were slightly higher than the mechanically extracted fiber-LDPE composites. Structural analyses of the treated fibers were carried out by FTIR and XRD. These studied revealed due to the removal of noncellulosic constituents such as hemicelluloses and lignin the crystalline properties of the fibers were increased. All the properties of composite like tensile strength, flexural strength, water absorption capacity etc. plays a significant role in these polymer composite materials. Hence it can be concluded that banana fiber can be used as reinforced agent successfully in the composite industry as a sustainable building material.

Potentiality of Hydrocarbon Yielding Plants for Future Energy and Chemicals

The development of alternative sources for energy and chemicals, particularly the use of plant biomass as a renewable source for fuel or chemical feedstock, has received much recent attention. While efforts are ongoing to find and use substitute forms of energy, the heavy dependence of most societies in the world on petroleum lends importance to the continuing supply of hydrocarbon on a self sustaining and renewable basis. This chapter attempts to review research carried out by various workers in different parts of the world on plant materials as sources of energy and chemical feedstock, and the possibilities of producing hydrocarbon and related chemical products directly or indirectly from such material. The potential of plant resources in this area might help to achieve energy autarky and reduce reliance on other sources. The chapter also introduces the exploratory work carried out at North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat, and discusses some future directions that need to be considered to promote the development of petrocrops.

Fibers and Dye Yielding Plants of North East India

India has been considered as a rich biodiversity and havens of wealth for useful germplasm resources and there is no doubt that the plant kingdom with treasure house of diverse natural product. The Northeast region of India comprising of the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim can be physio-graphically categorized into the Eastern Himalayas, Northeast hills (Patkai-Naga Hills and Lushai Hills) and the Brahmaputra and Barak Valley plains. The region has been identified by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as a centre of rice germplasm while the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), India, has highlighted the region as being rich in wild relatives of crop plants. Fibers and dyes both are derived from plants using by human society. Natural dyes are use in the colouring textile, drugs, cosmetics etc. Because of its non-toxic effects, it is also used for colouring various food products. Due to lack of availability of precise technical knowledge on the extraction, dying technique, it has not commercially succeeded like the synthetic dyes. Natural fibers are getting increasing significance as renewable and environmental friendly raw material for technical applications as well as civil engineering and building, construction materials. In this chapter, we discussed the fiber and dye yielding plans in North East India, its extractions, uses, mordants, characterization, advantage and disadvantages in details.