| Summary: | Natural fiber is incompatible with hydrophobic polymer due to its hydrophilic nature. Therefore, surface modification of fiber is needed to impart compatibility. In this work,superheated steam (SHS)-alkali was introduced as novel surface treatment method to modify oil palm mesocarp
fiber (OPMF) for fabrication of biocomposites. The OPMF was first pre-treated with SHS and subsequently treated with varying NaOH concentration (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%) and soaking time (1, 2, 3 and 4h) at room temperature. The biocomposites were then fabricated by melt blending of 70 wt% SHS-alkali treated-OPMFs and 30 wt% poly(butylene succinate) in a Brabender internal mixer followed by hot-pressed moulding. The combination treatment resulted in fiber with rough surface as well as led to the exposure ofmicrofibers. The tensile test result showed that fiber
treated at 2% NaOH solution and 3h soaking time produced biocomposite with highest improvement in tensile strength (69%) and elongation at break (36%) in comparison to that of
untreated OPMF.
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