Physical, Chemical and Surface Properties of Alkali-Treated Kenaf Fiber

Abstract

This paper deals with the effect of alkaline treatment on the kenaf fiber physico-chemical and mechanical properties. The kenaf stems was treated by sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) at different conditions. The chemical extraction allows the elimination of non cellulosic materials but also destroy the cellulosic chains at high extraction conditions (temperature, concentration and treatment duration). The results an improvement on the mechanical properties especially for tenacity and this also proved by the cristallinity index that was 57% for crude fiber pass to 72% for treated fibers. The results show that the chemical structure of the extracted fiber is the same with a decrease of the amount of non cellulosic material on the fibers.