A New Natural Cellulosic Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) Pod Fiber Characterization for Bio-degradable Polymeric Composites

Abstract

High performance natural cellulosic fiber can contribute to fiber-reinforced polymer composites or as organic fillers through replacement of the synthetic or man-made fibers. The natural fibers extracted from various parts of plant sources provides healthy and sustainable environment. Hence, the present work aimed to identify agro-residues of Cajanus cajan pod could be converted as organic filler through its intrinsic characters. The physico-chemical, morphology and anatomy, structural and thermal properties of C. cajan pod fibers are characterized by chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The physico-chemical properties of the pod fiber were determined as 59.15% of cellulose, 10.43% of hemi cellulose, 21.59% of lignin, 0.49% of wax, 3.05% of ash, and 5.29% of moisture content. The boundary of single fiber showed about 100 µm diameter. The thermal resistance of the pod fiber showed up to 274°C, will make it better performance. Thus, fiber from C. cajan pod would be better alternative for synthetic fibers and preferable reinforcement for bio-degradable polymeric composites.