Eco-friendly Materials of Polymer Composites Based on Water Hyacinth Fibers/Roving

Abstract

Overgrowth of water hyacinths will cause difficulties for water traffic in the Mekong Delta and affect the growth of other aquatic species.  The water hyacinth as a raw material available in nature has been applied in production of the composite materials. The water hyacinth trees were treated in NaOH solution for 2-12 hours with concentration in the range 2.5-15.0%. The morphology of the water hyacinth before and after treatment was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which showed that the fiber surface structure as well as the arrangement order between the fibers was significantly changed. The green composites were fabricated on the background of an unsatured polyester resin that is reinforced with water hyacinth fiber. Mechanical properties of the composites were measured with a sharp increase in flexural strength and flexural modulus (nearly 300% increase) in the case of treated water hyacinth fiber composites / roving. Similarly, the compressive strength of composite materials increased significantly. This demonstrates the advantages of natural water hyacinths fiber treatment in relation to the mechanical improvement of the polymer composite materials.