Water hyacinth for biocomposites—an overview

Abstract

In recent years, there is a mounting interest in the utilization of natural fibers in composite materials due to their abundancy, lowdensity and weight, lowcost, recyclability and biodegradable properties. It is well known that these plant fibers are rich in cellulose and have the greater potential as reinforcements in polymeric materials to form polymer composites. Natural fibers were already proved as a better alternative for high cost synthetic fibers such as glass, carbon, kevlar and basalt etc. This article presents an overview on the environmental impact of aquatic weed water hyacinth (Eichhornea crassipe). Furthermore, emphasis is given on the extraction of fibers from water hyacinth, fabrication of composites and the effective utilization of the extracted natural fiber in composite materials for various applications.