JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #55 - February/March 2010 - 29

Properties The biomaterial for green composites Natural fibres are generally derived from plants, animals, or mineral resources. This article focuses on natural fibres from plants. The current supply of Table 1: Estimated raw natural fibre capacity available in Malaysia timber is proving to be insufficient, and Malaysia Estimated Resources capacity/year is now trying to use other natural fibres to produce ~ 20.7 million Log production high-value-added m3/year biocomposite products. Forest and wood ~ 10 mill. m3/year Huge amounts of natural residues fibre materials are available in Malaysia: each year, an Rubberwood 2.1 mill m3/year estimated 10 million m3 are produced from wood Oil palm biomass 30 million metric (trunk, EFB, frond) tons / year residues, 46 million m3 from agricultural residues 3,200 metric tons such as oil palm, and 3,200 Coconut stems /year metric tons from coconut 500,000 metric Rice husk/ straw stems. Malaysia produces tons /year more than 30 million 180,000 metric metric tons of oil palm Bagasse tons /year biomass palm trunk (OPT), 10 million culms oil palm frond (OPF) and Bamboo /year empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres. The estimated amount of alternative raw natural fibres available in Malaysia is provided in Table 1. All of these have MS. LOH YUEH FENG, RESEARCH OFFICER FIBRE AND BIOCOMPOSITE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (FIDEC) MALAYSIA TIMBER INDUSTRY BOARD (MTIB) V arious types of natural fibres are obtained from plants. The properties of these fibres and the applications for them may vary as a function of the part of the plant they originate from. Table 2 summarizes the types of fibres extracted from various plants and their mechanical properties as compared to glass fibre. Demand for new materials in the global composite industry is stronger than ever, and supply constraints are becoming increasingly crucial. Current research findings show that the performance of natural fibres in certain composite applications is competitive with that of glass fibres. The advantages of natural fibres over synthetic fibres like glass and carbon include biodegradability, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, low energy consumption, low cost, low density and acceptable specific strength properties. Their use can also contribute to develop the non-food segment of an agriculturebased economy. Environment-friendly biocomposites have the potential to be the new materials of the 21st century, as well as a partial solution to many global environmental problems. What are biocomposites The term “biocomposite” covers: 1) petroleum-derived, nonbiodegradable polymers like polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) or epoxies, reinforced with natural fibres; 2) biopolymers (e.g. PLA, PHA) reinforced with natural fibres; and 3) biopolymers reinforced with synthetic fibres such as glass or carbon. Biopolymers reinforced with natural fibres, generally considered to be more environment friendly, are sometimes called “green composites”. These biocomposites are emerging as a viable alternative to glass-fibre composites, particularly in building, automotive and consumer products. Oil palm trunk (1), Wood residues (2), Rice straw (3), Kenaf (4) No55 February - March 2010 / jec composites magazine

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #55 - February/March 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #55 - February/March 2010