Investigation of chemical, physical and morpho-mechanical properties of banana-plantain stalk fibers for ropes and woven fabrics used in composite and limited-lifespan geotextile.

This study aimed to assess the potential of banana-plantain stalk fibers (BPSF) as a raw material for ropes and fabrics used in composites and geotextiles. Fibers were obtained by Biological retting and ropes used for geotextile weaving were obtained by three-strand twisting in order to optimize the mechanical properties of geostalk. The thermal, physical, chemical and mechanical characteristics of the fibers were studied in order to assess the impact of the extraction process on fiber performance. In addition, the microstructure of fibers and ropes was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the results highlighted the presence of cellulose microfibrils parallel to fiber axis and hemicellulose linked by lignin matrix. These constituents are organized in three concentric layers around the lumen. Elementary chemical analyses using X-ray energy dispersion (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and chemical deconstruction using Jayme-Wise protocol were carried out to determine the chemical composition of BPSF, which consists of 51.5 % Carbon, 47.07 % Oxygen and mineral salts that can be highly contribute to soil fertilization after degradation. These chemical constituents represent 40 % cellulose, 21.5 % hemicellulose, 24 % lignin, 0.34 % pectin, 7.2 % lip soluble extractable and 7.36 % water-soluble sugars present in BPSF. Thermal properties of BPSF have been investigated showing the initial degradation around 200 °C. Physical analysis and uniaxial tensile testing were performed to determine the multi-scale physical and mechanical properties of geostalk. Statistical evaluation using Weibull distribution established an increasing rate of physical and mechanical properties from the finest scale to the macroscopic scale. Thus, from the BPSF to the ropes, titer increases from 42.5 ± 4.5 g/km to 7983.4 ± 132 g/km and elongation at break increases from 0.75 ± 0.29 mm for the fibers to 52.42 ± 18.91 mm for geostalk. With mass per unit area of 1869 g/m2, the tensile stress of 1281.05 ± 273 MPa and maximum strength of 15.4 ± 1.74 kN/m, geostalk is a sustainable woven fabric alternative to geosynthetics for soil reinforcement as other limited lifespan geotextiles (geojute, geocoir and geosisal). In addition, the thermal stability and high mechanical properties of fibers and ropes suggest their potential application as reinforced phases in composite materials.

A study of the surface properties of cotton fibers by inverse gas chromatography.

In the present study, the potential relationships between the microstructure and the surface properties of different cotton fibers are analyzed by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution. By measuring the retention time of polar and nonpolar gaseous probes into a column containing the fibers, surface characteristics of these fibers, in particular the dispersive component of their surface energy and their surface morphological index, were determined. It is clearly shown that the presence of natural waxes on cotton fibers plays a major role on their thermodynamic surface properties, affecting the surface energy and the acid-base character as well as the morphological aspects of such fibers. Finally, it appeared that IGC is a well appropriate method for the evaluation of the surface characteristics of cotton fibers.