Characterization of new cellulosic fiber derived from Lasia spinosa (L.) thwaites rhizome and its potential use as biodegradable textile material

Abstract

Fibers extracted from Lasia spinosa (L.) thwaites (LS) were characterized to investigate their potential use as biodegradable textile materials. Mechanical and alkali extraction methods were followed to extract LS rhizome fibers. The morphological, physical, chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the mechanically extracted rhizome fibers from the commonly available LS species of Lamina-dissected type [LDT] and Sagittate type [SG] were investigated. No previous studies have been done to characterize the LS rhizome fibers. Examination of rhizome fiber morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that fibers within the dispersed vascular bundles of the rhizome possess a natural crimp.The FTIR result confirmed that the fibers are rich in cellulose. X-RD results confirm a 43 % and 58 % crystallinity index of LDT and SG fibers, respectively, indicating higher amorphous regions and lower crystal phases. Moisture regain of 12.5 % and 14.5 %, single fiber tensile strength of 213.92 MPa and 216.97 MPa, elongation at break of 16.65 % and 17.67 %, and Young's modulus of 1.32 GPa and 1.26 GPa were observed for LDT and SG fibers respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed thermal stability up to 230 °C for both fiber types confirming their ability to withstand textile processing.

Keywords: Crystallinity index; FTIR; Lasia spinosa (L.) thwaites; Scanning electron microscopy; Tensile strength; X-ray diffraction.

Fig. 1

Identified LS types: (a) Lamina-dissected type, (b) Sagittate type, (c) Mixed type, (d) LS rhizome with pointed spines, (e) Rhizomes with pointy spines removed (f) Mud and outer core removed rhizomes, (g) Fibers in matured rhizome, (h) Fibers in immature rhizome, (i), (j) and (k) Rhizomes at different stages with NaOH boiling, (l) Alkali extracted fiber.

Fig. 2

Naked eye view of (a) rhizome cross section, (b) rhizome longitudinal section, (c) micrograph of the transverse section of LDT rhizome 10x, (d) micrograph of the transverse section of SG rhizome 10x

Fig. 3

SEM micrographs of LS fiber: (a) and (b) LDTF and SGF at 181X, (c) LDTF at 250X, (D) LDTF at 2.50KX and (e) SGF at 2.00K, (f) cross-section of LDTF at 15KX, (g) cross section SGF at 13K, (h) and (i) crimp on LDTF and SGF.

Fig. 4

SEM micrographs of LS fiber (a) contaminants on hand extracted fiber surface, (b) NaOH extracted fiber, (c) matured fiber at 179X, (d) matured fiber at 500X

Fig. 5

FTIR graphs: (a) LDTF and (b) SGF.

Fig. 6

XRD graphs: (a) LDTF and (b) SGF.

Fig. 7

(a) Stress-strain curves of 3 fiber samples in each LDTF and SGF, Two-parameter Weibull distribution for LDTF and SGF for (b) tensile strength (c) elongation at break (d) Young's modulus.

Fig. 8

(a) Light reflectance (R) values vs wavelength of LDTF, SGF and Cotton, (b) and (c) LS rhizome fiber matt sample, (d) dyed LS matt, (e) dyed cotton textile.

Fig. 9

TG and DTG Curves, (a) LDTF, (b) SGF