A New Natural Cellulosic Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) Pod Fiber Characterization for Bio-degradable Polymeric Composites

摘要

High performance natural cellulosic fiber can contribute to fiber-reinforced polymer composites or as organic fillers through replacement of the synthetic or man-made fibers. The natural fibers extracted from various parts of plant sources provides healthy and sustainable environment. Hence, the present work aimed to identify agro-residues of Cajanus cajan pod could be converted as organic filler through its intrinsic characters. The physico-chemical, morphology and anatomy, structural and thermal properties of C. cajan pod fibers are characterized by chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The physico-chemical properties of the pod fiber were determined as 59.15% of cellulose, 10.43% of hemi cellulose, 21.59% of lignin, 0.49% of wax, 3.05% of ash, and 5.29% of moisture content. The boundary of single fiber showed about 100 mu m diameter. The thermal resistance of the pod fiber showed up to 274 degrees C, will make it better performance. Thus, fiber from C. cajan pod would be better alternative for synthetic fibers and preferable reinforcement for bio-degradable polymeric composites.