FEASIBILITY STUDY OF CHEMICAL TREATMENT OF BAGASSE FOR BAGASSE/EPOXY COMPOSITE APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Now a days, natural fiber based composite material are getting popularity for different applications. These materials are considered environment friendly as they are made of biodegradable natural fibers which are often the agricultural waste or byproduct. However, the chemical treatment processes applied to improve the mechanical strength and adhesion properties of fibers may produce a lot of waste water with very high BOD and COD. Thus, the natural fiber based composite industry may harm environment more than the traditional composite industry if this waste water will discharge untreated. On the other hand, treatment of such polluted water may increase the operating cost of the composite production and effect the economy of the industry. In this study, the waste water produced during chemical treatment of natural fibers are examined for the amount of BOD and COD present in it. This indicates the expenditure required on the waste treatment plant. Results showed that waste water has BOD value 1200 ml/L and COD value 5800 ml/L, which are very high. COD values is five times higher than BOD value. Thus, biological treatment may not decompose all impurities present in the waste and more expensive advance treatment may require before discharging the waste. Mechanical properties of treated and untreated bagasse fiber/epoxy composites are also analyzed to investigate the requirement of the treatment. Result showed significant enhancement in mechanical properties of both treated and untreated fiber based composites in comparison to pure epoxy sample. However, mechanical properties of treated fiber based composites are found higher than the untreated fiber based composites. This study suggests that if composite material is used in any commodity application or where any specific mechanical properties are not required, the pretreatment of natural fiber is totally unnecessary.