Muhammad Irfan Hakimi Bin Radzuan, <br/><br/>
The effect of steam treatment for cellulose production and biocomposites characterization from pineapple leaf fiber/polypropylene / 
Muhammad Irfan Hakimi Bin Radzuan 
 - xi, 52 pages :  illustrations ; 
<br/><br/> Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology 
<br/><br/>Final Year Report (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering Technology) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2024 
<br/><br/>Include bibliographical reference 
<br/><br/> The quantity of plastic utilized in products made of plastic can be decreased by combining natural fibre with polymer plastic. Pineapple leaves have been investigated as a viable and environmentally friendly substitute for polypropylene in the manufacturing of plastics. The fibre and biocomposites undergoes to evaluate relative to the mechanical, morphology, thermal, and water absorption. Pineapple Leaf Fibre (PALF) underwent steam treatment at 120℃ for 20 minutes inside the autoclave for the first cycle. As for the second cycle of steam treatment the fibre undergoes again inside the autoclave at the same temperature and time. The treated sample will be undergoing bleaching process before being melt-blended with polypropylene for biocomposite production. The fibre analyses were performed using techniques like FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), and TGA (Thermogravimetric Analysis). Biocomposites are produced using varying fibre loadings (5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, and 15 wt.%) for future testing. The biocomposites produced with 2nd cycle with 10wt.% of fibre loading had best tensile strength at 18.87 MPa, approximately 26% higher than the untreated PALF biocomposites and a significant reduction of water absorption by 12.5% compared to the untreated fibre. The study focuses on improving the characteristics of PALF (pineapple leaf fibre) and determining the most effective treatment for long-lasting biocomposites. Biocomposites incorporating PALFs treated with a hybrid treatment exhibited superior mechanical properties compared to untreated PALFs, particularly when treated with 2nd cycle with 10wt.% of fibre loading Biocomposites made with steam treatment PALFs was better compared to untreated PALFs in terms of mechanical characteristics. The improved mechanical properties were attributed to increased interfacial adhesion between the treated PALFs and the polypropylene matrix. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>THE0010575 (Local) 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Corporate Names: </label><br/>Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology--Dissertations
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