title: Enhancement of tensile strength of lignocellulosic jute fibers by alkali-steam treatment.
abstract: The physico-chemical properties of jute fibers treated with alkali (NaOH) solution have been investigated in this study. The treatments were applied under ambient and elevated temperatures and high pressure steaming conditions. To the knowledge of these authors the influence of alkali-steam treatment on the uniaxial tensile strength of natural ligno-cellulosic fibers, such as jute, has not been investigated earlier. The results from this investigation indicate that a 30 min dipping of the fibers in 0.5% alkali solution followed by 30 min alkali-steam treatment leads to an increase in the tensile strength of up to 65%. The increase appears to be due to fiber separation and removal of non-cellulosic materials, which, in turn, resulted in an increased crystallinity.
authors.affiliation: Materials Science Centre, IIT Kharagpur, WB 721302, India.
authors.forename: Prosenjit
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.forename: Suvendu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manna
authors.forename: Sougata Roy
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: Ramkrishna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.forename: Debasis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Basudam
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Adhikari
mesh_terms: D000468:Alkalies / Q000494:pharmacology*; D032381:Corchorus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects*; D003460:Crystallization; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013227:Steam; D013499:Surface Properties / Q000187:drug effects; D013696:Temperature; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000187:drug effects*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D000468:Alkalies; D013227:Steam; C036909:lignocellulose; D008031:Lignin