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This qualitative method case study research intends to present a plant-based material that has never been utilised before to make wayang kulit Kelantan puppets. Kenaf, or its scientific name Hibiscus Cannabinus, was employed and then processed throughout the creative process, beginning with a small amount of kenaf tree dust mixed with water and ending with the final process of manufacturing those puppets. It is Malaysia's first kenaf tree-based wayang kulit puppet. Apart from the researcher himself as an instrument by creating a 'rapoot' with these art activists while in the field of study, unstructured observation and interviews are among the key instruments in this study. The process of producing puppets that takes place is crucial in the analysis of the findings of this study. Five key factors have been identified as catalysts for this breakthrough. The use of kenaf in the manufacture of wayang kulit Kelantan puppets does not imply that the findings of this study have ruled out the use of animal skins entirely. It is an alternative or a different choice to making puppets out of animal skins. These reforms are considered as having the potential to retain the appeal of this country's legacy theatre art, ensuring that it remains relevant and not neglected by the youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals in the water bodies can be detrimental to human health and also the environment. Removal of heavy metal can be done using adsorbent derived from plant materials. In this study, ANN modeling was performed for the removal of cadmium (Cd) (II) ions from water using Kenaf fiber biochar as an adsorbent. Operating conditions of the process: chemical impregnation (NaOH: KF), pyrolysis temperature and pyrolysis time were used as the inputs and biochar yield, cadmium removal, adsorption capacity, and specific surface area of the process were used as the outputs of the ANN model. The model was trained using 12 Training algorithms (TA) of ANN to optimize the TA that provides the best performance in terms of prediction. The results show that no TA's performance has been consistent in terms of lowest mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute performance error (MAPE) for all the 4 outputs. Levenberg Marquart (LM) has been successful in providing lowest MSE, MAE, MAPE of 5.23, 2.23, 0.07 respectively for biochar yield and 2.69, 1.14, 0.07 respectively for adsorption capacity. Also, since highest accuracy of 83.33 was obtained for adsorption capacity with LM, it is optimized to be best performing TA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural Fibre Reinforced Plastic Composite material that the Kenaf Fibre are used to reinforce to the polymer matrix to improve its mechanical properties. It is environmentally friendly and low cost as compare to non-biodegradable material. It is also widely used in Aerospace, Automotive and Furniture industry. Drilling process plays an important role in fabrication in these industries. However, some defects often occur on the Natural Fibre Reinforced Plastic Composite during drilling process. The major damage is delamination that are found on the surface of the composite in drilling process. This damage reduces the mechanical properties of the composite. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate and minimize the delamination by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Cutting speed and feed rate are found significant to delamination in this study. The higher the previous researchers investigate the cutting speed with low feed rate, the lower the delamination. Therefore, the conclusion of this study is high cutting speed with low feed rate improve the mechanical quality of composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to Environmental ill effects and rising synthetic fibre costs natural fibres have found a prominent use as reinforcement in polymer composite. To significantly improve the required mechanical properties, hybridization of adequate proportions of natural fibre and synthetic fibre has proved useful. Hybridized composite retains the parent properties of its constituent particles. The newness in the constituent particles of the composite is the need of the world. This article focuses on development technique of kenaf and glass fibre epoxy composite. Hand layup technique is used for making samples in the mould. The impact on mechanical properties like bending and impact is also discussed. Varying volume fraction and treatment with alkaline solution of constituent particles has shown changes in impact and bending properties. Sample with 30% fibre with treatment of alkaline shows highest bending strength and impact strength of untreated sample with 15% kenaf fibre shows maximum impact strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission has become a major concern in averting the global warming effect. Prior to the established adsorption process in carbon capture and storage technology (CCS), the development towards potential bio-modified adsorbent had been extensively studied by impregnating monoethanolamine (MEA) on the bio-sorbent surface, as to increase the porosity of the raw sorbent towards enhancement in capturing CO2. As been recognized by Kyoto Protocol, kenaf (Hibiscus Cannabinus L.) is an eco-friendly industrial organic material that could overcome global warming issues due to its distinctive properties such as low density, highly porous, renewable, cheaper, and abundantly available compared to other organic or commercial adsorbents. Thus, kenaf as bio-sorbent material was used in this study with chemical modification done to evaluate its properties enhancement for CO2 adsorption enhancement. In the previous study, MEA has been proved as a good solvent to be impregnated into kenaf sorbent as it improved the adsorptive capacity by 16%. Therefore, this study focused on the evaluation on the porosity enhancement by impregnated MEA on kenaf sorbent at difference impregnated temperatures. The pressure drop across the modified sorbents using porosimeter was determined as to further evaluate on the porosity effect. Three different impregnation temperatures; 20, 27 and 40°C at 1:1 kenaf to MEA concentration ratio were evaluated. All samples were analyzed for the elemental composition to prove the successful of impregnated amine functional group (N-H). Through the porosimeter, it showed that the pressure drop across the modified kenaf-MEA had increased as higher temperature impregnated were used. The porosity of the modified sorbent evaluated had also increased proportionally to the pressure drop. The adsorbent experienced large pressure drop as more gas diffuses within the available void spaces in the kenaf sorbent. The enlargement of the porous media on the kenaf surface was due to the impregnated of amine functional group, thus increases the pore volume of the sorbent. This also agreed to the Boyle's Law of Gas Expansion Method. From the study, it showed that the modified kenaf-MEA at 40°C impregnation temperature had the highest porosity of 58.6 with a pressure drop of 2.93 bar. This result indicated that the improvement of porosity was achieved by modification of kenaf sorbent at a high impregnated temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to show the investigation of silane usage of kenaf fibre added with jackfruit core fibre powder using several mechanical tests such as tensile strength, sem test, and vickers hardness test, which are mechanical properties that help us to use in various industrial mechanical commercial applications. This is beneficial in a variety of industrial and commercial mechanical utilisations. The non-hydrated kenaf fibre mixed with jackfruit core fibre powder in the untreated procedure is soaked in a combination of ethanol. The plates are organised according to ASTM standards in the form of one ply of kenaf fibre with a jackfruit core fibre powder layer inserted and moulded with epoxy resin. The combinations were made utilising a hot press to generate plates for infusion in a mixed method by compressing approximate orientation kenaf fibre and adding jackfruit core. Mechanical fields that aid in the development of the experimental's efficiency when jackfruit core fibre material is employed. The major rationale for using this material is to avoid using plastics. Natural fibres are often weaker than synthetic fibres, and as a result of their porosity, they tend to deteriorate mechanically and physically with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural fibre composites are showing tremendous potential to be an alternative reinforcement for synthetic fibre in composites. This paper deals with natural fibres such as kenaf fibres and veldt grape plant which belongs to the grape family. These fibres are varied in their length and content and placed in random orientation for reinforcing with epoxy based composites. The veldt grape fibres are mixed with kenaf fibre in several composition and several composite laminates are fabricated. The fabricated epoxy based composite laminates are then investigated for its mechanical properties. It is concluded from the results that the composites reinforced with 20% kenaf fibre and 15% veldt grape fibre fibres produce higher tensile strength, compressive strength and flexural strength when compared to other combinations of composite laminates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kenaf has a high potential as a filler or reinforcement in the polymer matrix because it is a fibrous plant. The properties of bio-composite materials depend on the properties of the matrix, reinforcement and process parameters used. This study uses kenaf fiber as a reinforcing material at different lengths (1 and 3 cm) and different compositions (10, 20, 30 wt.%), using a casting process. Low viscosity epoxy resin at 6 poise is used as a matrix. The results showed that the differences in fiber length and variations in kenaf composition were significantly affected the material properties of the bio-composites produced. Evenly dispersed fibers throughout the matrix produce better bio-composite material properties [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally friendly materials have become an exciting topic of research in preventing environmental pollution in Indonesia. Natural fiber-reinforced composite is one of the ecologically friendly bio-composites. The purpose of this study was to analyse the water content, the swelling, and the nail head-pulled-through strength of Sumberejo kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy (KF/EP) composites according to SNI 01-4449-2006 standard. The kenaf fiber was treated with NaOH solution before it was used as reinforcement. The KF/EP composite laminas were fabricated by Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion (VARI) method with a stack of (0°/0°/0°/0°) and (0°/90°/0°/90°). These laminas were compared to pristine epoxy samples. These composites were categorized as high-density fiber-boards (HDF). Higher value of nail head pull-through strength was found in the KF/EP (0°/90°/0°/90°) with the value of (5,11 ± 0,77) kgf/mm2 and minimum values of water content and swelling were found in the KF/EP (0°/0°/0°/0°) with values (4,34 ± 0,18) %, and (4,07 ± 0,50) % respectively. However, these two composites complied with SNI 01-4449-2006 standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiber plants are overgrown in Indonesia as one of tropical countries. Natural fibers have many benefits, namely environmentally friendly, recyclable materials, flexible, and can be used as reinforcement in polymer composites. This research aimed to analyze the hardness, impact, and fire resistance properties on Sumberejo kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites with the fiber orientations of 0°/0°/0°/0° and 0°/90°/0°/90°. The kenaf fiber was alkaline treated before it was used as reinforcement and the composites were fabricated by Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion technique. Furthermore, the composites surfaces, before and after flammability test, were observed. SNI 01-4449-2006 was used as density standard for fiber-board and these composites were categorized as High-Density Fiber-Boards. The 0°/0°/0°/0° and 0°/90°/0°/90° Sumberejo kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites had similar values of hardness and impact strength, which were (71.48 ± 0.69) HD and (72.4 ± 1.01) HD; and (32.61 ± 1.28) J/cm2 and (33.03 ± 1.05) J/cm2 respectively. Meanwhile, the 0°/90°/0°/90° composites had better combustion rate than the 0°/0°/0°/0° composites, with a value of (14.0 ± 0.2) mm/minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to develop the blue print of Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) in the supply chain network of Kenaf Natural Fibre Agroindustry (KNFA) which has not been much studied. This paper will be an important contribution to KNFA studies in Indonesia. This blueprint refers to the two echelons of the KNFA supply chain network, namely the upstream supply chain network (KNFA) and the middle-stream supply chain network (textile industry). The simulation of the inventory collaboration model in the upstream supply chain have been carried out on the Net Beans IDE 12.0 application. Consecutive research will carry out a simulation of the inventory collaboration model in the middle-stream supply chain network, and develop a digital platform with an Android studio application for smartphones based on android, and Net beans application for desktops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers may benefit from a variety of features using lightweight structures, which are particular tempting for construction projects. Light weight, endurance in difficult conditions, and high tensile strength are really just few other reasons that polymer composites have become more common recently in construction projects. Throughout the form of fiber reinforced layers, composite materials, or sheets, composites are also widely utilized to reinforce ailing existing buildings. Polymer composites were also deemed novel compared to conventional material like glass and metal, although its effectiveness in structural materials. As a result, the main challenge has always been in the code early stages of development. Methods for evaluating the mechanical characteristics of composite materials, among the most significant parts of engineering, are suggested to be explored in this work. The purpose is to give developers with high-confidence values that will effectively contribute to the development of the any design methods. This paper examines the optimal mechanical characteristics of hybrid composites. In compared to carbon fiber reinforced composites, glass fiber reinforced polymer composites have a low rigidity and a high elongation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Below knee (BK) prosthetic foot is subjected to different stresses through gait cycles due to heel striking, dorsiflexion, and toe-off, which results in tension and compression stresses on the foot at walking. The specialists have to set up their designs on the sufferance stresses levels instead of allowable stresses. The purpose of this work is to decide the optimum of the lamontaes sequence to satisfy the amputees requirement to achieve the daily activities.. Nowadays, laminated composite materials are used in rehabilitation centres because they can withstand high stresses and are lightweight and relatively cheap. In this work, four sequences were suggested to test them to choose the most proper sequence. These sequences were (2 perlon,2 carbon, 1perlon,2fiberglass,2 perlon.), (2 perlon, 1 carbon, 1 perlon, 1 carbon, 2 perlon.), (2 perlon, 3 carbon, 1 perlon,3 fiberglass, 2 perlon.),And (4 people, two carbon, 1 perlon, 2fibreglass, 4 perlon.)(1). New material was presented to improve the mechanical properties of prosthetic foot sequences—this material is known as KENAF (K). Tensile test, impact, and 3 point bending were made on the new sequence. Results show a modification in ultimate stress increment of about 25%, and the impact energy raised about 1.5 J. The strain also was increased too, which means higher strain energy per unit volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous asphalt (PA) is one type of flexible pavement known as pavement that has a permeability capability designed to control rainwater and reduce surface runoff. However, the structure is subject to damage from cracking, grooves, stripping and rapid aging under the effects of repeated vehicle loads on the road, hot weather and heavy rain. The use of kenaf fiber benefits in an effort to increase the strength, lifespan and durability of road pavements because kenaf fiber tends to be used for crack control and strengthens the path by resisting cracking stress. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of porous asphalt incorporating kenaf fiber and to determine the optimum fiber content of kenaf fiber modified porous asphalt. The mixtures containing varying percentages of kenaf fiber were evaluated to check which samples provided the best performance. The laboratory test as per requirement was carried out which are LA Abrasion, Resilient Modulus, Marshall Stability and Flow and Dynamic Creep. The results showed that the addition of 0.3% kenaf fiber gave the lowest value of abrasion and kenaf fiber content contributed the highest value of Resilient Modulus. While the kenaf fiber content for Marshall Stability is 0.5% and the Dynamic Creep is 0.4%. Using ranking method, the optimum fiber content can be identified which is 0.3%. The modified PA mixture with kenaf fiber resulted in improved performance of PA as a road surface material. In conclusion, asphalt mixtures containing kenaf fiber improved the stability and strength of the mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmentally friendly materials have become an exciting topic of research in preventing environmental pollution in Indonesia. Natural fiber-reinforced composite is one of the ecologically friendly bio-composites. The purpose of this study was to analyse the water content, the swelling, and the nail head-pulled-through strength of Sumberejo kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy (KF/EP) composites according to SNI 01-4449-2006 standard. The kenaf fiber was treated with NaOH solution before it was used as reinforcement. The KF/EP composite laminas were fabricated by Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion (VARI) method with a stack of (0°/0°/0°/0°) and (0°/90°/0°/90°). These laminas were compared to pristine epoxy samples. These composites were categorized as high-density fiber-boards (HDF). Higher value of nail head pull-through strength was found in the KF/EP (0°/90°/0°/90°) with the value of (5,11 ± 0,77) kgf/mm2 and minimum values of water content and swelling were found in the KF/EP (0°/0°/0°/0°) with values (4,34 ± 0,18) %, and (4,07 ± 0,50) % respectively. However, these two composites complied with SNI 01-4449-2006 standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiber plants are overgrown in Indonesia as one of tropical countries. Natural fibers have many benefits, namely environmentally friendly, recyclable materials, flexible, and can be used as reinforcement in polymer composites. This research aimed to analyze the hardness, impact, and fire resistance properties on Sumberejo kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites with the fiber orientations of 0°/0°/0°/0° and 0°/90°/0°/90°. The kenaf fiber was alkaline treated before it was used as reinforcement and the composites were fabricated by Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion technique. Furthermore, the composites surfaces, before and after flammability test, were observed. SNI 01-4449-2006 was used as density standard for fiber-board and these composites were categorized as High-Density Fiber-Boards. The 0°/0°/0°/0° and 0°/90°/0°/90° Sumberejo kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites had similar values of hardness and impact strength, which were (71.48 ± 0.69) HD and (72.4 ± 1.01) HD; and (32.61 ± 1.28) J/cm2 and (33.03 ± 1.05) J/cm2 respectively. Meanwhile, the 0°/90°/0°/90° composites had better combustion rate than the 0°/0°/0°/0° composites, with a value of (14.0 ± 0.2) mm/minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As there is diminish of reserves of artificial sources and their imperishable quality, people are searching on substitutes for artificial fiber and system of resin. Few of the emulations are utilized to replace synthetic fiber got successful by considering natural fibers.so researchers are started their work on natural fibers. Their work got improved and the effective performances of natural fiber composites are very impressive. But when compared with artificial fibers they are not achieving the performance of synthetic fiber. So researchers are working on different compositions of organic fibers to achieve the same benefits of artificial fiber (6, 7, and 8). Apart from the advantages of natural fibers they also have a few limitations such as less strength, low thermal stability and moisture properties (8, 9). In this paper we are working on some of the commercially used fibers available in nature like kenaf, combined with resins which are natural. The properties of material and some of the techniques used for strengthen the fiber made it strong as artificial fiber. Bio Chemical treatment used in the fabrication process and loading mechanical methods is used to improve the strength of the natural available fibers. Bio-degradable and abundantly available at lower cost are the main advantages of naturally available fiber and for bio resin system. Natural fiber composites material has gained success commercially in many applications such as aircraft industry, automobiles, goods in sporting, and other appliances are quite dependent on natural fiber-reinforced plastics. By using naturally available fibers in combination with natural resins, the bio-based composites had improved the properties of the material mechanically and can potentially employed for structural purpose then synthetic fiber like UG/BF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of natural fibres as reinforcement in polymers has gained much importance in recent years due to their eco-friendly nature. In this work, kenaf fibre reinforced epoxy composites filled with both Pistachio shell and seashell powder as filler materials were fabricated using a simple hand layup technique. The prepared composites were then characterized for tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) measurements according to the relevant ASTM standards. The maximum flexural strength and ILSS values were observed for composites with 5 wt.% of pistachio shell powders where an enhancement of up to 35% and 40% respectively were noticed. The presence of natural calcium oxide in the seashell powder has also recorded improvements in flexural and ILSS strength values for their composite systems. The addition of filler materials into the composite system has not resulted in any significant changes in the tensile properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kenaf is a part of natural fibers that has been subject of interest for research in the past few decades because of its advantages which is lightweight, cheap, abundantly available and a good alternative to substitute the using of synthetic fiber. The aim for this paper is to explore the effect of using kenaf powder on the initial compressive strength of 3D printing mortar. The addition of the kenaf powder as a bio-composites material in the cement mortar with a variance weight and water addition also assessed to test the effect of compressive strength. Kenaf powder with 0%, 30%, 40% and 50% (by weight of cement) with size passing through 150µm were used to produce 50mm x 50mm x50mm of cube specimen. The 3D printing mortar cubes were air curing for 7 days before testing to the machine. A total of 24 cubes were used for this study. INSTRON universal machine is used to testing the cubes. Experiment results revealed that due to high amount of kenaf powder added gradually into the mixer samples, the compressive strength values obtained were lower when compared to the plain mortar. Based on the conclusion made, K50W650 shows a favorable result where the value of the compressive strength was highest among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kenaf fiber able to reduce the impact on the environment because the material is recyclable, light density and strong to be used as a product. Natural fiber especially kenaf fiber are still less applied and research for 3D printing technology. 3D technology is gaining rapidly in the industry to replace traditional method because it able to save cost and time production. This study focuses on producing kenaf composites material as a feeder for 3D printing. There are 2 main methods which is mixing composition of polypropylene material with kenaf fiber on physical properties and simulation analysis to identify the effect of using injection molding parameters on mold filling behavior for kenaf fiber reinforced polypropylene composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural rubber latex (NRL) is a high potential material due to its abundant availability in nature. Natural rubber latex (NRL) processing by foaming method will produce natural rubber latex foam (NRLF). NRLF has good mechanical properties so that the resulting product has a high price. Therefore, the manufacture of NRLF using natural fillers such as eggshells, rice husks, and kenaf using the Dunlop method is expected to produce NRLF which has good mechanical properties and an affordable price. This study aims to study the mechanical properties of NRLF with eggshell, rice husk, and kenaf as filler. The results showed that increasing the load of eggshell and rice husk reduced the tensile strength at 2.5 phr and then increased with increasing loading of the filler, but enhancement of the amount of kenaf decreases its tensile strength. The elongation at break in the NRLF decreased with the increase in the amount of eggshell filler, rice husk, and kenaf. The modulus at 100% elongation (M100), hardness, and density at NRLF increase with increasing filler loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composite materials are having to its better properties like good tensile and high strength to weight compatibility with low thermal expansion. Research and engineering interest has been concentrating on fibre-reinforced polymeric materials. Composite materials using high performance fibers are very much used for high end application in automobile industry. kenaf and jute polymer composites became more attractive due to their strength, are finding increased applications. Various natural fibers are widely used in industries for making composite which are fabricated using layup method. Polymer composites made with natural fibers used in various industries. In this research work the sisal kenaf and jute fibres are used to make the fibre reinforced composite. The sisal jute and kenaf were used in the composite in the yarn form which are having identical count. The jute yarn is braided and used in the composite, The yarn were converted in to fabric and is used as reinforced material. Poly propylene is used as a matrix substrate. The fabric thus produced was used in two, three folds in the composite making. For making the composite board a uni polymer composite machine is used. The composite board were tested for its properties using universal tensile testing machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kenaf/silica/epoxy hybrid composites with differences in silica types have triggered research interest worldwide due to the role of silica in influencing the composite properties. This study aims to determine the effect of silica adding on the flexural and impact properties and water absorption of the kenaf/silica/epoxy hybrid composites. Alkali treated kenaf fibers 5 mm in length combined with silica fume microparticle 400 mesh (∼37 µm) in size were used to strengthen the epoxy resin of 70 vol.% for manufacturing the hybrid composites by a hand lay-up in the cold press mold for around 40 minutes. The silica loadings were varied by 0, 2, 3, and 5 (vol.%). The results showed that at 2 vol.% silica, the flexural and impact strengths increased by 16% and 18%, respectively, but decreased at higher than 2 vol.%. The lowest water absorption of 13.3% for 216 hours water immersion was also exhibited by 2 vol.% silica. The higher the loading of silica microparticles, the more particles occupied the matrix areas, making kenaf fibers harder to embed in the matrix, as verified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This work concluded that the addition of 2 vol.% of silica microparticles (37 µm) into the kenaf/epoxy composite was an optimum value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific research was prepared on the basis of an expedition conducted by the Department of Ecology of the National University of Uzbekistan in four territories adjacent to the Aral Sea: Karakalpakstan, Bukhara, Khorezm and Navoi regions, in particular in 20 cities of Uzbekistan. The expedition was carried out within the framework of the project "Program for adaptation to climate change in the Aral Sea basin and mitigation of its consequences", under the auspices and assistance of the International Development Association. Also, the Agency for the Structural Transformation of Agricultural Enterprises and the Consulting Company Intellect management took an active part in the project. The aim of the study was to assess climate change, understanding the impact of dangerous consequences, measures to adapt to climate change in Uzbekistan. Find possible objective and scientific approaches to the application in a broad sense of methods for confrontation in all areas of agricultural activity. In addition, within the framework of this program, in the above cities, they were familiarized with the results of the study, lectures, trainings and seminars for representatives of production, farms, workers of agricultural enterprises, scientific researchers, undergraduates, bachelors of higher education in the project area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To Indonesia is one of the countries with a long history of Kenaf fiber cultivation besides the US, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Australia. Retting is the main challenge faced during the processing of bast plants for the production of long fiber. The traditional method of separating the long bast fibers involves a water retting process for about 14 to 28 days to degrade the pectin, hemicellulose, and lignin materials in order to separate fiber from the bast. Even though the fibers produced by the water retting process are of good quality, however, time consumption and polluted water have made this method less feasible. This research is a preliminary evaluation of the dew retting process with 15 optimum days of evaluation duration. Dew retting largely relies on indigenous bacteria to degrade pectin and hemicellulose by releasing polygalacturonase (PGase) and xylanase. The pectinolytic and ligninolytic bacteria from water soaking of kenaf in many parts of East Java can be potential candidates for bioactive formulation. The purpose of this research is to study on dew retting process of Kenaf by using the formulation of indigenous consortium bacteria by spray method. Six formulations of indigenous consortium bacteria have been used in this study to determine the shorter retting time and quality of fibers. The LIGTIN formulation is found to be the best formulation to produce high fiber yield and the good quality of fiber in tensile and performance of the fiber. This formulation is capable of degrading lignin and pectin dwelling in kenaf stem fiber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biocomposites of kenaf core fibre (KCF) reinforced polypropylene (PP) were made by melting mixing in a Brabender internal mixer with the addition of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) as a toughening agent. On the basis of the processing torque generated by the internal mixer, the effect of varying amounts of SBR on KCF reinforced PP was examined. The finding indicates that a nearly identical trend in processing torque was seen across all biocomposites compositions. Nonetheless, it was fascinating to see that as SBR loading increases, the stabilizing torque of the biocomposites increases. FESEM was utilized to characterize the fracture surface of the composites following mechanical failure. Although morphological investigations demonstrate that the presence of matrix fibrillation led to the enhancement of the toughness qualities of KCFPP composites, the presence of agglomeration and non-dispersed KCF may be related to data collected from melt blending processing torque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal properties of new biocomposites prepared from unsaturated polyester resin (UPE) reinforced with kenaf fibre mat (KFM) and two nanofillers were studied. Before fabricating the specimen all the reinforcement material were oven dried at 105C. Two kinds of nanofillers that were used is cellulose nano crystals (CNC) and graphene nano platelets (GNP) in the amount of 0-3 wt %. The nanofillers are then mixed homogenously with the unsaturated polyester resin before catalyzed with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) and cobalt naphthenate (CN). The CNC/GNP-UPE mixture were poured into the mould that already have KFM. The KFM-UPE biocomposites with various GNP/CNC hybrid ratio was then fabricated by hot press moulding at 120 C. The thermal behaviour of the biocomposites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The obtained results revealed that the presence of both GNP and CNC nanofillers has improved the thermal stability of KFM-UPE biocomposites at high temperature and effectively increase the char residue formation. In addition, the TGA and DSC analysis also showed the enhancement of glass transition temperature (Tg) value and degradation temperature for hybrid CNC/GNP reinforced UPE biocomposites as compared to neat UPE and KFM-UPE composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of natural fibers as reinforcement in composites has been developed by researchers because of their eco-friendly, renewable, and potential replacement for synthetic fibers. Sumberejo kenaf fiber is one of the abundant natural fibers in Indonesia. The purpose of this study was to obtain the mechanical properties of Sumberejo kenaf fiber/ epoxy composites. The alkaline-treated fibers were arranged in 0°/0°/0°/0° and 0°/90°/0°/90° orientations. Composites with 40 wt% fiber content were fabricated using hand lay-up and followed by vacuum bagging method. The results showed that the tensile strength and flexural strength of Sumberejo kenaf fiber/ epoxy composites with 0°/0°/0°/0° fiber orientation were 11.73% and 37.71% higher than the composites with 0°/90°/0°/90° fiber orientation with the values of (91.18±9.85) MPa and (116.57±7.91) MPa, respectively. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observations on the failure surface of the composites showed that the composites with 0°/0°/0°/0° fiber orientation had better fiber and matrix adhesion and lower voids content than the composites with 0°/90°/0°/90° fiber orientation. Referring to Indonesian National Standard 01-4449-2006 for composite fiberboard, Sumberejo kenaf fiber/ epoxy composites were categorized as a T2 45 type high-density fiberboard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bast fiber plants, such as kenaf, jute, roselle, and their relatives, produce natural fibers as raw materials for various strategic industries and contribute to environmental preservation. The spiral stem borer (SSB), Agrilus acutus, infests stem of bast fiber plants and potentially reduces fiber production and quality. The symptom of its infestation shows a presence of an elongated gall on the stem which causes the stem broken. This study aimed to evaluate SSB (A. acutus) preference of 70 accessions of bast fiber plant species, namely jute (Corchorus olitorius L. and C. capsularis L.), kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.), and roselle (H. sabdariffa L. and H. radiatus Willd.). This information could be useful for selection of parents in plant breeding program for developing resistant varieties with non-preference mechanisms of SSB infestation. This study used 18 jute accessions, 33 kenaf accessions, and 19 roselle accessions. Stem morphology characters (color, surface, middle diameter, and top diameter) were used as parameters for SSB preference were correlated with the gall symptoms caused by SSB infestation. The results showed that the gall symptoms due to SSB infestation were only found in kenaf accessions. The gall symptoms were mostly found in the middle part of kenaf stem with a median proportion of infestation of 42% in the range of 25–87%. The highest preference of SSB was on the character of green and spiky stems, i.e. 33 accessions of kenaf. Accessions PI 270108 and PI 329183 were observed as accessions with the lowest (20%) and the highest (91%) indication of SSB infestation, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia has released 13 varieties of kenaf derived from the refining of several introduced lines and hybridization. Lines selection was carried out to obtain lines that have certain superior characters. This study aimed to determine the agronomic characters that can be used as secondary characters for selection to support the developing process of new superior varieties. A total of 70 kenaf accessions from Indonesian Sweetener and Fiber Crops Research Institute (ISFCRI) germplasm collection, was mainly introduced accessions from International Jute Organization (IJO). Primary data of the 16 quantitative morphological characters were observed based on the total accessions to be subjected for analysis using correlation, path analysis, and scatter plot. The characters of the first flower phase, 50% flower blooming, fiber harvest phase, plant height, diameter, and dry core weight had a significant and positive correlation coefficient with the dry weight of kenaf fiber. The dry weight of the core showed the best direct effect and total effect value, i.e. 0.88 and 0.84, respectively. Based on dry core and fiber weight characters, three distribution clusters of 70 kenaf accessions were obtained. In quadrant III, two accessions potentially produce the best dry fiber and they can be considered a source of parent in developing a new superior variety of kenaf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a material for sustainable development, geopolymer concrete (GPC) obtained great research interest. However, it displays brittle behavior with low tensile strength, fracture toughness, and ductility identical to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The use of short discrete fibers is an effective way to overcome such weaknesses. This paper studies the effects of fibers lengths on the properties of geopolymer concrete containing kenaf fibers (GPCKF). Three lengths of 20 mm, 30 mm, and 40 mm were selected. Besides the fresh properties, the mechanical properties of the mixes are evaluated through compression, tensile and flexural tests. The findings showed that the increase in kenaf fibers length resulted in a significant improvement in flexural and tensile strength. On the contrary, the workability and compressive strength are decreasing. The optimum length of kenaf fibers is 30 mm that improved the tensile and flexural strength by 6.71% and 25.90%, respectively compared to the plain GPC. Through these findings, the performance of GPCKF is known, and more exploration of its usage can be carried out by the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Utilization of natural fibers for various polymeric applications in increasing owing to its cost effectiveness and versatile applications. In this work four different Tri layer hybrid composites were developed by using hand lay up by varying the kenaf and ramie fibers in different stacking sequences. Fourdifferent hybrid composites with K1-Kenaf/Ramie/Kenaf (KE/RA/KE) K2-Ramie/Kenaf/Ramie (RA/KE/RA) K3-Kenaf-Kenaf-Kenaf (KE/KE/KE), K-4 Ramie-Ramie-Ramie(RA/RA/RA) were investigated. Tensile, Flexural, Impact and Shore-d Hardness were investigated. Outcome of the results depicted that the tensile, flexural and hardness studies possessed similar results. The Composites with ramie fiber at skin layer and kenaf as core material posseseed good tensile, flexural and hardness properties, Similarly the kenaf at outer layer and ramie as a core had better impact strength. The outcome reveals that the composites can be used as an alternative in structural and automobile applications.SEM(Scanning ElectronicMicrscopy) was done to observe fracture surfaces, Fiber pull out and void formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study represents a method of strength, toughness is incressed from PVC and Nylon using the Jute and Kneaf FRP (Fiber reinforced polymer) Composites. The long fiber of Jute and kenaf are arranged horizontal (0°) and inclined (45°) orientation. It may be increased the stiffness and toughness value compared with PVC and Nylon. Many polymers are using to withstand the durability of strength in various applications like automobile, aerospace, marine and ships parts. The FRP is manufacturing in Compression mould machine with 10 Mpa to compress the laminates upto 5mm thickness. The FRP stiffness valuce is 33 Mpa is nearly to 38 Mpa of PVC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural fiber had recently been used as reinforcement with polymer in a composite is increasing, due to benefits. The benefits in natural fiber is the lightweight, low cost, environmentally friendly with a good specific mechanical property. However, several factors need to take into account to affecting the mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced polymer, such as fiber fraction, fiber condition and fiber orientation. This study presents the simulation study on the mechanical properties of different natural fiber reinforced in a diagonal orientation and to compare the mechanical properties such as tensile and bending properties of Kenaf Fiber, PALF, and Ramie reinforced polymer composites. This study of mechanical properties will be investigated using ANSYS 18.1. The composites are designed in different natural fiber with fiber orientation in direction of 45° and 135° alternately in five layers. Tensile and bending test are analyze based on ASTM standard to determine the effect of stacking sequence and fiber orientation on the composites. The results show that fiber orientation have affect the mechanical properties of the composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural fibre composite (NFC) displays a rapid development in the study and innovation sector due to the increasing benefits of the material compared to other types of fibre such as synthetic fibre composites, which includes low price and low environmental impacts. These composites can be explored through various variables and can be tested through various factors such as fibre interfacial adhesion, fibre orientation and fibre strength. However, this thesis focuses only on the testing on the vertical (90°) and horizontal (0°) of fibre orientation as it is still not well investigated, yet. The main objective of this research is to investigate the performance of mechanical properties of kenaf fibre reinforced epoxy resins for 90° and 0° of fibre orientation and analyse the effect of changing the orientation on the material. For the fabrication of the material, manual preparation method has been used and several mechanical testing has been and alkali treatment of kenaf fibre prior fabrication process. For hardness test, the 90° of fibre orientation produced 31.6% higher of hardness strength than 0° of fibre orientation while for impact test, 90° of fibre orientation resulted 39.5% greater of impact energy than 0° of fibre orientation. 6% of kenaf fibre composition with 90° of fibre orientation generated the highest stress to breaks while 2% of kenaf fibre composition with 0° of fibre orientation has the lowest stress to fracture. By conducting the SEM tests, it can be seen clearly that 6% of kenaf fibre composition with 90° of fibre orientation has the smallest gap between the fibres and 2% of kenaf fibre composition with 0° of fibre orientation has the largest gap between fibres. Thus, the performance of mechanical of vertical (90°) of fibre orientation produced better performance in mechanical testing compared to horizontal (0°) of fibre orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was aimed to study the composite of thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) and kenaf core fiber (KCF). More specifically, the effect of different KCF loading on mechanical properties of PP/KCF composite had been investigated. The fabrication of PP/KCF composite with filler loading of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt% was prepared by using co-rotating twin-screw extruder at temperature 180 °C and rotor speed of 70 rpm. The mixing process then proceeded with compression molding at the same temperature to produce sheet composite, before the composite was cut into dumbbell specimens using a hydraulic press. All the samples were subjected to the tensile test to evaluate the mechanical properties of the composite. The results obtained showed that the increase in filler loadings increase tensile strength and modulus of the composite while decrease elongation at break. The highest tensile strength of composite recorded at 20 wt% of KCF loading, and the addition of more KCF after that resulting in a significant drop of tensile strength. To conclude, the mechanical properties of KCF reinforced polypropylene composite were influenced by filler loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, the use of natural fibers to develop green composite has become a major attraction for many researchers. For the purpose of obtaining the desired shape to suit with the application natural fiber composite need to undergo the next step of process such as stamping or thermoforming. The development of a thermoforming process is complex and expensive thus need to achieve by doing a lot of experimentation by trial and error. Therefore, this can be replaced favorably by numerical analysis that allows the minimum cost and minimize the number of experimental conduct in fabricating the components. PAM-FORM software is used to model and simulate the thermoforming process of kenaf fiber reinforced polypropylene composite. The optimum of thermoforming process such as temperature, puncher speed, puncher radius and composite thickness are determined via design of experiment by using Box-Behnken method with 25 runs. The output parameters such as composite sheet thinning, shear angle and stress are analyzed to identify wrinkle and distortion defects, thinning distribution and also the critical angle that tearing occurs. The result shows that the optimum parameters were identified as 120°C temperature, 23.08 m/s puncher velocity, 4 mm puncher radius and 2 mm blank thickness. This gave uniform and minimum thinning ratio with the main tensile of 0.326 and 0.461 GPa, respectively. The optimum parameter can be used to provide a powerful platform for in-depth analysis of the thermoforming process especially for natural fiber reinforced polypropylene composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the aim of the study is to investigate the mechanical properties of eco-hybrid natural polymer of kenaf and glass fibre. The specimens were fabricated using vacuum infusion technique and joining into single lap bolted joint. The mechanical fasteners of Huck lock bolt were used as joining method with the bondline length of 64 mm. The investigation was conducted under two different conditions of dry and wet of 50°C for water immersion of 20 days. The effect of moisture was defined in bolted joints materials. The tensile test with a speed rate of 1 mm/min was conducted for both condition using 100 kN load cell until total failure of specimen. The experimental results were plotted into load displacement and stress strain curve for each environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, the extensive studies had been accomplished on the natural fibre reinforced polymer composites (NFPC) and are still continuous until today. The composites made of natural fibre and polymer has proven the better effectiveness in high impact fatigue strength and toughness. The increases of fibre loading give higher results fundamental in strength due to its high interfacial bonding between the fibre. In the present work, experimental tests were carried out to study the mechanical properties; tensile, hardness and impact and morphological characterization: Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) of the NFPC. The composites fabricated are between the Kenaf fibre and epoxy resin. The Kenaf fibre reinforced epoxy resin composites were fabricated using hand layup technique by layering the arranged fibre with polymer in the mould with different angle orientation (22.5° and 67.5°) as the main parameter observed and the fibre composition (2%, 4% and 6%). Before the fabrication started, the fibre had undergone the alkali treatment for the effective surface modification that can enhance the interfacial bonding between the fibre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progressive development of natural materials for automotive interior parts has attracted the industry attention and given rise to a need for effective simulation of designs and concepts to help achieve an efficient manufacturing product. For this purpose, numerical simulation of the preliminary forming process was conducted using the geometry model. The numerical simulation is performed using PAM-FORM software in order to stimulate the thermoforming behavior towards shear angle, thickness distribution and strain value. Upon completion of the research, three main parameters are count to consideration including puncher velocity, puncher radius and heating temperature. Results indicated that, the optimum forming process of 10 m/s of puncher velocity, 2 mm of puncher radius and 160 °C of heating temperature was recorded to acquire an excellent end-product formation especially using hot-pressing technique. Findings indicated that the optimum parameters to produce a robust design, while improving the preliminary forming process, were a thickness and shear angles of 14.1 mm and 2.2°, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In, today's world the usage of environmental resources has been increased worldwide. Renewability and eco-friendliness are the reasons behind the usage of these environmental resources. Among all these resources kenaf plants have been largely utilized over years. Therefore, we will discussing about the overall development and improvements are done in fibre kenaf reinforced composites, about other materials combined with the kenaf fiber, it's fabricating methodology, and about the properties variation obtained from the different combinations of kenaf reinforced combined materials. This review is very useful for the future material engineers and manufacturing industries for the usage of green combined materials and their uses. This review goes with the economic viability changes such as low production cost and less labour work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiber splitting which is the chief preliminary form of impairment in fiber reinforced polymer composites. In succession to delay the rapid crack propagation in polymer matrix and provide to increase of the fracture toughness of FRP composite, the polymer matrix of fiber reinforced polymer composite is modified by using different natural fiber composites such as sugar palm, kenaf, coir and data palm impregnated with polyester resin and then split-disk tests according to ASTM D-2290 standard were performed on the natural fiber specimens with a winding angle of 90°. By determining the hoop tensile strength and hoop tensile modulus of these natural fibre composite rings, the effects of filament-winding processing parameter in winding angle were evaluated. The results indicate that kenaf yarn fibre with unsaturated polyester has the highest hoop tensile strength compared with other natural fiber composite specimens. Finally in this study, various different natural fibres were used as reinforcement material to contribute to the research study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the nature of absorbed moisture and the correlation with hygrothermal effects in fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) performance. Three types of fiber arrangement which is kenaf fiber and unsaturated polyester (UPE) only, kenaf fiber roving co-reinforced glass fiber chopped strand mat with UPE and kenaf fiber roving co-reinforced with fiber glass-oriented mat with UPE. All specimens were fixed at 0.50 Vf to make a fair comparison and validity results of further testing. As aware, GFRP has the highest mechanical properties which are superior compared to other samples of composite and KFRP shows the lowest mechanical properties. Hygrothermal conditions were achieved by immersing samples at a constant temperature of distilled water at 70°C for 1, 4 and 7 days hence results in the same trend of performance with unconditioned tests. However, all samples have certain percentage retention of mechanical strength after re-dried in an oven at 70°C for 24 hours to remove all the moisture in the samples. Water absorption is then were analyzed to determine the diffusion parameters of all samples. The flexural test was conducted to determine the durability and to measure its mechanical strength under a hygrothermal environment. FTIR proves the presence of water within the UPE matrix. Morphological analysis using confocal laser imaging and field emission scanning electron microscopy FESEM showing evidence by a clear picture of samples that undergo deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass-based activated carbon material (BAC) is essentially an extraordinary material that can be used for various applications such as wastewater treatment, cancer treatment, energy storage devices and so on. The aim of this study is to synthesize the activated carbon using Deccan Hemp core fiber and to study the surface morphology and electrochemical characterization of the electrode material for supercapacitor applications. Carbonization was done at 400oC for 1 hour in the presence of nitrogen gas with a flow rate of 200ml/minute. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) was used as the activating agent in the synthesis of activated carbon. The carbon obtained after carbonization was impregnated with KOH in the ratio 1:2 (C: KOH) ratio. Activation of the carbon is done at 550 oC for 75 minutes. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) results show that the surface area, pore volume and Mean pore diameter were 237.07m²/g, 0.1095cm³/g, and 1.8467nm respectively. SEM Images show the gradual formation of the pores and XRD result indicated the broad diffractions and revealed the amorphous structure. The electrochemical properties of supercapacitor electrodes were studied by using CH Instruments Electrochemical Analyser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycerol is a co-product compound of biodiesel production that have an interesting heating value. In this study, biomass which is Kenaf plant was mixed with the Glycerol that act as a binder and additives to produce a pellet for energy. Kenaf plant was dried using Sherwood M501 air fluid bed dryer before pelletizing. Air fluid bed dryer is one of the fluidization drying process that have potential to be widely used. The motivation for this study was the material used contain the high value of water and the lower bulk density of pellet. The purpose of this study are to determine the characteristic of Glycerol-Kenaf pellet with a various test. This study will focused on the percentage of Glycerol used, the bulk density of pellet, durability of pellet and the calorific value of pellet. During fluidization process the best condition for the properties of pellet, the pellet which contain 40% Glycerol, 40% Epoxy has been produce a good density and durability. The 50% Glycerol, 30% Epoxy give a high calorific value than 40% Glycerol, 40% Epoxy. Glycerol can react as a binder and additives. Glycerol help to increase the calorific value of the biomass pellet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication of new thermoplastic elastomer composites made up from linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and kenaf core (KC) were studied. The composites with and without trans-polyoctylene rubber (TOR) as compatibilizer was investigated. LLDPE/NBR/KC composite samples were prepared by using a heated two-roll mill at 130°C for 13 minutes. Then, the composite were moulded by using hot press machines at temperature of 130°C within 12 minutes. The ratio of composite investigated were 100/0/10, 80/20/10, 70/30/10, 60/40/10, 50/50/10 and 40/60/10 for both series. Meanwhile, the ratio of TOR was fixed at 10phr for composite with compatibilizer. The tensile strength, Young’s modulus and elongation at break were recorded using INSTRON Universal Testing machine. The morphological properties of composites were also observed by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Meanwhile, the chemical composition of composite with and without TOR compatibilizer was investigated by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). From the result obtained, the tensile strength and modulus were decreased with increasing of NBR loading while the elongation at break (Eb) was increased. The morphological examination indicated that the presence of TOR compatibilizers showed improvement in adhesion and better interfacial bonding between filler and matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysia is a one of tropical forest country in the Southeast Asia and they have a great potential of green agriculture source to be used as a renewable energy. One of this source is a Kenaf that is consist of a core and bast fibers. In this study, biomass which is Kenaf plant was dried using Sherwood M501 air fluid bed dryer. Air fluid bed dryer is one of the fluidization drying process that have potential to be widely used. The current properties in this material used contain the high value of water when produced pellet. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the characteristics and the percentage of Kenaf focused on moisture loss of Kenaf sample via fluidization drying process. The results of found that during fluidization process the best condition that reduce most of the moisture content of sample is the second condition that applied 4.0 m/s velocity (50% of fan speed), 46°C temperature. Effect of the used of suitable amount of air velocity and temperature would attributed to the physical characteristics change and moisture content value that should be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kenaf fibre mat (KFM) reinforced polypropylene (PP) biocomposites have been prepared using sandwich structure and hot press moulding technique. To enhance the interfacial bonding between PP and kenaf fibre, KFM was chemically treated with two different chemicals which are 5% hydrogen peroxide and 2% silane. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was used to characterize the chemical constituents in both treated and untreated kenaf fibres. Universal tensile machine (UTM) was used to determine mechanical properties (tensile and flexural strength, tensile and flexural modulus) of both treated and untreated KFM-PP biocomposites. Water absorption test was also conducted in order to evaluate its water-resistance performance. The result shows that peroxide treatment demonstrated the highest performance in mechanical and water absorption properties compared to other chemical treatment. SEM morphological studies proved that almost all treated KFM showing good fibre-matrix interfacial adhesion which less fibre pull out, void and and small interface gap. Thus, the chemical treatment on KFM improved fibre-matrix adhesion, which also contributed to the enhancement of mechanical properties and physical properties compared to untreated KFM reinforced PP biocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the non-woven kenaf fibre mat reinforced polypropylene composites (NWKFMRPP) were fabricated by the compression moulding method with different layers of kenaf fibre (KF) mat. The pure polypropylene (PP) matrix was used to prepare the composites to serve as control. Two types of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) coupling agent which is MAPP1 (Polybond 3200) and MAPP2 (Orevac CA100) also have been used to enhance the adhesion between fibre and matrix. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to characterize the chemical constituents in pure PP and the NWKFMRPP composites. Then, tensile and flexural test were used to determine the mechanical properties by using a universal testing machine (UTM). Water absorption and thickness swelling test were also been carried out to reveal the physical properties of pure PP and NWKFMRPP composites. Overall, the result shows that the increment in KF layers has given a significant improvement in modulus properties but at the expense of strength properties. Besides, the percentage of water absorption increased when the layer of KF increased. However, the presence of both MAPP1 and MAPP2 coupling agents successfully enhanced its mechanical and water absorption properties as a result of the improvement of the fibre-matrix adhesion between the KF and PP matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This journal discusses the use of Box Behnken Design (BBD) approach as Design of Experiment (DOE) to plan experiments to find the Sound Absorption Coefficient (SAC) for Kenaf/Polypropylene (PP) sandwich sample with an overall objective of optimizing the density, thickness, pressure, and frequency of sound. The first objective of this study is to identify the significant factors of composition mixture of Kenaf Fiber and PP to get optimum SAC. From the results of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), all four parameters selected were significantly affected the SAC with the p-value <0.0001 and R², Adjusted R2 and Predicted R² value more than 0.98. The secondary objectives of the research to compare the SAC between the simulation result and the experimental result based on the suggested test sample by the Response Surface Method (RSM) and tested in an impedance test tube. From the results shown the average of the residuals value for Kenaf fiber with PP is -0.003795 and the SAC value from the simulation result is compatible with the experimental result. On the other hand, the highest SAC for the Kenaf fiber with PP obtained was 0.855 with 0.25g/cm³ of density, 30mm of thickness, 3000kg pressure, and 5000Hz frequency. While for the lowest SAC for the Kenaf fiber with PP obtained was 0.114 with 0.65g/cm³ of density, 30mm of thickness, 3000kg pressure and 125Hz frequency. The third objective is to develop an empirical equation for the SAC by using density, thickness, compression pressure and frequency of sound as significant factors. The SAC Equation = 0.345495 - (0.482917 X Density) + (0.001967 X Thickness) + (0.00000379167 X Pressure) + (0.000112 X Frequency) can be used. This SAC empirical equation is valid for the density value between 0.25g/cm³ until 0.65g/cm³, the thickness between 10mm until 50mm, the pressure value between 1000kg until 5000kg and the frequency between 125Hz until 5000Hz. The number of experiments conducted in this study was much lesser compared to other designs. The proposed BBD requires 24 runs of experiments for data acquisition and modeling the response surface. A regression model was developed and its adequacy was verified to predict the output values at nearly all conditions. The model was validated by ANOVA before experiments on 24 sets of the sample were performed. The output parameters measured through experiments (actual) were in good match with the predicted (simulation) values using the model developed by BBD. This research is significant because it produced a minimum number of experiments, a validated empirical equation model and conducted an optimized test. As a conclusion, the SAC output and equation generated from RSM is a reliable, valid and compatible with the experimental result with minimum residuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]