Properties of Gigantochloa Scortechinii (Buluh Semantan) fibre for biocomposite materials.

Bio-composites are essential materials created from renewable resources that biodegrade and sustainable such as bamboo fiber to produce a new generation of composites for construction industry used. Even though most bamboo grows in forest, there is still a scarcity of data on the morphology, physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of cultivated wild bamboo in Malaysian forest. Hence, the aim of this research is to determine the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of species Gigantochloa Scortechinii (Buluh Semantan) suitable criteria for bio-composite material. In this paper presents the research on Sample A and Sample B of Buluh Semantan species that was discover in Royal Belum State Park as the case study for gathering the sample. Several experimentations were conducted on bamboo fiber and bamboo culm by referring to ISO 22157 and TAPPI standard procedure. The outcome revealed that Sample B has better in mechanical strength due to the higher content of lignin, the greater the density also higher content of alpha-cellulose and holocellulose led to lower moisture content which led to suitability usage as bio-composite material. This finding will provide as a source for commercial purpose in analyzing the capabilities of Buluh Semantan as bio-composite materials in construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]