Experimental studies on water absorption properties of acetic acid treated banana fiber composites

Mostly, agricultural residues and fibers are incinerated or dumped into the land after cultivation. Disposal of these waste not only occupy more useful space in land but also spoiled energy resources. It causes pollution to the environment, release of greenhouse gases, etc. Lignocellulosic fibers are rich in cellulose which is abundant in nature. In this work, Banana fiber which was extracted from the bast of the plant is used to make an alternate for synthetic fibers. The polyester based composites were manufactured by with different weight concentration of fibers from 1 to 10%. Tensile and water absorption values of composites were conducted as per the ASTM standards. When the fiber addition increases, water absorption properties also increased due to the characteristics of lignocellulose fibers. From the results, it was understood that the obtained composites can be used in various commercial and bio medical application.