SEM Studies of the Surface and Fracture Morphology of Pineapple Leaf Fibers

Abstract

The structural features and fracture morphology of raw and chemically treated pineapple leaf fiber have been studied using scanning electron microscopy. Pineapple leaf has a multicellular structure, and alkali treatment clearly reveals the ultimate fibers. Surface morphology progressively changes with gradual removal of noncehulosic constituents like lignin and hemicellulose. Fracture morphology shows that there is a uniform sharing of the load in the ultimate fibers of raw pineapple leaf, whereas treated leaf shows irregular fractures characterized by the slippage of individual ultimate fibers.