Physico-Chemical Properties of Alkali-Treated<i>Acacia leucophloea</i>Fibers

Abstract

The attractive properties of raw Acacia leucophloea fibers (ALFs) resulted in this present study evaluating the physio-chemical properties of alkali-treated ALFs. The treatment of raw ALFs with 5% (w/v) sodium hydroxide solution with 45 min soaking time was found to be optimum. It was found that optimally treated ALFs had relatively higher tensile strength (357–1809 MPa), Young’s modulus (10.45–87.57 GPa), and percentage of elongation (1.91–5.88%) and high thermal stability. The optimally treated ALFs had high cellulose (76.69 wt.%) and low hemicellulose (3.81 wt.%) and lignin (13.67 wt.%) contents and higher crystallinity index (74.27%), as evidenced by the results of chemical and X-ray diffraction analyses.