Fibers were produced from inner and outer corn husk leaves by alkalization followed by enzyme treatment at various concentrations of xylanase. The physical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties of the obtained corn husk fibers were studied. The inner and outer corn husk fibers respond differently to enzymatic treatments. In general, the linear density, effective diameter, and water absorptivity of the fibers decreased with enzyme treatment. An increase in xylanase concentration led to a substantial decrease in the elongation of inner corn husk fibers, while leading to an increase in stiffness. The fibers produced from the outer corn husk leaves exhibited higher thermal stability, with greater thermal decomposition stage temperatures and lower mass loss, in comparison to those from the inner husk leaves. Thermogravimetric and FT-IR analyses revealed that the fibers from the inner corn husk leaves contained less noncellulosic content than those from the outer husk leaves.
Yılmaz et al. (Sun,) studied this question.