Chemically and Thermally Treated Vegetable Fibers for Reinforcement of Cement-Based Composites

This paper presents the effects of chemical and thermal treatments on the strength of vegetable fibers that were being considered as reinforcements in cementitious matrix composites for affordable housing. These include vegetable fibers extracted from banana trunks and sugar cane residues. The results suggested that pyrolysis increased the fiber strength, at least by a factor three. Acid attack generally degraded the strengths, while alkali attack had only a limited effect. Pyrolyzed banana leaves, coconut coir, and coconut sheaths fibers were also tested. The implications of the results were discussed for the development of strong cementitious matrix composites.