NATURAL FIBRE COMPOSITES AND ITS POTENTIAL AS BUILDING MATERIALS

Amit Rai & C.N.Jha

Development Officer, BMTPC, New Delhi

Abstract
Increasing concern about the global warming, primarily due to deforestation has led to the ban on use of wood in government buildings. Subsequently, a large action plan for the development of wood substitute has resulted in creation of more awareness about the use of natural fibre based building materials. In the past one decade or so the joint efforts by R & D organi ations, private industries and funding agencies provided the much needed thrust for the actual transfer of technical !now"how and product to the end users. #ost of the developing countries are very rich in agricultural and natural fibre. $%cept a few e%ceptions, a large part of agricultural waste is being used as a fuel. India alone produces more than &'' million tonnes of agricultural waste annually. It has got a very large percentage of the total world production of rice hus!, jute, stal!, baggase and coconut fibre. (ll these natural fibres have e%cellent physical and mechanical properties and can be utili ed more effectively in the development of composite materials for various building applications.

)his paper gives an overall view of natural fibre in building industry, its technical comparison with the other traditional building materials. (dvantages of using natural fibre materials over traditional building materials and its possible growth in future are also discussed. ( large part of the paper deals in the systematic development of the natural fibre composites in India and diversified efforts by various organi ations for upgrading the technologies. )he technological gap for the overall development of various natural fibre composites and its world scenario has also been covered.

Introduction
*rom centuries, man!ind has used the natural fibre for various types of application including building materials. In most of the countries, users have e%plored the possibilities of using the natural fibre from different plants, which includes bagasse, cereal straw, corn stal!, cotton stal!, !enaf, rice hus!+rice straw etc. #ost of the fibre were used mainly for the production of hard board and particle board. $mergence of polymers in the beginning of the ,-th century has provided the researcher the new dimensions to use the natural fibre in more diversified fields. (t the same time the necessity has also increased the interest in synthetic fibre li!e glass fibre which due to its superior dimensional and other properties seems to be gaining popularity and slowly replacing the natural fibre in different applications. (s a result of this change in the raw material and production process of synthetic fibre based composites, energy consumption has increased )he environmental loss suffered by the society due to the pollution generation during the production & recycling of these synthetic based materials has once again drawn the attention for the use of natural fibre. )he renewed interest resulted in the new ways of natural fibre modifications+use and brought it to be at par+superior to synthetic fibres. .ow it is in use from ma!ing rope to spacecraft applications and the building industry has also come out as one of its main beneficiaries.

Natural fibre composites in India

Due to the light weight, high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance and other advantages, natural fibre based composites are becoming important composite materials in building and civil engineering fields. In case of synthetic fibre based composites, despite the usefulness in service, these are difficult to be recycled after designed service life. /owever, natural fibre based composites are environment friendly to a large e%tent. )hese natural fibre based

composites came into e%istence after a lot of R&D efforts, a few of these important composites are summerised in the following te%t.

Background: national scenario of natural fibre composites

.atural fibres as reinforcing agent in composite matrices 0such as cement and polymer1 are attracting more attention for various low"cost building products. )he natural fibres are abundantly available locally and e%tracted from renewable resources. 2resently, the production of natural fibres in India is more than &'' million tonnes. )he appro%imate production of various type of natural fibres is given in )able ,.

)able , (vailability of natural fibre in India and its applications in building materials
Item Rice /us! (pplication in building material (s fuel, for manufacturing building materials and products for production of rice hus! binder, fibrous building panels, bric!s, acid proof cement 6anana leaves+stal! 6anana plants '.5' In the manufacture of building boards, fire resistance fibre board 7oconut hus! 7oir fibre industry ,.8' In the manufacture of building boards, roofing sheets, insulation boards, building panels, as a lightweight aggregate, coir fibre reinforced composite, cement board, geo"te%tile, rubberi ed coir 9roundnut shell 9roundnut oil mills ,,.'' In the manufacture of buildings panels, building bloc!s, for ma!ing chip boards, roofing sheets, particle boards :ute fibre :ute Industry ,.&& *or ma!ing chip boards, roofing sheets, door shutters Rice+wheat straw (gricultural farm ,5.'' #anufacture of roofing units and walls panels+boards Saw mill waste Saw mills+wood 5.'' #anufacture of cement bonded wood chips, bloc!s, boards, particle boards, insulation boards, briquettes Sisal fibres Sisal plantation .'5; 0(sia1 *or plastering of walls and for ma!ing roofing sheets, composite board with rice hus!, cement roofing sheet, roofing tiles, manufacturing of paper and pulp 7otton stal! 7otton plantation ,.,' *ibre boards, panel, door shutters, roofing sheets, autoclaved cement composite, paper, plastering of walls )he present requirement of wood in India is about 5- million cubic metres, where as, the estimated production is about ,8 million cubic metres only. (part from wood, natural fibre composites are emerging with an increasing role in building industry to replace timber, steel, aluminium, concrete etc. 7omposites are being used for prefabricated, portable and modular buildings as well as for e%terior cladding panels. )able 5 shows the cellulose and lignin contents and some other properties of a few fibres available in India. So far, the utilisation of sisal, jute, coir and baggase fibres has found many successful applications. Table 2 Properties of some vegetable fibres used in India for composites *ibre 6anana Sisal 2ineapple 7oir )alipot 2olymer 7ellulose content =ignin content 0<1 0<1 8& ? @' ,5 A? ,5 ;@ &5 8A 5A &'"?' &5 Dia 0um1 ?'"5?' ?'"5'' 5'"A' ,''"&?' A'"A'' @'",;'' >)S 0#.+m51 @''"@A' ?;'"8;' ;8'"@&,'8",@? ,&;"58; ,A'"5?' $longation #a%. 0<1 ;.@ ?., 5.A &@ ?., 5.A $lastic #odulus 5@";5 ,@"55 5&";? ;"8 ,'",; &"8 Source Rice mills 3ty. in #t+4r. 5'

Coir composites
Since coconut is available in India in abundance, the second highest in the world after 2hilippines, the coir fibre has been investigated most e%tensively. #ost importantly, coir fibre has been recognised as highly durable fibre in all types of matrices vi ., polymer, bitumen, cement, gypsum, flyash"lime, mud, etc.

:ute"coir composites
:ute"coir composite provides an economic alternative to wood for the construction industry. It involves the production of coir"ply boards with oriented jute as face veneer and coir plus waste rubber wood inside. )he coir fibre contains about &8< lignin as against ;-< in tea! wood. )herefore, it is more resistant than tea! wood against rotting under wet and dry conditions and has better tensile strength. )he composite board namely, coir"ply boards 0juteBrubber woodBcoir1 as plywood substitute and natural fibre reinforced boards 0juteBcoir1 as #D* substitute can be used in place of wood or #D* boards for partitioning, false ceiling, surface paneling, roofing, furniture, cupboards, wardrobes etc. )his composite is mainly produced commercially in India by C.atural *ibretech 2vt. =td., 6angalore. .ational Institute of Research on :ute and (pplied *ibre )echnology 0.IR:(*)1, Dol!ata has also come out with a number of technologies, which help to a great e%tent for the commerciali ation of jute+coir based composites.

6amboo and its composites in housing

6amboo is a very well !nown and popular construction material through out the tropics, particularly in bamboo rich regions. 6amboo is the fastest growing plant and possesses e%cellent physical and mechanical properties E weight by weight it is stronger than steel. I2IR)I, 6angalore in association with 6#)27 has successfully developed and transferred the technologies for manufacturing 6amboo #at 6oard 06#61, 6amboo #at Feneer 7omposites 06#F71 and 6amboo #at 7orrugated Sheets 06#7S1. Gne commercial plant has been set up in #eghalaya for manufacturing 6#7S, an e%cellent eco"friendly roofing product, having manufacturing capacity of ;''' sheets per month.

Sisal fibre and its applications

Sisal fibre obtained from the leaf of sisal plant has been proved to be very suitable reinforcement in various polymeric matrices. )he 7entral 6uilding Research Institute, Roor!ee and Regional Research =aboratory, 6hopal have investigated several techniques for sisal fibre surface modification for its use in the production of roofing sheets. 6#)27, .ew Delhi & )I*(7 0DS)1 has also sponsored a number of schemes+projects for natural fibre reinforced composite building materials. (part form the above natural fibre composite materials, a number of reports and research papers published by RR=, )rivandrum and other research laboratories suggest, use of bagasse, pine needles, banana leaves, fla% cotton fibres etc. for the development of different building materials. In RR=, )rivandrum a lot of research has been carried out on the development of different natural fibre based composites and a number of these technologies are at commercialisation stages. )able ; gives a technical comparison of natural fibre composites over the other conventional materials.

Table 3 Comparative technical features of !PC and other materials

Test conducted "nit !PC #$! '.?"'.?"A ,5.?",? '.8"'.@ .( .( P%C ,.;",.?A .( 8A",,' .( .( .( Teak '.85"'.8& ,'",5 ,,.8",& .( 5.?"& 8.&"A.A Particle board '.?"'.?",? ,5.?",? '.&"'.&? .( .(

Density 0tested as per 9+cc ,.@5",.@8 ISH5;A' part IIIH ,-@@1 0,.8?",.@1 #oisture content < '.5"'.;A #odulus of rupture .+mm5 A?"-? 0min 5A1 0tested as per ISH5;A' part IFH,-@@1 )ensile strength 0tested .+mm5 55"5& 0min ,@1 as per ISH5;A' part F & FIH,-@@1 7ompression .+mm5 @A.&A",', perpendicular to surface 7ompression parallel .+mm5 &&"?, to surface Iater absorption 0tested as per ISH5;A' part JFIH ,-@@1 5 hours < '.,?"'.& 0ma% ,'<1 5& hours < ,.,",.? 0ma% ,'<1

8",' 8",'

.( .(

.( .(

8",' ,@"5'

Test conducted

"nit

!PC

#$!

P%C

Teak

Particle board '.&?"'.? '.&?"'.? 8.?"A .(

Swelling in water 0tested as per ISH5;A' part JFIIH,-@@1 =ength < '"'.;8 0#a% .?<1 '.;"'.;? Iidth < '"'.&@ 0#a%.?<1 '.;"'.;? )hic!ness < '",.;A 0#a%.?<1 ;.?"& *ire retardency 0tested " Self e%tinguishing in .( as per 6SH&@8 part ,? seconds FH,-@-K6SH&@8 part FIIH,-A@1 Note: Figures in brackets show codal values

.( .( .( .(

.( .( .( .(

.atural fibre composites in other countries

Iorld production of the plant fibres is estimated to be around ;,'' million tonnes in which the share of cotton fibre is around ,@?' million tonnes and of straws is about ,;'' million tonnes. 7ompared to the cost of various fibres, the cotton fibre is the most e%pensive, followed by fla%, abaca, sisal, coir and jute. Straw is cheapest one if we compare the worldwide cost of all fibres. ( focused research wor! is in progress in almost all the natural fibre"rich countries, for developing appropriate technologies for fibre"reinforced composites. ( survey of planned facilities in .orth (merican countries indicates use of over @'' thousand cubic metres of agricultural fibre in the manufacturing of #D* and particles board 0)able &1. Table & Composite board facilities in North American countries #aterial 2article 6oard >S 7anada #e%ico Total >S >S 7anada #e%ico Total >S and 7anada >S and 7anada >S and 7anada Countr' Capacit' (thousand cubic meters) -;?' 5A&? A;& *3+2& &, ;;8; ,5;8 8' &,-. 5&;& 5-A @'@

$%truded particle board #edium Density *ibre board

2lanned e%pansions #D* 7urrently using agriculture fibres 2lan to use agriculture fibres

( literature search was conducted at the >SD( 0>S(1 forest service. *orest 2roducts =aboratory survey showed that almost every conceivable type of natural fibrous material could be considered for some type of building material and many of them are being used worldwide today. )his account provides a good encouragement and opportunity for utilisation of natural fibres in India also for production of composites for building.

)echnological gaps and future areas

Building components made from agricultural materials fall into the same product categories as other wood based composition products. Low-density insulation boards, medium-density fibre boards, hard boards, particle board and other building components such as walling and roofing can be manufactured using natural fibres. Binders used may be synthetic, thermosetting/thermoplastics, resins, modified naturally occurring resins like tannin or lignin, starches and other organic and inorganic binders, or binder may not be required at all. There seems to be little restriction to what has been tried and what may work. But still the

large-scale availability of natural fibres in different geographic regions suggests that a lot of research and development work is required for proper utilisation of available natural fibres. aps in research are mainly that relate to knowledge of fibre e!traction technology, chemical and physical characterisation, possible modification of the fibre interfaces and the processing techniques and their relation to the manufacturing technologies for final products. In case of aspect ratio of the plant fibres, a distinction is to be made between individual fibres and fibre bundle. Diameter and length of the fibres are also very important factors while designing any products, because varying length and diameter can be deciding factors for the properties of the final products. )here is a wide range of variation in density because of central void or lumen. Foids are seen as initiating crac!s and allowing their propagation may lead to failure of composite dimension or abnormal delimitation. )he renewed interest in industrial use of plant fibres has led to worldwide research into production of a number of products based on plant fibres. )hese products may be divided into two main groups i.e.

#ats: *ilters, 9rowth media, Insulation, 9eote%tiles and Composites" *ibre+composites, *ibre+cement composites, composite product design etc.

Ior! done by the 6uilding #aterials & )echnology 2romotion 7ouncil

)he 6#)27 have provided e%tensive encouragement, technical and financial assistance for the R & D projects, appropriate machine development and commerciali ation of the technologies related to development of fibre based composites. )he chief among them areH L L L L L L :ute fibre"red mud polymer door composite 0*R271 Sisal fibre"red mud"polymer composites 0SR271 7otton fibre"phinolic resin medium density fibre board 0#D*1 2oplar+rubber wood laminated split lumber 02+R=S=1 6anana leaf medium density board 6amboo based corrugated roofing sheet and flooring mat

Conclusion
)he research and development wor! carried out by the different agencies has established that natural fibres due its technical superiority over the synthetic fibres has proved that it is a versatile material for application in rural areas to high tech applications. )he need of the hour is to use these naturally available materials in order to save the environment and energy consumption which is required in the processing of man made synthetic composites. 6ut, still more research and development is required for the e%traction and characteri ation of the basic materials i.e. fibres so to avoid any set bac! during the finali ation of the complete process for upscaling of technology from lab scale to commercial level.

Ackno/ledgement
(uthors are grateful to the $D, 6#)27 for providing chance to contribute the paper in the seminar.

Bibliograph'
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7ities for all, 6uilding #aterials .ews, Iorld #aterials .ews, Iorld /abitat Day, & Gctober, ,---. 2roceedings of (dvances in 2olymeric 6uilding #aterials, 8"@ #arch, 5'';, Roor!ee, India. )I*(7, .ews and Fiews, (rticles, Development of .atural *ibre 7omposite in India.