Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 446452

www.elsevier.com/locate/mechmat

Mechanical properties of kenaf bers

and kenaf/PLA composites
Shinji Ochi

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Miyagi National College of Technology, Natori 981-1239, Japan
Received 16 February 2007; received in revised form 16 October 2007

Abstract
This paper describes the cultivation of kenaf and application to biodegradable composite materials. The unidirectional
biodegradable composite materials were made from kenaf bers and an emulsion-type PLA resin. Thermal analysis of
kenaf bers revealed that tensile strength of kenaf bers decreased when kept at 180 C for 60 min. Therefore, biodegradable composites were fabricated at a molding temperature of 160 C. The unidirectional ber-reinforced composites
showed tensile and exural strengths of 223 MPa and 254 MPa, respectively. Moreover, tensile and exural strength
and elastic moduli of the kenaf ber-reinforced composites increased linearly up to a ber content of 50%. The biodegradability of kenaf/PLA composites was examined for four weeks using a garbage-processing machine. Experimental results
showed that the weight of composites decreased 38% after four weeks of composting.
 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biodegradable composites; Natural ber; Kenaf; PLA; Strength; Biodegradability

1. Introduction
The use of natural plant bers as a reinforcement
in ber-reinforced plastics (FRP) to replace synthetic bers such as glass is receiving attention,
because of advantages such as renewability, low
density, and high specic strength. Recent studies
have investigated the development of biodegradable
composite materials using natural bers such as ax
(Stuart et al., 2006; Oksman et al., 2003), bamboo
(Lee and Wang, 2005), pineapple (Liu et al., 2005;
Luo and Netravali, 1999), silk (Lee et al., 2005),
sisal (Alvarez and Vazquez, 2004), jute (Plackett
*

Tel.: +81 22 381 0346; fax: +81 22 0336.

E-mail address: ochi@miyagi-ct.ac.jp

et al., 2003), kenaf (Nishino et al., 2003), and ramie

(Lodha and Netravali, 2005) as a reinforcement for
biodegradable plastics. These studies have examined
molding conditions, mechanical properties, and
interfacial bonding.
However, the processes involved in using natural
plant bers as a reinforcement are dierent from
those using industrial products such as glass and
carbon bers. The shape, size, and strength of the
natural plant bers may vary widely depending on
cultivation environment, region of origin, and other
characteristics. In turn, these features of the natural
bers are likely to inuence the mechanical properties of the natural ber-reinforced plastics.
Here, the eect of cultivation environment and
plant part on tensile strength was investigated.

0167-6636/$ - see front matter  2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mechmat.2007.10.006

S. Ochi / Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 446452

447

Kenaf bers were grown in a cool region (average

temperature 22 C) and a warm region (average
temperature 30 C) in Japan. To nd an indicator
of the most suitable molding conditions, mechanical
properties of heat-treated kenaf bers were examined. Next, the mechanical and biodegradation
properties of biodegradable composite materials
using kenaf bers as a reinforcement and PLA resin
as a matrix were investigated.
2. Experimental procedures
2.1. Cultivation of kenaf
Kenaf was grown under two dierent conditions,
at an average temperature of 22 C (condition A)
and at an average temperature of 30 C (condition
B). The geographical locations of conditions A
and B are Miyagi Prefecture and Ehime Prefecture
in Japan, respectively. The height of the kenaf was
measured weekly. The eect of cultivation conditions on the tensile strength of the kenaf bers also
was examined. Furthermore, to investigate the eect
of location of the ber on the plant (from root to
tip) on tensile strength, the kenaf was divided into
four sections (every 500 mm from the ground) and
the tensile properties compared.

Fig. 1. Photograpths of used materials: (a) kenaf berbundle and

(b) emulsion-type PLA resin.

2.2. Materials

Table 1
Properties of PLA resin used as matrix

Kenaf ber bundles with a diameter of 50

150 lm and length of 500 mm were used. Fig. 1a
shows an SEM photograph of a kenaf ber bundle.
A emulsion-type PLA (poly-lactic acid) resin
(Miyoshi Oil & Fat Co., Ltd.; PL-1000) was used
as the matrix. This resin contained ne particles
approximately 5 lm in diameter suspended in aqueous solution with a mass content of approximately
40%. A photograph and the basic properties of the
resin are shown in Fig. 1b and Table 1.

Density (g/cm3)
Tensile strength (MPa)
Tensile modulus (GPa)
Flexural strength (MPa)
Flexural modulus (GPa)

2.3. Tensile strength of kenaf bers and heat

treatment
Fig. 2 shows a paperboard prepared to prevent
damage to the ber during handling. The cross-sectional area of bers was calculated from the average
value of 10 diameters measured using an optical
microscope. A ber was glued to the paperboard,
which was then carefully gripped by the testing
machine, and cut with a thin heated metal wire
along the cutting line indicated in Fig. 2. The JIS

1.2
32.5
3.8
71.5
4.9

R 7601 method was followed to determine tensile

strength. The tensile test was performed at a strain
rate of 0.04 per min. In the current study, ten specimens of kenaf bers were prepared and analyzed.
Results are expressed as a mean and 95% condence
interval.
To establish the best molding conditions, the
kenaf bers were heated in air using an electric drying furnace at 160, 180, and 200 C for 15, 30, and
60 min, respectively.

2.4. Molding method of kenaf/PLA composites

First, prepregs were produced by placing the biodegradable resin on the surface of the kenaf bers

448

S. Ochi / Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 446452

placed within the processing compost materials to

investigate the biodegradation behavior of the composites. The temperature of the compost material
was 80 5 C. The sample was placed into a nylon
net bag to prevent diculty in recovering degraded
sample scattered in the compost materials, and
then the sample was buried in the compost materials. Specimens with a ber content of 50% were
used.
2.7. Evaluation of biodegradability

2.5. Mechanical testing of kenaf/PLA composites

Tensile tests and three-point exural tests were
conducted with an Instron testing machine (Model
4482). Tensile tests were performed at a strain rate
of 0.02 per min and a gauge length of 50 mm. Flexural tests were performed at a crosshead speed of
1 mm/min and a span length of 32 mm. Five specimens were prepared and analyzed.
2.6. Biodegradable testing
Biodegradation tests were conducted using a
garbage-processing machine (Hitachi, Ltd.; BDGV18). Trial operation for several days activated
microorganisms in compost materials (Hitachi,
BG-CX20), and then kenaf/PLA composites were

Weight loss %

W0W1
 100
W0

where w0 and w1 are sample weights before and after

the composting test, respectively.
After the biodegradation tests, the appearance of
the sample was examined by scanning electron
microscope.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Mechanical properties of kenaf bers
Figs. 3 and 4 show growing temperatures and the
heights of kenaf grown under condition A and condition B, respectively. The kenaf grown under condition A was about 2000 mm, while that grown
under condition B was about 3650 mm. These
results indicate that dierences in growth conditions
can aect the length of the kenaf bers.

4000

40

3000

30
Height
Temperature

2000

20

1000

10

0
0

35

50

63 70 84
Time (d)

98 126 154 168

Fig. 3. Height of kenaf grown in condition A.

Temperature (C)

and drying at 105 C for 120 min in an oven. The

bers were kept under tension during preforming.
Next, biodegradable composite specimens were fabricated by hot pressing using a metallic mold and a
pressing machine. In this process, the prepregs were
set in the metallic mold and heated to 160 C. The
metallic mold was held at 160 C for 5 min and
specimens were hot-pressed at 10 MPa for 10 min.
The dimensions of the biodegradable composite
specimens were 10 mm 100 mm 1 mm for tensile
testing and 10 mm 50 mm mm for exural testing. The volume fraction of kenaf bers in the specimens was varied from 30% to 70%. The composites
produced were unidirectional long ber-reinforced
composites.

Height (mm)

Fig. 2. Tensile specimens for kenaf bers.

First, the compost materials attached to the specimens surface were removed by washing in running
water. Next, specimens were dried at 50 C for 24 h,
followed by analysis of biodegradability. The biodegradability was assessed by microscopic observation
and by measuring tensile properties and weight
before and after testing.
The weight loss of composted sample was evaluated using the following equation:

40

3000

30

2000

20

Height
Temperature

1000

10

0
0

35

50

63 70 84
Time (d)

98 126 154 168

Fig. 4. Height of kenaf grown in condition B.

Fig. 5 shows the tensile strength and elastic modulus of kenaf bers grown under condition A and
condition B. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of kenaf grown under condition B were greater
than those grown under condition A, indicating that
kenaf bers taken from long rod possess greater
strength.
Fig. 6 shows normalized tensile strength and elastic modulus of kenaf bers taken from four dierent
sections of the plant (0500, 5001000, 10001500,
and 15002000 mm from the ground). From this
gure, it seems that the strength values are within
the standard error. However, in the average value,
the strength of the upper parts was 80% of that of

60
Tensile strength
Elastic modulus

800

40

600
400

20

200
0

Elastic modulus (GPa)

Tensile strength (MPa)

1000

0
A

Norm. tensile properties (%)

Fig. 5. Tensile strength and elastic modulus of kenaf bers.

120
100
80
60
40
Tensile strength
Elastic modulus

20
0

500
1000
1500
Distance from ground (mm)

Fig. 6. Relationship between tensile properties of kenaf bers

and distance from ground.

449

bottom parts as shown by the straight line in this

gure. Fibers from the bottom section of the plant
showed the tendency to have the greatest values
for tensile strength. Therefore, in this research,
kenaf bers taken from lowest part of the plant
was used to fabricate kenaf ber-reinforced plastics.
To establish the most suitable molding conditions,
mechanical properties of heat-treated kenaf bers
were examined. Fig. 7 shows the eect of heat treatment on the tensile strength of kenaf bers. The tensile strength of kenaf bers decreased at 200 C. The
tensile strength of kenaf bers heat-treated at 180 C
for 30 min was similar to that of non-heat-treated
bers. At 160 C, the tensile strength of heat-treated
kenaf bers did not decrease, even with longer heating times. Based on these results, the processing
temperature for fabricating kenaf ber-reinforced
composites should be kept below 160 C 60 min
or 180 C 30 min to prevent strength reduction
due to thermal degradation.
3.2. Tensile and exural properties of biodegradable
composites
Kenaf/PLA composites using kenaf bers from
the lowest section of plants grown under condition
B were fabricated at a molding temperature of
160 C.
Figs. 8 and 9 show the relations between ber
content and tensile and exural properties, respectively. Tensile and exural strengths increase linearly with ber content up to 50%. The tensile and
exural strengths were 223 and 254 MPa, respectively, in samples with a ber fraction of 70%.
According to the results obtained by other researchers, the tensile strength of ax (Oksman et al., 2003),
bamboo (Lee and Wang, 2005) and kenaf (Nishino
et al., 2003) ber-reinforced PLA composites are
Norm. tensile strength (%)

4000

Temperature (C)

Height (mm)

S. Ochi / Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 446452

100

50

Heating time
15min
30min
60min

50

100

150

200

Heating temperature (C)

Fig. 7. Relationship between tensile strength of kenaf bers and

heating temperature.

S. Ochi / Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 446452

30
200
20
100
Tensile strength
Tensile modulus

0
0

Table 2
Comparison of theoretical and experimental value of tensile
strength

40

10

0
20
40
60
80
100
Volume fraction of kenaf fiber (%)

Fig. 8. Relationship between tensile properties and ber content.

40
30

200
20
100
Flexural strength
Flexural modulus

0
0

10

Flexural modulus (GPa)

Flexural strength (MPa)

300

0
20
40
60
80
100
Volume fraction of kenaf fiber (%)

Theoretical
strength
(MPa)

Experimental
strength
(MPa)

Experiment/theory
(%)

30
50
70

178.2
297.0
415.8

130.5
210.9
223.3

73.1
71.0
53.7

a ber content of 70% was approximately 50%. As

shown in Fig. 6, a large variation in kenaf ber
strength and lower experimental strength values
was due to fracture of low-strength bers. Furthermore, when ber content is greater than 70%, some
voids and ber contacts caused by an insucient
amount of resin are observed in the specimen.
Therefore, the ber content used for fabricating kenaf ber-reinforced composites should be kept less
than 70%.
3.3. Biodegradability of kenaf/PLA composites

Fig. 9. Relationship between exural properties and ber

content.

indicated 53, 45 and 60 MPa, respectively. Thus, the

strength of biodegradable composites fabricated in
the current study is much higher than those of natural ber-reinforced PLA composites. In this
research, the best molding condition was established
to prevent strength reduction due to thermal degradation. And the fabrication with emulsion-type biodegradable resin contributed to reduction in voids
and ber contacts in the composites.
Theoretical calculations of the tensile strength in
the longitudinal direction were conducted using the
simple rule (case of ef > em) of mixtures as shown in
Eq. (2):
rc rf V f

Volume
fraction of
bers (%)

where r is tensile strength, V is volume fraction, e is

strain, and c, f, and m represent composite, ber,
and matrix, respectively (Hull et al., 1996). Table
2 shows the theoretical tensile strength values calculated from the rule of mixtures, along with the
experimental values. Experimental strength values
of composites with ber contents of 30% and 50%
were approximately 70% of the theoretical strength;
the experimental strength value of composites with

The variation in tensile strength of kenaf/PLA

composites with composting time is shown in
Fig. 10. The tensile strength rapidly decreased from
week 1 to week 2. After composting for four weeks,
the strength gradually declined to 10%. The
decrease in strength results from the degradation
of polymerization of the cellulose in the kenaf bers
(Testa et al., 1994).
Fig. 11 shows the weight loss of kenaf/PLA composites as a function of composting time. In the
early stage, composting for less than two weeks
yielded results similar to those obtained before composting. However, the weight loss of kenaf/PLA
composites rapidly increased upon composting for

Norm. tensile strength (%)

Tensile strength (MPa)

300

Tensile modulus (GPa)

450

100
80
60
40
20
0

10

15

20

25

30

Composting time (d)

Fig. 10. Relationship between remaining strength and composting time.

S. Ochi / Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 446452

Weight loss (%)

60

40

20

0
0

10
15
20
25
Composting time (d)

30

Fig. 11. Relationship between remaining weight and composting

time.

four weeks. The weight of composites decreased

38% after four weeks of composting. These results
indicate that enzymatic degradation of the cellulosic
chains in kenaf bers degrades ber strength. In
addition, bers and polymer that experienced a
decrease in polymerization degraded into water
and carbon dioxide.
Fig. 12 shows SEM photomicrographs of kenaf/
PLA composites before and after composting for

451

four weeks. Before composting, biodegradable resin

covered the surface of the specimens. After composting for four weeks, the biodegradable resin on the
sample surface was preferentially biodegraded,
resulting in the exposure of kenaf ber bundles.
Furthermore, an interfacial gap appears as a result
of the biodegradation of resin near the interface
between ber bundle and resin. Results from tensile
property tests, microscopic observation, and weight
measurements conrm the biodegradability of the
composites.
4. Conclusions
Kenaf/PLA biodegradable composites were fabricated using kenaf ber bundles and an emulsiontype biodegradable resin. The following results were
obtained follows:
1. The fabrication of high-strength kenaf ber-rein
forced plastics requires kenaf bers obtained
from the section of the plants closest to the
ground.
2. The tensile strength of kenaf bers heat-treated
at 160 C for 60 min did not decrease. Thus,
160 C is the highest fabrication temperature that
does not aect ber strength.
3. Unidirectional biodegradable composites fabricated using an emulsion-type PLA resin and
kenaf bers at a ber content of 70% have high
tensile and exural strengths of 223 MPa and
254 MPa, respectively.
4. As kenaf/PLA composites biodegrade, tensile
strength and weight decrease 91% and 38%,
respectively, after composting for four weeks.
The biodegradability of the composites was conrmed experimentally.

References

Fig. 12. SEM photomicrographs of kenaf/PLA composites: (a)

before composting test and (b) after composting test for four
weeks.

Alvarez, V.A., Vazquez, A., 2004. Thermal degradation of

cellulose derivatives/starch blends and sisal bre biocomposites. Polymer Degradation and Stability 84, 1321.
Hull, D., Clyne, T.W., 1996. An Introduction to Composite
Materials, 2nd ed. Cambridge, Cambridge.
Lee, S., Wang, S., 2005. Biodegradable polymers/bamboo ber
biocomposite with bio-based coupling agent. Composites Part
A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 37, 8091.
Lee, S.M., Cho, D., Park, W.H., Lee, S.G., Han, S.O., Drzal,
L.T., 2005. Novel silk/poly (butylene succinate) biocomposites: the eect of short bre content on their mechanical and
thermal properties. Composites Science and Technology 65,
647657.

452

S. Ochi / Mechanics of Materials 40 (2008) 446452

Liu, W., Misra, M., Askeland, P., Drzal, L., Mohanty, A.K.,
2005. Green composites from soy based plastic and pineapple leaf ber: fabrication and properties evaluation. Polymer
46, 7102721.
Lodha, P., Netravali, A.N., 2005. Characterization of stearic acid
modied soy protein isolate resin and ramie ber-reinforced
green composites. Composites Science and Technology 65,
12111225.
Luo, S., Netravali, A.N., 1999. Interfacial and mechanical
properties of environment-friendly green composites made
from pineapple bers and poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate)resin. Journal of Materials Science 34, 37093719.
Nishino, T., Hirao, K., Kotera, M., Nakamae, K., Inagaki, H.,
2003. Kenaf reinforced biodegradable composite. Composites
Science and Technology 63, 12811286.

Oksman, K., Skrifvars, M., Selin, J.F., 2003. Natural bres as

reinforcement in polylactic acid (PLA) composites. Composites Science and Technology 63, 13171324.
Plackett, D., Andersen, T.L., Pedersen, W.B., Nielsen, L., 2003.
Biodegradable composites based on polylactide and jute
bres. Composites Science and Technology 63, 12871296.
Stuart, T., Liu, Q., Hughes, M., McCall, R.D., Sharma, H.S.S.,
Norton, A., 2006. Structural biocomposites from axPart I:
eect of bio-technical bre modication on composite properties. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 37, 393404.
Testa, G., Sardella, A., Rossi, E., Bozzi, C., Seves, A., 1994. The
kinetics of cellulose ber degradation and correlation with
some tensile properties. Acta Polymer 45, 4749.