The Effect of Alkaline Treatment On the Schizostachyum Grande Fibre for Textile Applications

Among commercial Malaysian bamboo species, Schizostachyum Grandespecies are characterised by their longest internode and thinner culm wall, which allow more attainable fibres during the extraction process. However, the chemical composition of bamboo fibres is higher than any other natural fibre, resulting in coarse and stiff fibres that require alkaline treatment to develop fine fibres. This paper presents the effect of alkaline treatment concentration and soaking time on the physical properties and tensile properties of bamboo fibres. The bamboo fibre was treated with an alkaline solution at 4 and 8 wt.% concentration for 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours. The diameter and fineness of bamboo fibre wereevaluated to determine if alkaline concentration and soaking time affected the fibres. Results showed that the treated fibre diameter decreased by 23.2% to 66.51μm at 8 wt.% alkaline concentrationsfor 12 hours of soaking timecompared to the untreated bamboo fibre of 86.56μm.The fibre fineness of 11.96 tex was produced at 24 hours of soaking time and8 wt.% alkaline concentrations. Alkaline treatment was effective in causing a decrease in fibre diameter and produced the finest fibre. Thinner and finer fibre was produced as alkaline concentration and soaking time increased.The highest tensile strength of treated bamboo fibre was 1.42 GPa at a 4 wt% alkaline concentration and6 hours of soaking time. Elongation at break and tenacity improved remarkably when the alkaline concentration and soaking time were increased, which were 3.11% and 45 cN/Tex, respectively, at 8 wt% alkaline concentrationsfor 12 hours of soaking time. Moreover, the 8 wt% alkaline concentration was the best for bamboo fibre because the treatment was effective in causing a decrease in fibre diameter and produced the finest fibre. The elongation at break and tenacity of fibres were also improved at 12 hours of soaking time. The tensile strength and modulus of fibre were reduced at longer soaking times at high alkaline concentrations of more than 18 hours.