Journal of Fibers and Polymer Composites

Hybrid Natural-Synthetic Fiber Composites for Noise and Vibration Control: Linking Acoustic Performance to Environmental Sustainability Metrics

2026-07-06T23:30:35+07:00

Hybrid natural-synthetic fiber composites are attractive for automotive acoustic trim only when composition effects are separated from geometric effects and the computational assumptions are fully reproducible. This study presents a transparent screening framework linking normal-incidence acoustic absorption, a literature-informed vibration-damping proxy, specific stiffness, mass and constituent-production environmental metrics. Twelve polypropylene-based formulations were compared at a common thickness of 20 mm; 16, 20 and 24 mm were then evaluated separately in the thickness-sensitivity analysis. Open porosity and flow resistivity were generated by explicit bounded composition-to-property rules and used in the Miki equivalent-fluid model. Environmental inputs were evaluated with 20,000-trial triangular uncertainty propagation, while the multi-criteria ranking used winsorized normalization and 10,000 weight-perturbation scenarios of +/-15%. At 20 mm, broadband absorption averages (500-4000 Hz) occupied a narrow range of 0.612-0.636, demonstrating that acoustic comparisons are sensitive to geometry and that thickness must be controlled when isolating composition effects. Increasing thickness from 16 to 24 mm raised the modeled broadband absorption of representative natural-fiber-rich panels from about 0.55 to 0.69. C25-G10-R5 ranked first under the baseline weights and in 100% of weight-perturbation scenarios; JC30-G10 remained in the top three in 100% of scenarios and C35-rP5 in 79.1%. Median constituent-production greenhouse-gas reductions relative to GF40-PP ranged from approximately 26% to 56% for the non-aramid hybrid candidates, whereas the aramid-containing design was environmentally unfavorable. The reported damping values are screening proxies, not measured loss factors, and the environmental calculation is not a full ISO-compliant comparative LCA. The framework is therefore intended for hypothesis generation and experimental down-selection rather than direct certification of material performance.

Soil Burial Degradation and Morphology of PLA/Sugarcane Bagasse Biocomposites

2026-06-17T23:34:50+07:00

This study aimed to investigate the degradation behavior and surface morphology of polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites reinforced with sugarcane bagasse fibers (SCBF). The biocomposites were fabricated using the vacuum bagging technique with fiber loadings of 0, 22, 24, and 26 wt%. Their performance was evaluated through a 21-day soil burial test, water solubility test, and surface morphology analysis using a digital optical microscope. The results revealed that the incorporation of sugarcane bagasse fibers enhanced the biodegradation rate of the PLA biocomposites under soil burial conditions. The highest weight loss (17.02%) was obtained for the biocomposite containing 26 wt% SCBF after 21 days of burial, which was attributed to microbial activity and the hygroscopic nature of the natural fibers. In contrast, the addition of SCBF reduced the water solubility of the biocomposites due to the formation of a denser fiber network within the PLA matrix, which restricted water penetration and improved structural integrity. Morphological observations confirmed surface degradation after soil burial, as evidenced by the formation of cracks, fissures, and voids on the biocomposite surface. Overall, the incorporation of sugarcane bagasse fibers effectively improved the biodegradability of PLA biocomposites while maintaining lower water solubility, highlighting their potential for environmentally friendly packaging applications.

Characterization of Hydrogel Beads Based on Sodium Alginate and Bacterial Cellulose as Encapsulants for Red Palm Oil Emulsion (Elaeis guineensis Jacq)

2026-02-23T08:39:43+07:00

Red palm oil is a carotenoid-rich lipid source with functional potential, but its bioactive compounds are susceptible to oxidative degradation during processing and storage. This study aimed to develop red palm oil emulsion hydrogel beads using sodium alginate and bacterial cellulose as encapsulating materials and to evaluate the effect of their ratios on physicochemical and encapsulation properties. Beads were prepared by emulsion ionotropic gelation using CaCl₂ as a crosslinking agent. A completely randomized design with five treatments and three replications was used, and data were analyzed by ANOVA followed by Duncan’s New Multiple Range Test at a 5% significance level. The sodium alginate-to-bacterial cellulose ratio significantly affected yield, bead size, sphericity factor, swelling capacity, total carotenoid content, and encapsulation efficiency. Increasing bacterial cellulose proportion improved bead yield, diameter, carotenoid retention, and encapsulation efficiency. Treatment E, containing 50 mL sodium alginate, 25 mL bacterial cellulose, and 25 mL red palm oil emulsion, showed the best characteristics, with 63.17% yield, 3.55 mm bead size, 0.004 sphericity factor, 44.47 µg/g total carotenoid content, and 83.21% encapsulation efficiency. These findings indicate that sodium alginate–bacterial cellulose hydrogel beads are promising encapsulants for carotenoid-rich red palm oil emulsion.

Curve Fitting of the Transport Behaviour of Epoxy Coated Fabrics through some selected Solvents

2026-02-24T15:19:16+07:00

Modelling of the Transport Behaviour of selected solvents through Epoxy Coated Grey Fabrics had been carried out. The epoxy coated fabrics were formulated by coating the grey states of cotton (EC), nylon (EN), linen (EN), polyester (EP) with epoxy resin as published. 20ml of Hydrogen peroxide was mixed with colbalt and methyl ethyl ketone to form mixture 1, 20ml of borax was mixed with cobalt, and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide to form mixture 2. 40ml of epoxy was measured out in a beaker and poured into a basin and 20ml each of mixture 1 and 2 were injected gradually at different points in the basin. The grey fabrics were then dipped in each of mixtures to form epoxy coated grey fabric. The methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) and cobalt were used as catalyst and accelerator respectively. The grey fabric were then dipped in the mixture of 1 and epoxy and 2 and epoxy to form epoxy coated grey fabrics and allowed to cool at room temperature. The epxy grey coated fabrics were totally immersed in water bath at temperatures of 18°C and 27°C at intervals of 300 seconds until equilibrium was reached. Sorption properties were calculated using the molar percentage uptake (q_t) obtained from molar uptake at equilibrium (q_e). The results obtained were validated using the least square technique with Matlab software. The epoxy grey coated fabrics were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transport Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to examine the internal structure, and functional groups. Results obtained indicated that the molar uptake of both composites followed the typical isotherm curves. The enthalpy of sorption obtained was positive and suggested Henrys type of sorption. The epoxy coated grey fabrics reached equilibrium at shortest time for the 18°C while 27°C took longer time. Elemental composition of the epoxy coated grey fabrics were obtained using the elemental dispersive X-Ray from SEM; they indicated presence of carbon, oxygen, sodium, potassium, silicon, calcium, aluminum, magnesium and iron.