Structural Characteristics and Properties of Windmill Palm Leaf Sheath Fiber

Authors

  • Lan Cheng
  • Tonghua Zhang
  • Min Guo
  • Xiaolong Li

Keywords:

Windmill palm leaf sheath fiber (palm fiber), individual fiber, morphology, structure, properties

Abstract

A study was carried out on a special kind of fibrous material—windmill palm leaf sheath fiber (palm fiber)—with the aim of full utilization of the bioresource. Morphological feature and fine structure of palm fiber were investigated using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results indicate that palm fiber is subcylindrical with a rough surface and large diameter (359.15 mm). Ultrastructure from TEM confirmed that cell wall layers of palm fiber have a structure similar to that of wood cell wall. Individual fibers in the palm fiber are elongated cells (length-diameter ratio is about 100) with lumen, tapering ends, and thick cell walls (about 1 mm). In addition, crystallinity, tensile properties, and moisture regain of palm fiber were studied and compared with flax, ramie, and bamboo fiber. Palm fiber has relatively lower crystallinity and tensile strength compared with the fibers, but it has extremely higher elongation.

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Published

2014-04-04

Issue

Number 2 / April 2014

Section

Research Contributions

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