Plant fibres in composites. Comparative results between hemp, kenaf and flax fibres. Preparation of raw material and final products

In the future, composite materials based on plant fibres will have increasi ng importance in our life. They are light, recyclable, environment friendly . Plant fibres can substitute the artificial fibres in many industrial prod ucts even if manmade fibres at present still perform better. Nevertheless, appropriate dry-mechanical treatment of raw material can improve plant fibr e characteristics; subsequent chemical treatments are able to induce fibre modifications that increase their resistance when utilised in composite pro ducts. This paper will describe the hemp, flax and kenaf dry-mechanical preparatio n system. results on treatment yield and characteristics of different fract ions will be given for each species. Afterwards. the composites preparation system will be described and results of fibre behaviour in composite products will be illustrated and discussed .