Performance of oil palm empty fruit bunch fibres coated with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

Natural fibres are suitable for reinforcement of soils due to their availability, low cost and environment-friendly nature. Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB), solid waste produced during refinement of oil from oil palm fruit, provide fibres which have been used as reinforcement material for soil improvements. To protect the fibres from biodegrading in reinforced soil, OPEFB fibre is coated with non-biodegradable material. The effect of coating OPEFB fibres with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) was evaluated. Morphological characterization, mechanical and physical properties of the coated fibres exhibited improved fibre performance. The ABS treatment protected fibres from water absorption and decreased the biodegradation potential of the fibres in contact with soil. The tensile strength and elasticity moduli of the OPEFB fibres were also improved with the coating. Coating fibres increases interface friction between fibre and soil particles due to increased surface area. The results were shown that the shear strength parameters of the fibre-reinforced soils can be improved significantly.

Research highlights
► ABS coating can decrease the destruction of OPEFB fibres against physical agents, water absorption and degradation.
► ABS coated OPEFB fibres significantly increased the shear strength of fibre-reinforced soils.
► The tensile strength of ABS coated fibres was increased in compare with uncoated fibres.