Studies on lignocellulosic fibers of Brazil. Part I: Source, production, morphology, properties and applications

Among the main contributors to the gross domestic product of all countries are their natural resources, whose improper utilization adds problems to the lack of proper data on their availability and structure/property correlations. If these data were made available, they would help in achieving objectives of value addition and employment generation. This paper describes the availability of some of the Brazilian lignocellulosic fibers, their market, extraction methods, reported morphology, properties and their present applications. Some perspectives for these fibers are also presented, considering their growing importance and their whole spectrum of promising opportunities and challenges for Brazil and other developing countries.