| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4514346 | Industrial Crops and Products | 2012 | 8 Pages |
Nowadays, certain components of non-wood annual plants such as corn stalk and industrial hemp core are considered waste materials or used in low value applications; both by-products have a very low cost. On the other hand, given the large quantities of these materials generated worldwide and their renewable character, it is reasonable to explore new routes for their exploitation. The aim of this paper is to study the potential of both corn stalk (Zea Mays L.) and industrial hemp core (Cannabis Sativa L.) fibres as a renewable source of cellulose fibres in the production of fibre-cement. For each source of fibres, a number of chemical cooking treatments were studied. The morphological properties of the fibres were determined using a scanning electron microscope and a fibre and pulp morphological analyser. Pulp refining was carried out in a PFI mill to improve the characteristics of the fibres. In the case of corn fibres, different degrees of refining were applied. The fibre flocculation process was investigated using several polyacrylamides. The process was studied by monitoring the chord size distribution in real time by means of a focused beam reflectance measurement probe.The results indicated that both pulps can be used for the production of fibre-cement, having the two types of pulp morphological similarities with the pine fibres currently used.Through the flocculation process it was concluded the floc size depends on the length of the fibres.
► Use of both corn stalk (Z. Mays L.) and industrial hemp core (C. Sativa L.) fibres in the fibre-cement production to replace asbestos as reinforcement fibre. ► Morphological characterisation by scanning electron microscope and by a morphological analyser of fibres of different hemp and corn pulps. ► Flocculation study of the hemp and corn pulps with several polyacrylamides by monitoring the chord size distribution in real time through a focused beam reflectance measurement. ► Comparison of the performance of commonly used fibre-cement reinforcement fibres, namely pine fibres and hemp and corn fibres. ► Study of corn fibres refining to improve the level the degree of defibrillation prior to their use in suspensions of fibre-cement.
