Jute fibers and micro/nanofibrils as reinforcement in extruded fiber-cement composites

Abstract

Driven by the growing environmental concerns, vegetable fibers have been used in order to partially replace conventional synthetic fibers as reinforcement in composites. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of jute fibers and micro/nanofibrils (submicron elements) as reinforcement in extruded fiber-cement composites. The jute micro/nanofibrils were generated through 30 cycles of defibrillation in a SuperMasscolloider grinder. Composites extruded with 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% (by mass) of the resultant micro/nanofibrils were compared with composites made with the same mass proportions of the starting jute fibers (∼3 mm length). The composites were subjected to 28 days of curing, to laboratory and natural weathering before being analyzed about their physical properties, static and dynamic bending, and microstructural characterization. The dynamic modulus of elasticity of the weathering exposed composites increased gradually over time, showing that the fiber-cements became stiffer with weathering exposure. Composites reinforced with jute micro/nanofibrils, in general, presented higher mechanical performance, even when under natural weathering exposition, and showed potential for future utilization in fiber-cement composites for civil engineering or other applications.