Environmental Engineering and Management Journal May/June 2009, Vol.8, No.

3, 429-438
http://omicron.ch.tuiasi.ro/EEMJ/

“Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania

______________________________________________________________________________________________

SUSTAINABLE USE OF VEGETAL FIBERS IN COMPOSITE

MATERIALS. SOURCES OF VEGETAL FIBERS

Dan Gavrilescu, Bogdan Marian Tofănică, Adrian Cătălin Puiţel, Puiu Petrea
“Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iaşi, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environment Protection, Department of
Natural and Synthetic Polymers, 71 A Mangeron Bvd, 700050 - Iaşi, Romania

Abstract

Transition to a more sustainable economy and the consequences of the Kyoto protocol on global climate change, includes a shift
of feedstock for energy and chemical industries from fossil fuels and petrochemicals to renewable resources. The use of vegetal
fibers as major source of renewable resources represents a valuable alternative both from economical and environmental points of
view. Traditionally, vegetal fibers are widely used in textile industry, paper manufacture, and packaging. Due to their specific
properties, vegetal fibers are gained increased attention in obtaining composite materials.
This paper reviews the sources of vegetal fibers that can be potentially used as reinforcements in composite materials. The
structure and properties of wood and annual plant fibers are briefly discussed. The advantages of vegetal fibers as raw materials in
composite applications are also presented. Some considerations regarding environmental impact of using vegetal fibers in
composites are underlined.

Key words: composites, environment, nonwoods, renewable resources, vegetal fibers

1. Introduction in a unique manner. According to shape of dispersed

Composites are engineered materials made
from two or more constituents with different physical
and chemical properties, which remain distinct within
the final product. Composites show properties which
exceed those of the individual constituents. Most
composite materials are composed of two phases; one
is continuous (matrix), and the second is
discontinuous (dispersed phase). Properties of
composites depend of the properties of the constituent
phases, their relative amounts, and the geometry of
the dispersed phase (Suong et al., 2003).
Nature offers excellent examples of
composites. Wood represents one of the most
common natural composite materials. The wood
dispersed phase is formed by strong and flexible
cellulose fibers and the matrix by lignin, a stiffer
material that surrounds and held together the cellulose
fibers.
There are a huge number of natural and
manmade composites, which are difficult to classify
phase (reinforcing material), there are three main
categories: particles reinforced, fiber reinforced and
structural composites. For particle-reinforced
composites dispersed phase consists from particles
having approximately the same dimensions in all
directions; for fiber-reinforced composites, the
dispersed phase consists from fibers (materials having
high length/diameter ratio) from different origin.
Structural composites are combinations of composites
and homogeneous materials. A simple scheme for
classification of composite materials is shown in Fig.
1.
Fiber reinforced composites refers to those
materials composed of strong fibers surrounded by a
matrix material. The matrix serves to distribute the
fibers in a specific manner and to transmit the stresses
to the fibers. Common fibers used in composites and
their basic physical properties are presented in Table
1. Vegetal fibers show low density but their
mechanical properties are at the same level as carbon
or aramid fibers.


Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed: e-mail: dan_gavrilescu@yahoo.com
 Gavrilescu et al./Environmental Engineering and Management Journal 8 (2009), 3, 429-438

Fig. 2. Representative matrix phases in composite materials

(adapted from Mallick, 2007)

Fig. 1. A classification of composite materials (adapted Fiber reinforced composites uses a polymer
from Gay, 2003) matrix. Thermoset polymers (epoxy polymers,
polyesters, and vinylesters) are commonly used as
Table 1. Common fibers used in composites and their basic
properties (Soboyejo, 2002)
matrix material in continuous or long fiber reinforced
composites, mainly because of the ease of processing
Fiber Density, Elongation Tensile Young’s due to their low viscosity. Thermoplastic polymers
(g/cm3) (%) strength Modulus (polyolefins - polyethylene, polypropylene) are
(MPa) (GPa) currently used with short fiber-reinforced composites
Cotton 1.55 7.0-8.0 300-600 5.5-12.6 that are produced by injection-molding techniques.
Jute 1.3 1.5-1.8 400-800 26.5
Flax 1.5 2.7-3.2 345-1035 69.3 2. Vegetal fibers in composite materials
Hemp 1.48 1.6 690 70
Ramie 1.5 3.6-3.8 100-938 61.4-128 2.1. Vegetal fibers classification
Softwood 1.5 - 1000 40
kraft Vegetal fibers are divided in nonwood plant
Viscose 1.52 11.4 593 11
fibers and wood fibers. Both these fibers are widely
(cord)
Glass 2.5 2.5 2000-3500 70
used for industrial applications: textile industry, paper
Aramid 1.4 3.3-3.7 3000-3150 63-67 manufacturing, packaging, composite materials. A
Carbon 1.4 1.4-1.8 4000 230-240 widely accepted classification of vegetal fibers is
presented in Fig. 3 (Mohanty et al., 2002).
There are many advantages of vegetal fibers Fiber reinforced composites use both annual
when are used as a composites component: these are plant fibers and fibers isolated from wood. Nonwood
renewable, the fibers are strong and flexible and give plant fibers are obtained from cereal straw, stalks,
less problem regarding health and safety of workers, leafs, seeds and grasses. Wood fibers originate from
have good thermal and acoustic properties, and good softwood or hardwood species. These fibers are not
price-performance ratio. At the same time, the very different regarding their structure, chemical
disadvantages of vegetal fibers are: dimension composition and mechanical properties. Regardless of
instability, high moisture absorption, susceptibility to their origin, vegetal fibers can be considered as a
rotting, restricted processing temperature. Fiber composite material of cellulose microfibrils held
reinforced composites are used in various domains of together by a lignin and hemicelluloses matrix (John
human activity as: building products (decking, and Anandjiwala, 2008).
window/door, fencing decorative trim, railings; Vegetal fiber cell wall has a complex, layered
infrastructure (boardwalks, bridge, guardrails); structure consisting of a thin primary wall (P) and a
transportation (interior panels, shelves, ducting, truck large secondary wall (Fig. 4). The secondary wall is
floor, head liners); industrial/consumer (pallets, made up of three layers and the thick middle layer (S2
playground, benches/tables, floorings, trash). secondary layer, Fig. 4) determines the mechanical
Matrix phase performs a variety of functions in properties of the fiber. The layers of secondary wall
a fiber composite which characterize the behavior of consist of a series of helically wound cellular
the composite. Matrix keeps the fibers in the structure microfibrils formed from cellulose macromolecules.
of composites and transfers stresses to the fibers. The microfibrils have a diameter of about 10– 30 nm
Matrix protects the fibers against mechanical and and are made up of 30–100 cellulose molecules in
chemical degradation and moisture. Representative extended chain conformation. The amorphous matrix
matrix phases in composite materials are presented in phase in a cell wall consists mainly of hemicelluloses
Fig. 2. and lignin.

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Fig. 3. Classification of vegetal fibers (Mohanty et al., 2002)
The hemicelluloses molecules are hydrogen bonded
to cellulose and act as cementing matrix between the
cellulose microfibrils, forming a network, which is
the main structural component of the fiber cell. The
hydrophobic lignin acts as a coupling agent and
increases the stiffness of the cellulose/hemicelluloses
composite. The structure, microfibrillar angle, cell
dimensions, and chemical composition of fibers are
the most important variables that determine the
overall properties of the fibers (Rowell et al., 2005).
The middle lamella separates the fibers and contains
mainly lignin. Lignin in the middle lamella acts as a
cementing agent of wood fibers (Stevens and Verhe,
2004).
Fig. 4. Cell wall structure of a wood fiber. (P – primary
layer; S1, S2, S3 – secondary layers in the cell wall)
(Fahlen, 2005)
2.2. Wood fibers
Wood consists of cellulose, lignin,
hemicelluloses, extractives and ash. Cellulose
constitutes 40-50 % of wood substance by weight and
represents the major component of fibers. Lignin
constitutes 18-35 % of wood substance and it is
concentrated between wood fibers (Miller, 1999).
Main species of wood are represented by hardwoods
and softwoods, that differ in chemical composition as
is presented in Table 2.
Table 2. Typical composition of wood, percent (Biermann,
1996)
Component Wood species
Hardwoods Softwoods
Cellulose 40-50 45-50
Hemicelluloses 17-35 25-35
Lignin 18-25 25-35
Extractives 1-5 3-8
Ash 0.4-0.8 0.2-0.5
Hardwoods and softwoods strongly differ
according their fibers structure and properties.
Softwoods fibers (called tracheids) are long cells,
often more than 100 times longer than wide. They
cover up to 95 % of the volume of wood and provide
both conductive and mechanical functions to tree.
Structure of hardwoods is much more
complicated than that of softwoods and they are
separated by a unique feature that is the presence of
specialized conducting cells in hardwoods called
vessels elements. These cells are stacked one on top
of the other to form vessels. Where the ends of the
vessel elements come in contact with one another, a
hole is formed, called a perforation plate. Vessels
cover up to 60 % of the volume of wood. Thus
hardwoods have perforated vessel elements for water
conduction, whereas softwoods have imperforate
tracheids. Tracheids and vessels diameters are
comparable but hardwoods vessel elements are
shorter than softwoods tracheids (Fig. 5.)
(Wiedenhoeft and Miller, 2005). Hardwoods contain
also tracheids and other types of cells (Fengel and
Grosser, 1976). A comparison between fiber
dimensions of representative wood species is given in
Table 3 (Sjostrom, 1981).
Typically wood-derived materials for
biocomposites are wood flour, sawdust and wood
fibers. Wood flour and sawdust are wood particles
resulting as wood waste during wood mechanical
processing. Wood flour is finely divided ground wood
having a flour-like appearance. Particle size of wood
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flour ranges 0.05-0.50 mm and aspect ratio (length to lower yield but higher resistance and lower energy
thickness of particles) is 3:1-5:1. Bulk density of demand. Mechanical pulp fibers are shorter and stiffer
wood flour is typically around 0.1–0.3 g/cm3. if compared with chemical pulp fibers (Holik, 2006).
Sawdust is essentially the same thing as wood flour
except it is not ground but formed as a by-product of Table 4. Characteristics of mechanical and chemical pulps
wood sawing. Sawdust typically consists of particles
of 0.30-5.0 mm. Wood flour and sawdust decompose Pulp type Mechanical Chemical
above 190°C. This is due to a higher susceptibility to pulp pulp
Yield, % (on wood basis) 92-95 40-50
temperature descomposition of lignin and
Tensile index, Nmg-1 30-40 80-100
hemicelluloses, and because cellulose decomposes
Energy consumption, kWh t-1 2500-3000 600-800
above 240°C (Klyosov, 2007). Biological Oxygen Demand, kgt-1 10-20 30-50

Depending on the fiber separation process,

Fig. 5. Softwoods fibers (tracheids) and hardwoods fibers
(vessels) (taken from Wiedenhoeft and Miller, 2005)
Table 3. Fiber dimensions of representative wood species
chemical composition of fibers, fiber dimensions and
shape, fiber strength, flexibility, and ability to adhere
to other fibers or matrix material differ widely
between different types of wood fibers (Blechschmidt
et al., 2006; Sixta et al., 2006). Wood fibers are
processed in a way to optimize the properties of the
paper. In this respect, high fiber flexibility is
necessary to assure a large contact area over the
fiber–fiber bonds that strongly influence the paper
mechanical properties. For composite application
most relevant properties of wood fibers are stiffness
and dimensional stability (Neagu et al., 2006).
Conventional methods used in wood fibers separation
may very well be employed in the manufacture of
wood fiber for composite applications. Wood fibers
can be further processed for enhanced properties by
means of chemical or mechanical modifications
(Persson, 2004).

Wood species Fiber dimensions, mm 2.3. Nonwood plant fibers

Fiber length Fiber width
Softwoods 2-4 0.02-0.04 According to FAO - the Food and Agriculture
Hardwoods 0.7-1.7 0.15-0.04
Organization of the United Nations, commercial non-
wood pulp production has been estimated to be 10%
Wood fibers are commonly used for of the global pulp production and is expected to
manufacture of paper and board products. According increase. The dynamics of non-wood fiber pulp
to the Confederation of European Paper Industries production between 2001 and 2007 shows an increase
(CEPI), in 2006, world production of wood fibers for of 28 % as is presented in Table 5 (FAOSTAT, 2008).
paper and board manufacture was 192.3 millions The main sources of non-wood raw materials are
tones and paper and board production was 382 agricultural residues: straw (46%), bagasse (14%),
millions tones (CEPI, 2007). Paper is a composite bamboo (6%) and the remainder consists mainly of
material due to its composition: cellulosic fibers, industrial crops (Paavilainen, 1998).
inorganic fillers and pigments, chemical additives.
The percentage of non-cellulosic components in paper Table 5. Dynamics of nonwood fiber pulp and wood pulp
ranges 5-30 %. for paper (FAOSTAT, 2008)
Cellulosic fibers used in papermaking are
supplied from two main sources: paper recycling and Production ( million tones)
Country Year
pulp production. The never used pulp, also called Other Fiber Pulp Pulp for Paper
“virgin fiber” can be separate from wood by World 2001 14.33 177.16
mechanical and chemical processes. Mechanical pulp World 2002 15.90 181.12
is produced from wood by mechanical defibration, by World 2003 16.50 184.81
splitting the fibers from the wood structure. During World 2004 16.80 189.63
mechanical defibration, lignin is plasticized and World 2005 17.87 189.91
remains in the pulp. Chemical pulp is produced by World 2006 18.11 190.76
World 2007 18.36 192.00
lignin dissolving using appropriate chemical reagents.
Characteristics of mechanical and chemical pulps are
presented in Table 4. Mechanical pulp shows high Theoretically, all plants can be used as a
yield but low resistance and high energy source of virgin cellulose fibers. However, for a plant
consumption; by contrast, chemical pulp shows much to be considered suitable for production of fiber pulp,

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it is necessary to accomplish several requirements The main component of plant cell walls is
concerning availability, performance and cellulose, ranging from 10% to 20% of the dry weight
manufacturing costs. A vegetable fiber crop must of leaves, roughly 50% of the weight of wood and
accomplish several technical requirements for bark of trees and about 90% by weight of cotton
processing into adequate pulp. It must be adaptable to fibers. The non-cellulose components of the cell wall
practical agricultural methods and produce dry matter include hemicelluloses, lignin, pectins, and certain
and fiber yield at economically attractive levels. minerals (Evert and Eichhorn, 2006). Some non-wood
There must also be a sufficient supply of good quality fiber plants contain more pentosans (over 20%),
raw material for running the process throughout all holocellulose (over 70%) and less lignin (about 15%)
the year. It has been shown that non-wood species as compared with hardwoods. The low lignin content
have high biomass production capacity and the pulp in grasses and other annual plants lowers the
yields have in most cases been higher than those from requirement of chemicals for cooking of these plants
wood species (Table 6) (Saijonkari-Pahkala, 2001). and for bleaching of pulps. Inorganic compounds are
absolutely necessary for plants growth and
Table 6. Annual dry matter and pulp yields of various fiber development (Marschner, 1995), but they are not
plants (Saijonkari-Pahkala, 2001) wanted in pulping and papermaking (Ilvessalo-Pfäffli,
1995).
Dry Matter Pulp yield The carbohydrate portion of majority of plants
Plant species
yield (t/ha) (t/ha)
is composed of cellulose and hemicellulose polymers
Wheat straw 2.5 1.1
with minor amounts of other sugar polymers such as
Rye straw 2.2 1.1
Rice straw 3 1.2 starch and pectins. The combination of cellulose and
Common reed 9 4.3 hemicelluloses are called holocellulose and usually
Reed canary grass 6 3 accounts for 65–70 percent of the plant dry weight.
Hemp 12 6.7 These polymers are made up of simple sugars,
Bamboo 4 1.6 mainly, D-glucose, D-mannose, D-galactose, D-
Miscantus 12 4.2 xylose, L-arabinose, D-glucuronic acid, and lesser
Bagasse 9 4.2 amounts of other sugars such as L-rhamnose and D-
Kenaf 15 6.5 fructose. These polymers are rich in hydroxyl groups,
Softwood (coniferous) 1.5 0.7 which are responsible for moisture sorption through
Hardwood (birch) 3.4 1.7 hydrogen bonding (Han and Rowell, 1997).
Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymers in
2.4. Properties of nonwood plant fibers the nature since is the main structural component of
the vegetal cells. From the structural point of view,
Vegetable fibers due to their chemical cellulose is a linear polymer, whose basic unit is D-
composition, structure and properties are suitable for glucose that connects by means of a glycosidic bond
uses in industrial sectors as textile, paper in the configuration β-(1-4) forming a cellobiose unit
manufacture, packaging and composites. that is repeated exactly in the polymeric chain. A
Knowing of morphology and chemical number of cellulose macromolecules form cellulose
composition of plants is useful in searching for fiber microfibrils (Evert and Eichhorn, 2006). Cellulose
crops and gives indications of the potential of various macromolecules have a tendency to form intra
species to be used as a fiber source. Properties of the crystalline regions. Most plant-derived cellulose is
fibers depend on the type of cells from which the highly crystalline and may contain as much as 80%
fibers are derived, as the chemical and physical crystalline regions. The remaining portion has a lower
properties are based on the cell wall characteristics. packing density and is referred to as amorphous
The amount and composition of the cell wall cellulose (Klemm et al., 2008).
compounds differ among plant species and even Table 7 shows the average cellulose contents
among plant parts, and they affect the pulping for a wide variety of plant types. On a dry weight
behavior of the vegetal material (McDougall et al. basis, most plants consist of approximately 45-50%
1993). It is known that various parts of a plant (roots, cellulose. Cellulose content can vary from almost
stem, trunk, and leaves) have different chemical and 90% for cotton, to about 30% for rice straw or
physical properties. Even fibers taken from plants that bamboo.
are in various phases of ages have different chemical The amount of cellulose in a plant influences
composition and physical properties (Rowell et al. the properties of fibers, economics of fiber production
2000). and the utility of the fibers for various applications.
Fibers having higher cellulose content would be
2.4.1. Chemical properties preferable for composites, textile, paper and other
All vegetable materials, including products of fibrous applications (Reddy and Yang, 2005).
nonwood and wood origin, are constituted by three Hemicelluloses are heterogeneous
structural polymers - cellulose, hemicelluloses and polysaccharides constituted by monosaccharides units
lignin, and components of low molecular weight that including pentoses (xylose and arabinose), hexoses
are soluble in water (water soluble fraction) or (glucose, manose and galactose) and uronic acids,
organic solvent (the extractible fraction). connected by glycosidic bonds, forming graft and

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generally amorphous structures. Some hemicelluloses deposits, called pitch, during the manufacture of
are associated to the cellulose fraction, whereas others paper pulp (Hillis and Sumimoto, 1989).
are associate to the lignin. They act like first support The inorganic content of a plant is usually
for cellulose microfibrills in the cell wall, and are of referred to as ash content, which is an approximate
smaller molecular mass, more accessible, more measure of the mineral salts and other inorganic
degradable and easier to dissolve than the cellulose matter in the fiber after combustion at a temperature
(Rowell et al., 2000). of 575 ± 25°C. Ash present in vegetable, especially
straw, contains silica that has many undesirable
Table 7. Chemical composition of common plant species effects. Silica blunts cutting machinery, interferes
(Rowell et al., 2000) with the pulping process by forming deposits on the
surface of the reactors and makes combustion of the
Plant Chemical composition (%)
species spent liquors more difficult (Reddy and Yang, 2005).
Cellulose Lignin Pentosans Inorganic Silica
Cotton 85-96 0.7- 1-3 0.8-2 -
1.6 2.4.2. Physical properties
Wheat 29-51 16-21 26-32 4.5-9 3-7 There are several physical properties that are
straw important to know about each non-wood plant fiber
Rye straw 33-50 16-19 27-30 2-5 0.5-4 before that fiber can be used to reach its highest
Rice straw 28-48 12-16 23-28 15-20 9-14 potential. Fiber dimensions, defects, strength,
Common 44-46 22-24 20 3 2 variability, crystallinity, and structure are the most
reed
important properties. Major differences in fiber
Jute 41-48 21-24 18-22 0.8 -
structure: fiber length and width, fiber density, cell
Hemp 57-77 9-13 14-17 0.8 -
wall thickness, determine differences in physical
Bamboo 26-43 21-31 15-26 1.7-5 0.7
properties.
Bagasse 32-48 19-24 27-32 1.5-5 0.7-
3.5 Fiber length and width are important for
Kenaf 44-57 15-19 22-23 2-5 - comparing different species of agro-fibers. A high
Softwoods 40-45 26-34 7-14 <1 - aspect ratio (length/width ratio) is very important in
Hardwoods 38-49 23-30 19-26 <1 - fiber reinforced composites as it give an indication of
possible strength properties of the final product. In
Hemicelluloses are easily hydrolyzed into many cases, there is a wide variation in both length
sugars and therefore fibers containing a higher and width of different fibers, (Hurter, 1988). The
proportion of hemicelluloses would be preferable for length and width of common annual plant fibers and
producing sugars, chemicals and eventually for car- wood fibers are shown in Table 8.
fuels such as ethanol (Reddy and Yang, 2005). Mechanical properties of nonwood plant fibers
Pentosans represent the fraction of the hemicelluloses are listed in Table 1.
consisting of monosaccharides containing five Pulping is the process of converting wood and
carbon, mainly D-xylose and L-arabinose. nonwood vegetal materials to separate vegetal fibers.
Identification of this fraction in a plant material Pulping processes differ from purely mechanical, in
indicates its potential utilization for producing furan- which the wood is ground into fibers by disk refiners
type chemicals (Han, 1997). or grindstones, to chemical, in which the fibers are
Lignin is an aromatic polymer formed by separated by chemically degrading and dissolving of
condensation of some phenolic precursors. Lignin is lignin that binds fibers them together. The common
an amorphous and highly branched aromatic polymer. commercial pulps can be grouped into two large
The function of lignin in plants is as an encrusting classes: mechanical pulps and chemical pulps.
agent of the cellulose/hemicelluloses matrix. It is Mechanical pulping process use grinding for logs and
often referred to be the plant cell wall adhesive. disc refiners for chips. In these processes, mechanical
Lignin is also associated with the hemicelluloses, in shear forces are used to break the fibers. In
some cases forming lignin-carbohydrate complexes mechanical pulps, majority of the lignin remains
that are resistant to hydrolysis even under pulping within the fibers and for this reason these fibers are
conditions (John and Thomas, 2008). stiffer (Gullichsen and Fogelholm, 2000).
Extractives are a group of plant chemicals Chemical pulp manufacturing is a process
formed by lipophilic compounds (mainly consisting where the vegetable material is cooked in association
of fats, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, terpenes, resin with appropriate chemicals aiming to dissolve lignin.
acids, rosin, waxes, etc.) and phenolic compounds The main commercial chemical pulping techniques
(phenols, steroids, etc.). These chemicals exist as comprise sulfate (or kraft), and sulfite. The
monomers, dimers and polymers. One of the main dissolution of lignin during pulping is characteristic
functions of extractives compounds is the protection for each pulping process, which is reflected in
of plants against the pathogens. The low degradability residual lignin content, carbohydrate yield and
of many of these compounds contributes to this aim, composition. Table 9 shows the main mechanical and
but also creates problems in some industrial uses of chemical pulping processes used to produce
the vegetal biomass, resulting in the formation of commercial pulps.

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Table 8. Length and width of selected annual plant fibers and wood fibers (Rowell et al., 2000)

Fiber length (µm) Fiber width (µm) Ratio length/

Plant species
Average Range Average Range width
Cotton 30000 20000-50000 20 12-30 1500:1
Wheat straw 1400 400-3200 15 8-34 110:1
Rye straw 1400 600-3200 13 7-24 110:1
Rice straw 1400 400-3400 8 4-16 175:1
Common reed 2000 1000-3000 16 10-20 75:1
Jute 2000 500-5000 20 10-25 100:1
Hemp 25000 5000-55000 25 10-55 1000:1
Bamboo 1300-4000 500 - 9000 6-30 3-55 135-175:1
Bagasse 1700 800-2800 20 10-34 85:1
Kenaf 5000 2000-6000 21 14-33 135:1
Softwoods 3000 2700-3600 32 30-43 100:1
Hardwoods 1250 1000-1800 25 20-50 50:1

Table 9. Characteristics of main mechanical and chemical pulping processes (adapted from Pahkala and Pihala, 2000)

Pulping processes Chemicals Yield, % Species Pulp properties Uses

Mechanical None 92-96 Hardwoods High opacity, Newsprint,
softness, bulk books, magazine
Low strength and
brightness
Chemi-mechanical NaOH or NaHSO3 88-95 Hardwoods Moderate Newsprint,
strength books, magazine
Chemical Soda – NaOH 40-55 Nonwoods: cereal Moderate Linerboard,
pH 13-14 straw, reed strength fluting paper
Kraft – NaOH, 40-55 Hardwoods High strength White papers,
Na2S; pH 13-14 Softwoods bags, lineboard
Nonwoods: cereal
straw, reed
Sulfite – H2SO3 + 45-50 Hardwoods Easily bleached Fine paper,
HSO3- with Ca2+, Softwoods to high brightness tissue, glassine
Mg2+, Na+, NH4+ Nonwoods: cereal
base; pH 1.5-5 straw, reed
Neutral sulfite semi- 70-80 Hardwoods Good stiffness Linerboard,
chemical – Na2SO3 Softwoods and moldability fluting paper
+ Na2CO3; pH 7-10 Nonwoods: cereal
straw, reed

Kraft pulping has developed as the principal
cooking process, accounting for 89 % of the chemical
pulps and for over 62 % of all virgin fiber material.
Only 5.3 % of the world chemical pulp production is
obtained by the sulfite process.
Kraft pulping is a full chemical pulping method using
sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide at pH above 12,
at 160-180°C, corresponding to about 800 kPa
pressure, for 0.5-3 hours to dissolve around 90% of
the lignin of vegetal materials. It is useful for any
wood and annual plant species, gives a high strength
pulp is tolerant to bark, and has an efficient energy
and chemical recovery cycle. Kraft pulps are mainly
used for paper grades production due to their good
strength properties. The soda process, using aqueous
sodium hydroxide solution as cooking liquor, is used
manly for the pulping of annual plants.
Sulfite processes lost their importance in the
last decades, when kraft pulping became increasingly
important. Sulfite technology maintains a strong
position in dissolving pulp production (Sjöström,
1993).
3. Environmental impact fibers reinforced
composites
Durability, compatibility, and sustainability
are the challenges of converting renewable resources
into industrial materials. Sustainable development
provides growth of both ecological integrity and
social equity to meet basic human needs through
viable economic development over time. When a new
material is designed and manufactured, one
consideration should be sustainability, including
resource availability, land use, biodiversity,
environmental impact, energy efficiency, soil
conservation, and the impact on the social
community. Besides a favorable life cycle analysis,

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research and development of bio-based products
should consider the limits that will maintain
sustainable development. The design of bio-based
materials should favor increased materials
supplements, optimized land use, improved plant
biodiversity, minimized environmental pollution, and
improved energy efficiency, while at the same time
meeting consumer demands (Sun, 2005).
Fiber reinforced composites are considered
promising candidates for sustainable development
because they contribute to the substitution of
renewable resources for depletable petrochemical
feedstocks, help to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. If these fibers are used in the form of
biodegradable polymers, allow the closing of the loop
of organic carbon and nutrients by means of
composting (Patel and Narayan, 2005).
Wood and nonwood plant fibers are of interest
in polymer reinforcement for a number of reasons,
especially their low cost, low weight and non-
abrasiveness to processing equipment. In addition,
natural fibers are CO2-neutral when burned, have
attractive acoustic and thermal insulation properties
and have good specific mechanical properties
(Plackett, 2005).
The primary advantages of using vegetal fibers
as reinforcements in plastics can be divided as
properties advantages and environmental and socio-
economic advantages. These advantages are listed in
Table 10 (Sanadi, 1997).
Production of vegetal fibers results in less
severe environmental impacts compared with
production of petroleum-base fibers or glass fibers.
Cultivation of vegetal fibers needs solar energy, and
fiber production and separation use low fossil fuels
consumption. Synthetic fibers production is a high
energy process depending on non-renewable energy.
A comparison of non-renewable energy requirements
for producing of different fibers is presented in Table
11.
As can be seen from Table 11, glass fiber
production needs 5-10 times more energy than vegetal
fiber production and as a result the pollutant
emissions from glass fiber production are much
higher than from natural fiber production. Table 12
compares the environmental impacts for producing
different types of fibers.

Table 10. The primary advantages of using vegetal fibers as reinforcements in plastics

Property advantages Environmental and socio-economic

advantages
Low densities Low energy consumption
Non abrasive Low cost
High filling levels possible resulting in high stiffness Low energy utilization
properties Biodegradable
High specific properties Wide variety of fibers
Easily recyclable Generates rural jobs
Unlike brittle fibers, the fibers will not fracture when Non-food agricultural/farm based economy
processing over sharp curvatures

Table 11. Nonrenewable energy requirements for production of different fibers (Joshi, 2004)

Nonrenewable energy requirements, MJ/kg

Glass fiber matt Flax fiber matt China reed fiber
Raw materials, 1.7 Seed production, 0.05 Cultivation, 2.50
Mixture, 1.0 Fertilizers, 1.0 Transport plant, 0.40
Transport, 1.6 Transport, 0.9 Fiber extraction, 0.08
Melting, 21.5 Cultivation, 2.0 Fiber grinding, 0.40
Spinning, 5.9 Fiber separation, 2.7 Transport fiber, 0.26
Mat production, 23.0 Mat production, 2.9
Total: 54.7 Total: 9.55 Total: 3.64

Table 12. Environmental impact of producing different types of fibers (Joshi, 2004)

Environmental impact China reed Glass fiber Polypropylene

Energy use, (MJ/kg) 3.64 54.7 77.19
Carbon dioxide generation, (kg/kg) 0.66 2.04 1.85
Carbon monoxide generation, (g/kg) 0.44 0.80 0.72
SOx emissions, (g/kg) 1.23 8.79 12.94
NOx emissions (g/kg) 1.07 2.93 9.54
Particulate matter (g/kg) 0.24 1.04 1.48
BOD to water, (mg/kg) 0.36 1.75 33.94
COD to water, (mg/kg) 2.27 18.81 178.92
Nitrates to water, (mg/kg) 24481 14.00 18.78
Phosphates to water, (mg/kg) 233.6 43.06 3.39

436
 Sustainable use of vegetal fibers in composite materials
It is obvious that the emissions from
production of natural fiber are much lower exception
nitrates and phosphates that originate from fertilizers
used for China reed cultivation. Substitution of
synthetic fiber by natural fibers improves
environmental impacts of composites, with possible
exception of water eutrophication.
Low density of natural fibers used in fiber
reinforced composites reduces the weight of the final
product. By example, the replacing of glass fibers
with hemp fibers in composites for automotive
applications results in 20–30% reduction in weight.
Lower weight components improve fuel efficiency
and in turn significantly lower emissions during the
use phase of the component life cycle (Wotzel, 1999).
When fiber reinforced composite materials
reach the end of their utility, vegetal fibers are
composted naturally by micro-organisms and the
carbon dioxide absorbed during the growth of the
plant is released back into the atmosphere. When
vegetal fibers are incorporated into a composite
material with petroleum-based polymers, incineration
is a likely end-of-life possibility. In this case, the
petrochemical component adds to the total
atmospheric emissions, including carbon dioxide
formerly locked up in underground fossil-fuel
deposits. The combustion value of the petrochemical
matrix and natural fiber components combined can
total as much as a quarter of the original energy used
in production (Corbiere-Nicollier et al., 2001).
With the increasing consumer market new
products have been introduced in order to replace
material such as metals, cement and some synthetic
polymers that are very heavy, corrosive and less
environment friendly. In the past 30 – 40 years fiber
composites have been competing with materials such
as steel, aluminum and concrete in cars, aircraft,
buildings, bridges, and many everyday goods. It has
such a wide range of application due to its possibility
to combine high strength and stiffness with low
weight it is non-corrosive and less expensive in cost
when compared to other materials. They are also
cheaper because they reduce the cost over the
product’s lifetime as they have very low maintenance
costs. The most important thing is that vegetal fibers
composites are more suitable with sustainability
concepts
4. Conclusions
There are many types of vegetal fibers that are
divided in nonwood plant fibers and wood fibers.
Both these fibers are widely used for industrial
applications: textile industry, paper manufacture,
packaging, composite materials. In composites,
vegetal fibers are used as reinforcement materials.
When vegetal fibers are used as composites
component the main advantages are: vegetal fibers are
renewable, fibers are strong and flexible and give less
problem regarding health and safety of workers, they
have good thermal and acoustic properties, vegetal
fibers show good price-performance ratio. At the
same time, the disadvantages of vegetal fibers are:
dimension instability, high moisture absorption,
susceptibility to rotting, restricted processing
temperature.
Production of vegetal fibers results in less
severe environmental impacts compared with
production of petroleum-base fibers or glass fibers.
Cultivation of vegetal fibers needs solar energy, and
fiber production and separation use low fossil fuels
consumption. Synthetic fibers production is a high
energy process depending on non-renewable energy.
Substitution of synthetic fiber by natural fibers
improves environmental impacts of composites.
Acknowledgements
This work was financial supported by CNCSIS-UEFISCSU
- Program IDEI, grant code 308/2008, “INTEGRATED
STUDIES ON THE OBTAINING, BEHAVIOUR AND
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF SOME CELLULOSIC
COMPOSITES ON RECYCLABLE MATERIALS BASIS
– ECO-COMP”
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