Vegetable fibres have been shown to be promising as reinforcement in composites because they are abundant, renewable, and low cost. However, the fibre-matrix interaction can be damaged by dimensional variation of vegetable fibres, due to moisture variations. The alkaline medium of cementitious matrix is aggressive to natural fibres, compromising their durability. The aim of this study was to modify sisal fibres (Agave sisalana) by esterification with acyl chlorides to improve their stability and compatibility with the cementitious matrix in order to optimize the performance and durability of composites. The esterified fibres were characterized by moisture absorption, tensile tests, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the composites by bending tests and SEM. The results showed that esterification changed both the morphology and physical properties of sisal fibres. The composite produced using esterified fibres with octanoyl chloride maintained the properties of 28 to 90 days of age, which represented an improvement in the fibre stability compared to natural fibre composite.

Resumo Este trabalho apresenta estudo da esterificação de fibras de bucha vegetal (Luffa cilyndrica) para verificar o desempenho delas na matriz cimentícia. As reações de esterificação foram realizadas com os agentes modificadores cloreto de octanoíla, cloreto de lauroíla e cloreto de estearoil, usando tolueno como solvente e piridina como catalisador. As fibras foram caracterizadas por ensaios de tração direta, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e absorção de umidade. Foram produzidos compósitos com as fibras sem tratamento e tratadas com cloreto de octanoíla, tendo estas apresentado os melhores resultados, com redução de 65% na absorção de umidade, 40% na resistência à tração, e aumento de 67% no módulo de elasticidade. Os resultados do ensaio de flexão dos compósitos indicaram que a tenacidade da ordem de 0,70 kJ/m2 não se alterou significativamente e que houve aumento de cerca de 20% no módulo de ruptura (6,64 MPa) e no módulo de elasticidade (15,10 GPa) dos compósitos reforçados com as fibras modificadas em relação aos reforçados com as fibras sem tratamento. As melhores propriedades mecânicas do compósito com as fibras tratadas indicam que o tratamento proposto pode ter melhorado o desempenho das fibras vegetais como reforço da matriz cimentícia.

Abstract This paper discusses the esterification of sponge gourd fibres (Luffa cilyndrica) to reinforce the cementitious matrix. The esterification reactions were performed with the modifying agents octanoyl chloride, lauroyl chloride and stearoyl chloride, using toluene as solvent and pyridine as catalyst. The fibres were characterised through tensile tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and moisture absorption. Composites were produced with untreated and treated fibres with octanoyl chloride, which yielded the best results, with a 65% reduction in moisture absorption, 40% in tensile strength and 67% increase in the elasticity modulus. The results of the composites bending test indicated that a toughness of 0.70 kJ/m2 did not change significantly and there was an increase of about 20% in the rupture modulus (6.64 MPa) and the elasticity modulus (15.10 GPa) of the composites reinforced with treated fibres compared with those reinforced with untreated fibres. The best mechanical properties of the composites with treated fibres indicate that the proposed treatment may have improved the performance of sponge gourd fibres as a reinforcement of the cementitious matrix.

The synthesis of cationic derivatives of hemicelluloses from corn husk was carried out by the reaction of hemicelluloses with 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (ETA) in aqueous sodium hydroxide. The characterization of the cationic derivatives was carried out by elemental analysis, Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG/DTA). An important characteristic was the solubility in water of the produced derivatives. This characteristic was used to apply derivatives as auxiliary coagulation with tannin in wastewater treatment for industrial laundries. The results showed that the association of tannin and cationic hemicelluloses (3,200 mg L-1) is important because the turbidity removal was greater than 95% in all range of pH, including alkaline regions. Then it is unnecessary to adjust the pH before the coagulation step.

The aim of this study was to produce membranes using the adapted cuprammonium method. The cellulose utilized was obtained from recycled agroindustrial residues: sugarcane bagasse, corn stover and soybean hulls. The levels of Cu (II) ions in regenerated cellulose membranes produced with cellulose from bagasse, corn stover and soybean hulls were 0.0236 wt%, 0.0255 wt% and 0.0268 wt%, respectively. These levels were approximately 15 times lower than those observed in previous studies (0.3634 wt%). Cellular viability data show that membranes produced from bagasse cellulose do not present toxicity to the cellular cultures studied. These results demonstrate an evolution in production of regenerated cellulose membranes from agroindustrial residues mainly due to a decrease in the Cu (II) ions level, showing the possibility of application of these systems with improved membranes processing.

Cellulose acetates (CA) with different degrees of acetylation were synthesized from cellulose extracted from corn stover. Membranes were prepared for the ultrafiltration process with pure polymers and blend form of CA utilizing a dioxane/acetone system. The membranes were characterized according to their transport properties. The blend form materials presented the best results for application in ultrafiltration experiments. M-TAC/DAC (corn stover triacetate and diacetate) and M-TAC/DAC-Rho (corn stover triacetate and Rhodia diacetate) presented rejection to egg albumin protein of 87.39% and 80.50%, respectively. Thus, MWCO of 45 kDa was determined for these materials.

Hemicelluloses were extracted from corn husk and converted into cationic hemicelluloses using 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride. The degree of substitution was determined as 0.43 from results of elemental analysis. The cationic derivative was also characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Carbon-13 magnetic nuclear ressonance. The produced polymer was employed as coagulant aid in a sewage treatment station (STS) of the municipal department of water and sewer (Departamento Municipal de Água e Esgoto - DMAE) in Uberlândia-Minas Gerais, Brazil, using Jar test experiments. Its performance was compared to ACRIPOL C10, a commercial cationic polyacrylamide regularly used as a coagulant at the STS. The best result of the jar-test essays was obtained when using cationic hemicelluloses (10 mg L- 1) as coagulant aid and ferric chloride as coagulante (200 mg L- 1). The resultsof color and turbidity reduction, 37 and 39%, respectively, were better than when using only ferric chloride. These results were also higher than those of commercial polyacrylamide, on the order of 32.4 and 38.7%, respectively. The results showed that the cationic hemicelluloses presented similar or even superior performance when compared to ACRIPOL C10, demonstrating that the polyelectrolytes produced from recycled corn husks can replace commercial polymers in sewage treatment stations.