Modificações químicas em fibras lignocelulósicas para obtenção e aplicação em biocompósitos de matriz fenólica derivada de LCC e na biossorção de metais

Abstract

In this work, lignocellulosic fibers from two sources (sisal and banana pseudo stem) were used as reinforcing agents in the preparation of phenolic matrix composites derived from cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) and as material to adsorb toxic metals (Pb+2, Ni+2, Cd+2, Zn+2 and Cu+2). Surface changes were induced in the sisal fibers by immersion in alkali solutions at 5% and 10% concentrations, while for the banana stem material the concentrations were 0.25%, 0.5% and 1%. Then the fibers were treated with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO/H2O 1:1) to bleach and soften them. Scanning electron microscopy showed significant improvement in the fiber surfaces after chemical treatment. All treatments made the fibers more adsorbent than the untreated material. However, the treatments with NaOH 5% and NaOH 0.25% were more effective than the others. For the composites of these fibers, after the alkali treatment was verified an improved interface between the reinforcement agent and phenolic matrix. The following techniques were used to characterize the lignocellulosic fibers: atomic absorption spectrophotometry, thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), measurement of electric properties (dielectric permittivity, loss tangent and dielectric conductivity), infrared spectroscopy (IR), biodegradation in simulated soil and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composites obtained were characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetrry (DSC), TG and SEM. The results revealed that the sisal composites performed better as reinforcement of phenolic matrixes than banana tree composites, possibly due to the higher content of cellulose, which is the component of lignocellulosic fibers that provides mechanical resistance.