NEW LOW-DENSITY NATURAL FIBERS USED IN COMPOSITES: A REVIEW

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.3174202408071

• Palavras-chave: curauá, elephant grass, corn straw, corn stalk

• Keywords: curauá, elephant grass, corn straw, corn stalk

• Abstract:

  The growing demand for new materials has made it possible to highlight the use of natural lignocellulosic fibers in the manufacture of composite materials. These fibers, coming from vegetable sources, are characterized by the predominant presence of lignin and cellulose in their composition. The composition of these fibers provides a low-density characteristic compared to other materials, which is an extremely advantageous property in materials engineering. Therefore, in this article, a document review research was carried out to present some lignocellulosic fibers that are being researched to be applied as reinforcement in polymer composites. Focusing on the low-density characteristic, some fibers, their compositions and their main properties were presented. In this review article, it was possible to observe that fibers from curauá, elephant grass, straw and corn stalk have low density combined with good mechanical properties. Another relevant factor observed is that extraction methods and the demand for fibers are factors that limit the large-scale use of the fibers presented here.