5.4.1 Biomass Fibre Design

Agricultural fibres are presently a major area of research for various end product applications. The major strength of fibres can be utilized as reinforcement in bio­degradable composites and as alternative raw materials for several manufacturing industry. Figure 5.3 shows that the design of fibre biomass varies according to the type of species and sizes. Each size also varies according to each specific applica­tion of particle, pulp, fibre, fibrils, micro and nano. In terms of strength per unit weight, the fibres have strength comparable to that of man-made fibres, while the modulus is very high (Chinga-Carrasco 2011a). The micro and nano-microchips invisible to the normal view were widely used in many modern applications for various purposes and is also a very important technology in the future (Chinga — Carrasco 2011b) . Several modern and high-tech nano-applications were intro­duced because of the excellent result as for medical applications, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, aerospace and others. In addition, the successful applications have been demonstrated in military research and development, and by-products have also been explored.

Fig. 5.3 Variations of agriculture raw materials

Agricultural biomass or lignocellulosic fibres can be described as resources comprising primarily cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin (Rowell et al. 2000). Detailed observation of the fine structure of biomass fibre is achieved by using elec­tron microscope that provides a clearer understanding of biomass cell wall structure organization. Figure 5.4 depicted the schematic illustration of biomass fibre cell wall structure which consists of primary and secondary multilayered structure (Abdul Khalil et al. 2006). Each cell wall layer comprises different chemical com­position, microfibril alignment which depends on the development and functionalities of the plant that provides mechanical support and stability to the structure. Advanced biocomposite production has dominated the world of manufacturing industry to increase value-added bamboo materials to produce innovative products such as bamboo fibre reinforced, particleboard, pulp, medium density fibre board and com­posites for the construction industry. The production of green composites derived from renewable sources such as palm trees, bamboo, kenaf, and others have poten­tial to provide positive benefits to the manufacturing industry, consumers and the natural environment (Koronis et al. 2013).