Alkali treatment coupled with high pressure defibrillation and acid treatment have been tried on banana
fibers obtained from the pseudo stem of the banana plant Musa sapientum. The structure and
morphology of the fibers have been found to be affected on the basis of the concentration of the
alkali and acid and also on the pressure applied. Steam explosion in alkaline medium followed by
acidic medium is found to be effective in the depolymerization and defibrillation of the fiber to produce
banana nanowhiskers. The chemical constituents of raw and steam exploded fibers were analyzed
according to the ASTM standards. Structural analysis of steam exploded fibers was carried out by
FTIR and XRD. The fiber diameter and percentage crystallinity of the modified fibers were investigated
using X-ray diffraction studies. Characterization of the fibers by SFM and TEM supports the evidence
for the development of nanofibrils of banana fibers.