Removal of non-cellulosic materials including hemicellulose and lignin from interfibrillary regions resulted in the increase of the cellulose as well as more uniform fiber bundles of smaller diameters.
The ultimate strength, Young’s modulus, and strain to maximum strength increased with alkali concentration in the chemical treatment process. Fibers treated with 5% alkali solution yielded the best mechanical properties. Also, after correction factor analysis, a consistent and better data were obtained.
TGA indicated that treated fibers have a higher thermal degradation temperature than untreated ones.