Modificació de fibres de jute per l'elaboració de plàstics reforçats reciclables

Resumen

In the last years, great part of the scientific and industrial interest has been centered in the development of the composites. The majority use of material fiber glasses as of reinforcement in this type of materials has lead towards the search of alternative reinforcements able to satisfy requirements at economic level as much as environmental. The natural fibers are firm candidates to exert of reinforcement, being offered a commercial alternative. The fiber that is obtained from the jute plant is a recycleable and biodegradable fiber, and its manufacture is bound to a lower power consumption if it is compared with the manufacture of synthetic fibers. Therefore, it is a fiber whose manipulation has a competitive cost and in addition it offers an ample market where to be acquired, conditions that makes economically viable [Gomez, I. L. and col., 1998 ]. Many polymers, specially thermoplastic are not-polars (hydrophobic), incompatible substances with natural fibers (hydrophilic) being generated an adhesion poor. With the purpose of being able to improve this adhesion connection agents are used, reagents which the surface of fibers is treated facilitating the chemical connection with the polimeric matrix. The work that is exposed divides in two parts, one first theoric and one second experimental. In the first part, fundamental aspects of natural fibers and of the jute fiber are described more concretely that is tried to use like reinforcement. Also it is spoken of the composites and of its properties and finally the attention in the processes of chemical modification with connection agents is centered. In the experimental part are exposed all and each one of the used reagents followed by the description of the theoric reactions. In addition, the technique that are described are going to be applied in the evaluation of the results with the purpose of verifying if the reactions have taken place and quantifying the modification degree. Finally, the obtained results appear. The global objective of this project is chemical modification of jute fibers and to study its properties with the purpose of using them like reinforcement in a composite material. This process requires two steps, first modify fibers incorporating a bifunctional agent able to react with the hydroxil groups. On the other hand, and once made modification, to unite the agent who has reacted with fibers, to the double connections of the precursor of the polymer, in the case of this study the monomer styrene. All this, entails to a study of the stage of modification with the purpose of evaluating the connection between the fiber and the agent and to verify, if it is that really it occurs, a change in the properties of humidity absortion responsible for the dimensional variations of fibers. Making reference to the first section of the results, one is made caracteryzation previous of the jute fiber: his composition, concretely the wax content, resins, measurement of the fiber length with the Kajaani analyzer, Morphologic caracteryzation of the fibers occurs to know its longitudinal and crosssectional aspect. This study show a smooth fiber without knots and with a variable thickness of the primary wall. Analysis by infrared espectroscopy (FTIR) shows to a fiber formed by cellulose and, the results obtained by elemental analysis show to certain differences between his composition and the one of the pure cellulose. The sterification reaction with two bifunctional reagents reduces the number of present hydroxil groups in the fiber giving rise to an ester functionality of smaller polarity. On the other hand, the introduced chain provides a double connection carbon-carbon able to react with the double alyphatic connection of the molecule of used monomer. Therefore, the possibility is opened of initializing the reaction with styrene. The study of the different used variables of reaction allows to deduce the effect of all and each one of them on the modification degree. To emphasize that the presence of catalyst in means, a smaller amount of solvent, more elevated value of temperature, an increase in the amount of reagent and long times of reaction favor the advance of the reaction. In the case of the reactions made with the oleyl chloride two solvents of different nature have been used, the pyridine of polar nature and the dichloromethane of smaller polarity. With the addition of pyridine the faying surface with the connection agent is increased, facilitating the access towards the free hydroxil groups. Therefore, the reactions of modification made in pyridine improve the accessibility and reactivity with the cellulose substrate due to an increase of the contact by swelling. In the case of the dichloromethane the accessibility does not improve and it is needed the addition of a complementary base because this solvent cannot act as it bases and therefore, the acid released during the reaction is not neutralized. The addition of triethylamine moves the reaction towards the products avoiding that the hydrochlorate acid is frees. Of the test of dyeing made to fibers of jute modified with the oleyl chloride, the results indicate that the fibers that have been put under modification offer greater resistance due to a reduction of the number of hydroxil groups. The second block has been made with the methacrylic anhydride one. The reactions also show significant results. Some of the processes also has been evaluated by increase of weight. In this second block, also the degree of modification from the technique of infrared spectroscopy has been determined. The calculation has been made starting off of the more characteristic absorption bands in infrared. Comparing the values with the obtained ones from elemental analysis it is verified that the experimental results have been reproduced satisfactorily. Also the influence of the treatment with styrene of the modified fiber has been evaluated so much with the oleyl chloride as with the methacrylic anhydride one. The polymer layer that forms upon the surface of fibers significantly diminishes the attack on the part of microorganisms and the humidity absorption. The treatment protects the fiber although the results indicate that this protection is not total. Comparison between the reactivity of both connection agents has settled down and the results of the degree of modification for equivalent reactions indicate more extensive reactions in the case of the oleyl chloride. Both agents of connection diminish hydrofobicity of fibers. Last the test of effects is described made to the set of reactions. The effect of the reaction variables is analyzed on the modification degree, indicating itself the most significant variables in the reaction between the coupling agents and the fiber: type of solvent, time, type of reagent and its concentration in means.