Experimental investigation of chemical, physical and mechanical properties of raw fiber from the bark of Grewia ferruginea plant

Abstract Cellulosic natural fibers play an important role as reinforcement in polymer composites due to their biodegradability, lightweight and non-toxicity. Grewia ferruginea (GF) fiber is a type of natural fiber containing cellulosic fiber that is inexpensive and readily available in sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, the GF fibers collected from Central Ethiopia were extracted and its physical, chemical and mechanical properties such as density, diameter, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, tenacity and tensile strength were experimentally characterized. The findings reveal that the raw GF fiber exhibited a mean fineness of 90.55 Tex, an average cross-sectional area of 0.0096 mm 2 , and density values of 1.43 g/cm 3 at 20 °C. Chemical analysis indicates the GF fiber contains 2.413% extractive,65.6% cellulose, 13.25% hemicellulose, and 18.74% lignin. It was observed that the raw GF fiber exhibits a relatively high cellulose content compared to most plant fibers and demonstrated GF suitable for applications that demand strength and durability. A tensile strength of 309.3 MPa was recorded for the raw GF fiber. Based on these results, it can be concluded that this study has briefly demonstrated that raw GF fiber is positioned as a viable and sustainable alternative to other natural fiber for composite reinforcement, with properties that can be further improved through fiber treatment optimization.