Effect of various chemical treatments on the fibre structure and tensile properties of industrial hemp fibres

Industrial hemp fibres were treated with sodium hydroxide, acetic anhydride, maleic anhydride and silane to investigate the influence of treatment on the fibre structure and tensile properties. It was observed that the average tensile strength of sodium hydroxide treated fibres slightly increased compared with that of untreated fibres, which was believed to be as a result of increased cellulose crystallinity. The average tensile strength of acetic anhydride, maleic anhydride, silane and combined sodium hydroxide and silane treated fibres slightly decreased compared with that of untreated fibres, which was believed to be as a result of decreased cellulose crystallinity. However, the average Young’s modulus of all treated fibres increased compared with untreated fibres. This was considered to be as a result of densification of fibre cell walls due to the removal of non-cellulosic components during treatment.