Tensile, physical and morphological properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch/sugarcane bagasse fibre reinforced phenolic hybrid composites

Recently, agriculture residue such as oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) fiber have been attracting attention to a researcher as a high potential reinforcement material for composite material in building sector. Agriculture biomass are biodegradable, sustainable, low cost and lightweight materials for composite industries. In this paper, OPEFB and SCB fiber used as filler in different ratio to fabricate hybrid composites by hand lay-up technique while maintaining total fibre loading 50 wt%. Tensile test using UTM INSTRON machine, water absorption, thickness swelling, density, void content and micrographs of hybrid composites and pure were determined. This research found that hybridization of OPEFB/SCB fiber composites indicates better performance and properties comparing with pure fiber composites. Obtained results showed that 7OPEFB:3SCB hybrid composites display highest tensile strength and modulus, 5.56 MPa and 661.MPa, respectively with less porous and voids area compared to pure composites. While 3OPEFB:7SCB hybrid composites show lower water absorption and thickness swelling after 24 h analysis. This research addresses agriculture residue seen as an alternative green product material to apply in wall as a thermal insulation and heat retention, which are important in buildings and construction sector for the purpose of energy saving.