Mechanical Strength Performance and Development of Water Hyacinth Particle Reinforced Thermoset Polymer Composites

Mechanical Strength Performance and Development of Water Hyacinth Particle Reinforced Thermoset Polymer Composites | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Mechanical Strength Performance and Development of Water Hyacinth Particle Reinforced Thermoset Polymer Composites Dominick Wong, Sujan Debnath, Mahmood Anwar, Moola Reddy, Abdul Hamid Abdullah, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7449398/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The global initiative focused on the development of low-emission materials aims to achieve net-zero emissions. Unlike most plant-based natural fibers, water hyacinth plants are known to reproduce at a highly significant rate. However, research on incorporating water hyacinth and particle-based fillers is limited, particularly in thermoset matrices. In this study, the cellulosic and mineral content of petiole from water hyacinth plants were analyzed. The developed composites were subjected to a series of characterizations and mechanical tests. Petiole contained an average of 30.4 % cellulose, 38.7 % hemicellulose, and 3.4 % lignin. Analysis revealed the presence of both sylvite and whewellite, which are responsible for its bitter taste and have the potential of causing irritation, leading animals to avoid it. It is established that size and loading of the water hyacinth particles played a significant role in mechanical performance. The use of <212 µm particles resulted in a 10.1 % gain in tensile strength and a 38.1 % gain in impact strength compared to larger particle sizes. The incorporation of 2.5 wt% of these particles led to a slight improvement in the tensile performance, reaching 51.3 MPa. However, a notable reduction in the impact strength was observed, measuring 13.4 kJ/m². Further increases in content resulted in a decline in mechanical performance, with the exception of microhardness, which ranged between 12.6 and 13.7 HV. Furthermore, it was found that the addition of 10.0 wt% was the threshold to form composites without significant microvoids. These findings will be beneficial for particle-based composites research. Natural Fiber Particle Biomass Valorization Water Hyacinth Thermoset Composite Full Text Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. S. Debnath was a Collection Guest Editor for this journal at the time of acceptance for publication. The manuscript was assessed in line with the journal’s standard editorial processes, including its policy on competing interests Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 24 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 05 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Oct, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Oct, 2025 Editor invited by journal 30 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 28 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7449398","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":528966783,"identity":"c6fad186-8f6d-49c1-8a0c-964060510cbe","order_by":0,"name":"Dominick Wong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Curtin University, Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dominick","middleName":"","lastName":"Wong","suffix":""},{"id":528966785,"identity":"d7829b5a-c8ca-4600-beef-7af078695420","order_by":1,"name":"Sujan Debnath","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCA0AswcAgB+YkwESI0WIMpBgbiNcCBIkNIC3IIjgB3wH2ZxIWNXfS+2fkPn/wcAeDHN+NBNbNPHi0SB7gMZOQOPYsd8aNdMOGxDMMxpI3Ethu49NicICHTUKC7XDuBok0xobENobEDYS1AB0m8e9wugFUSz0RWhjMJCTbDifAtCQYENIieZjH2EKy77DhjDPPGGcktkkYzjzzsO3mHDxa+I63P7wt8e2wPH97GsPHn2028nzHk4/deINHCwMzEEkguCAmYwMTPoeBAOMHDJEfBLSMglEwCkbBiAIAbShQNUXzlOkAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Curtin University, Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sujan","middleName":"","lastName":"Debnath","suffix":""},{"id":528966786,"identity":"050124e6-1ec6-46e0-b715-728563e93314","order_by":2,"name":"Mahmood Anwar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Glasgow Caledonian University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mahmood","middleName":"","lastName":"Anwar","suffix":""},{"id":528966788,"identity":"bfedf1fa-e6d6-463d-badd-62a7b13a9d17","order_by":3,"name":"Moola Reddy","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Curtin University, Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Moola","middleName":"","lastName":"Reddy","suffix":""},{"id":528966790,"identity":"0ab3e9aa-3600-4ecb-b813-161761b4eb5a","order_by":4,"name":"Abdul Hamid Abdullah","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Curtin University, Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abdul","middleName":"Hamid","lastName":"Abdullah","suffix":""},{"id":528966791,"identity":"a90c0bc8-e0bf-4053-a6b7-add2d033d823","order_by":5,"name":"Chye Ing Lim","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Curtin University, Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chye","middleName":"Ing","lastName":"Lim","suffix":""},{"id":528966792,"identity":"43165876-6d4c-4ac4-9fd3-65f4c6a82811","order_by":6,"name":"Myo Aung Kyaw","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Curtin University, Malaysia","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Myo","middleName":"Aung","lastName":"Kyaw","suffix":""},{"id":528966793,"identity":"34ff67e8-91fd-4f91-b312-5abe3e927beb","order_by":7,"name":"Mohd Amin Bin Ahmad Razali","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Petronas Research Sdn Bhd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohd","middleName":"Amin Bin Ahmad","lastName":"Razali","suffix":""},{"id":528966794,"identity":"ee4e39b5-0ec0-4a0a-88b6-470d2a3c2d43","order_by":8,"name":"Ian J. 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The incorporation of 2.5 wt% of these particles led to a slight improvement in the tensile performance, reaching 51.3 MPa. However, a notable reduction in the impact strength was observed, measuring 13.4 kJ/m². Further increases in content resulted in a decline in mechanical performance, with the exception of microhardness, which ranged between 12.6 and 13.7 HV. Furthermore, it was found that the addition of 10.0 wt% was the threshold to form composites without significant microvoids. 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