Coconut Shell Agro-waste-derived Cellulosic Powder as a Potential Reinforcement for Sustainable Polymeric Composite Application

Abstract The use of environmentally friendly materials for industrial applications has increased tremendously in the past decades due to environmental concerns and the problems associated with the use of synthetic materials. Coconut shell is an agro-waste and source of biomass that has attracted increasing research attention as a potential alternative reinforcing material to synthetic. This study considered chemical modification and characterization of coconut shell powder in an attempt to enhance compatibility with the hydrophilic polymer matrix. The coconut shell powder was treated with alkali (NaOH), bleaching and combined NaOH-bleaching solutions before investigating the surface morphology, chemical transformations, and thermal stability. It was discovered from the results that combined treatment gave the optimum enhancement. The surface treatments resulted in chemical transformations of coconut shell powder, while FTIR analysis confirmed partial removal of lignin and hemicellulose. Also, XRD investigation revealed that surface treatments enhanced the crystallographic properties, whereas TGA analysis showed that the thermal stability of the treated sample was enhanced. Hence, treated coconut shell powder can be considered a sustainable and environmentally friendly reinforcing material for lightweight polymer composites needed for industrial applications, such as automotive dashboards and panels.