Pre-Treatment Processes of Jute Fibre for Preparation of Biocomposites

Various environmental concerns and related health hazards had lead to the search of a most suitable natural fibre as reinforcement to the synthetic matrix. A recent trend of replacing synthetics with natural fibre is the major call of the day. These natural fibre are preferred over synthetics not only because to their biodegradable nature but also because of the fact that they pose nearly equal and comparable strength to that of the synthetic fibres. Jute being the one of the most suitable and easily available natural fibre is being used for the said purpose. Its inherent high tensile properties, specific modulus and low density, makes it the most suitable fibre crop for the preparation biocomposites. The hydrophilic property of jute fibre leads to its incompatibility to the synthetic resin matrix. Therefore, modification of jute fibre is a key area of the research at present to obtain the optimum properties of jute fibre based bio composites. The transfer of load in jute fibre reinforced biocomposites is through the transfer of load through shear stress. This in turn enhances compatibility between the fibre and the matrix. This paper focuses mainly on the various pre-treatment processes for the modification of jute fibre and its further use for the preparation of bio composites.