Spanish research center AIMPLAS has completed the first part of the FIBRAGEN project which aimed to develop a new generation of composites reinforced with natural fibers with improved properties.
To that end, several flax crops have been bred during 2012 and 2013 for their analysis and selection, together with other research centers and European universities.
When breeding, different varieties of flax have been used, looking at location, season, moisture and temperature to analyze if these variables affect the properties of the plants to select the fiber that has better mechanical properties.
Fiber properties
The project, which began in 2011, makes it possible to avoid using additives and processes to remove moisture, while knowledge of crop conditions and the plants’ gene expression could improve fiber properties, such as mechanical, thermal, bacteria and microorganisms resistance, adhesion.
The participation of AIMPLAS in the project has mainly consisted in processing the different varieties of flax harvested into the correspondent composites and also in the analysis of the mechanical properties of the final reinforced plastics.
AIMPLAS says that the results are interesting enough to carry out the second part of the project.
This story is reprinted from material from AIMPLAS, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
