INVESTIGATING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COCONUT SHELL POWDER AND ASH FOR COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENT
The replacement of the conventional composites materials with the use of natural resources which are environmentally-friendly had been the interest of many researchers over the last decade. Apart from the use of natural fibres as reinforcement in polymer matrix composites, fillers made from natural sources such as coconut shell, corn cobs, palm kernel shell, rice husk, has been confirmed to be potential material that can offer some good properties that can satisfy the requirements that are needed for some engineering applications. In this study, the potential of coconut shell powder and coconut shell ash were investigated for composite reinforcement. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscope was used to determine the chemical compositions of the samples. The results obtained revealed the presence of silicon oxide SiO2, iron (II) oxide (Fe2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO) in both coconut shell powder and coconut shell ash, demonstrating some comparable chemical properties to the conventional sources with the presence of some basic metals which are required to produce reinforcement materials with high strength, durability, light weight and corrosion resistance. The study hence concluded that coconut shell ash and coconut shell powder could be used as reinforcement in metals and other polymer matrix composites respectively that are required for engineering applications.
Authors : Abba-Aji, M.A., Shuwa, M., Shodiya, S. and Maina, I.I.
Category : Open Access Volume (Issue) : 11(2) Date Uploaded : 14th October 2025