Effect of Fique Fibers in the Behavior of a New Biobased Composite from Renewable Mopa-Mopa Resin.

A fully biobased composite was developed using a natural resin from the plant, known as reinforced with fique fibers. Resin extraction was through solvent processing reaching an efficient extraction process of 92% and obtaining a material that acted as a matrix without using any supplementary chemical modifications as it occurs with most of the biobased resins. This material was processed by the conventional transform method (hot compression molding) to form the plates from which the test specimens were extracted. From physicochemical and mechanical characterization, it was found that the resin had obtained a tensile strength of 15 MPa that increased to values of 30 MPa with the addition of 20% of the fibers with alkalization treatment. This behavior indicated a favorable condition of the fiber-matrix interface in the material. Similarly, the evaluation of the moisture adsorption in the components of the composite demonstrated that such adsorption was mainly promoted by the presence of the fibers and had a negative effect on a plasticization phenomenon from humidity that reduced the mechanical properties for all the controlled humidities (47%, 77% and 97%). Finally, due to its physicochemical and mechanical behavior, this new biobased composite is capable of being used in applications such as wood-plastic (WPCs) to replace plastic and/or natural wood products that are widely used today.