OPTIMIZATION OF CHEMICAL TREATMENTS OF COMBRETUM DOLICHOPETALUM FIBER FOR SUSTAINABLE APPLICATIONS

Optimizing the chemical treatment conditions (concentration and time) of C. dolichopetalum fiber at room temperature was aimed to be investigated. C. dolichopetalum fibers were separately treated with NaOH and acetic anhydride after extraction with tensile strength as a response at various concentrations (c) and time (t). Optimization was done using response surface methodology (RSM) with three level factorial design (3-LFD) on tensile strength of fiber. The optimal process conditions obtained for sodium hydroxide and acetic anhydride treated dolichopetalum fibers were 14.19 % at 28.2 minutes and 14.66 % at 86 minutes with increased tensile strength by 690.75 and 1003.49 % of untreated fibers respectively. The results showed that the developed models are suitable for prediction of tensile strength of treated C. dolichopetalum fibers with sodium hydroxide and acetic anhydride.