Hydration and Sorption Properties of Raw and Milled Flax Fibers

Abdalla H Karoyo; Leila Dehabadi; Wahab Alabi; Carey J Simonson; Lee D Wilson

doi:10.1021/acsomega.0c00100

Hydration and Sorption Properties of Raw and Milled Flax Fibers

ACS Omega. 2020 Mar 11;5(11):6113-6121. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.0c00100. eCollection 2020 Mar 24.

Authors

Abdalla H Karoyo¹, Leila Dehabadi², Wahab Alabi³, Carey J Simonson³, Lee D Wilson¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5C9, Canada.
² Dr. Ma's Laboratories, Inc., Unit 4, 8118 North Fraser Way, Burnaby, British Columbia V5J 0E5, Canada.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, 57 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A9, Canada.

Abstract

The physicochemical and hydration properties of mechanically modified flax fibers (FFs) were investigated herein. Raw flax fibers (FF-R) were ball-milled and sieved through mesh with various aperture sizes (420, 210, and 125 μm) to achieve modified samples, denoted as FF-420, FF-210, and FF-125, respectively. The physicochemical and hydration properties of FF-R with variable particle sizes were characterized using several complementary techniques: microscopy (SEM), spectroscopy (FT-IR, XRD, and XPS), thermoanalytical methods (DSC and TGA), adsorption isotherms using gas/dye probes, and solvent swelling studies in liquid H₂O. The hydration of FF biomass is governed by the micropore structure and availability of active surface sites, as revealed by the adsorption isotherm results and the TGA/DSC profiles of the hydrated samples. Gravimetric water swelling, water retention values, and vapor adsorption results provide further support that particle size reduction of FF-R upon milling parallels the changes in surface chemical and physicochemical properties relevant to adsorption/hydration in the modified FF materials. This study outlines a facile strategy for the valorization and tuning of the physicochemical properties of agricultural FF biomass via mechanical treatment for diverse applications in biomedicine, energy recovery, food, and biosorbents for environmental remediation.