Keywords
:
Boehmeria ni6ea; Spartium junceum; Spanish Broom; Ramie; Fibre; Mechanical properties; Interface strength; Composite materials
1. Introduction
Application of vegetable products in various branches of industry will benefit from their intrin-
sic biocompatibility and biodegradability. Indus- tries all over the European Community are
looking for raw material for replacing artificial fibres in composite materials CMs to alleviate
problems related with CMs disposal at the end of the technical life. Vegetables fibres could be a
viable alternative to man-made fibres especially asbestos and glass fibres at least in applications
in which the overall performance, evaluated in term of life cycle analysis, has to take into ac-
count the final disposal. A number of suitable plant fibres can be successfully grown in Italy,
including Ramie Boehmeria ni6ea L. Gaud., a member of the Urticaceae, and Spanish Broom
Spartium junceum L. for which promising agro- nomic results have been obtained Oggiano et al.,
1997.
Ramie is a perennial plant native to China, Japan, and the Malay Peninsula, where it has
been used as a textile fibre for centuries due to its excellent fibre Kirby, 1963; Wood and Angus,
1974; Batra and Bell, 1975. The fibres, obtained from the outer part of the stem, are the longest
and one of the strongest fine textile fibres Dempsey, 1975; Jarman et al., 1978. Other ad-
vantages of this fibre is the resistance to bacteria, mildew, and insect attack. Its strength slightly
increases when wet Fontanelli, 1998.
Spartium junceum belonging to the Legumi- nosae family is a perennial shrub, wide-spread
throughout the Mediterranean area Munz and Keck, 1973; Pignatti, 1982 where it naturally
occurs in hilly soils, contributing to lower erosion and risks of nutrient leaching. This plant is some-
what adapted to alkaline and salty soils. The name Spartium is from the Greek word denoting
‘cardage’, in allusion to the use of the plant. By macerating the twigs a good fibre was obtained,
which was made into thread and cords and a coarse sort of cloth. It was cultivated on a large
scale in southern Italy around the thirties; but later it fell out of favour. Recently there has been
a revival of interest in Spanish Broom as a possi- ble source of raw materials to be used in CMs for
automobile applications.
The agronomic characteristics of Ramie and Spanish Broom were investigated for seven years
in the pedoclimatic conditions of Central Italy. In order to evaluate the feasibility to use Ramie and
Spanish Broom fibres in composite materials, the morphology and chemical composition together
with physical and mechanical properties of these fibres were also examined.
2. Materials and methods
