Characterization of Amazon fibers of the peach palm, balsa, and babassu by XDR, TGA and NMR

The aim of this work was to present the results by testing X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and determining the moisture content of the peach palm, balsa and babassu fibers for assessing the feasibility of composite materials. The fibers of peach palm, balsa and babassu showed characteristic chemical structure of lignocellulosic material, and good thermal stability up to 220 deg C. The fiber with the highest crystallinity index (Ic) is the peach palm (72%) and the less crystalline is the babassu (37%), while the balsa fibers have Ic equal to 64%. The results have shown that these fibers can be used in the manufacture of composite materials. (author)