Ichu and Cabuya were characterized and the effect of alkali treatment on the chemical and physical properties of these fibers was studied. This treatment was carried out to remove non-cellulosic components in order to improve the adhesion of these fibers to be used as reinforcing composites since they are currently being tested in polymer matrix composites. The chemical properties were investigated through TAPPI Standards and FTIR spectroscopy. The physical properties (microfibrillar angle and density) were analyzed through polarized light microscopy and a gas pycnometer, respectively. The results show that with this chemical treatment, it is possible to remove 53.9% of lignin and 22.7% of hemicellulose for Ichu fiber and 50.7% and 91.7%, respectively, for Cabuya. Besides, it was found that the microfibrillar angle is not affected by this chemical treatment since its effect is only super...

This paper was written in the context of the Project funded by CONCYTEC, under the contract number N° 103-2018 - FONDECYT-BM. The authors of this paper appreciate the financial support from the Peruvian Government.

This paper describes the research conducted to develop an optimal methodology to extract useful fibers from the “Ichu” grasses which can be used as reinforcement of polyester resin. Laminates were manufactured and their flexural properties were characterized as well as the optimal fiber properties. Results show that for this kind of materials, the mechanical and retting treatments are insufficient to remove lignin from the raw material state; on the other hand, alkali treatments are considerably effective. Laminates transverse strength shows an improvement (up to 30 MPa) when the alkali treatment time increases. Longitudinal strength and modulus present values around ~144 MPa and ~8.8 GPa respectively with fiber volume fraction around 0.38. © 2018, © 2018 Taylor & Francis.