Abstract

• The abundant availability of areca nut husks in Mone, Kyauk-kyi Township, Bago Region, as a byproduct from areca nut farming presents an opportunity for creating value-added materials of national significance. In this current research endeavor, the extracted fibers from these areca nut husks were subjected to a thorough washing followed by treatment them with a 5 % NaOH solution. Additionally, a portion of the resulting product underwent a separate treatment with permanganate to enhance the fiber's surface characteristics. The mechanical properties of the alkali treated areca nut fiber-rubber composite, intended for use in stoppers, exhibited impressive values, including hardness (52.6 IRHD), specific gravity (0.98), tensile strength (6.8 MPa), elongation at break (737.3 %), and tear strength (23.8 kN/m). These properties outperformed those of rubber alone, which had a hardness of 30.0 IRHD and a specific gravity of 0.97. Detailed analyses, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for assessing fiber dispersion in the composite, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT IR) for confirming composite formation, and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) for evaluating thermal behavior, conducted on the stopper composites show favorable results. Furthermore, chemical resistance tests demonstrated the stopper's compatibility with various substances, including water, alcohol, concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl), and moderately concentrated base solutions like 10 % NaOH and 10 % NH4OH. These findings strongly suggest that areca nut fibers are suitable for reinforcing natural fiber-rubber composites. This study successfully transforms biowaste areca nut husks into a valuable material, specifically stoppers, through composite fabrication with natural rubber.