Oil Palm Mesocarp Fiber as New Lignocellulosic Material for Fabrication of Polymer/Fiber Biocomposites

New biocomposites consisting of poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) and various content (0–70？wt%) of oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF) or oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (OPEFBF) were fabricated by melt blending and subsequently hotpress moulding. The tensile, flexural, and impact properties of those biocomposites were evaluated and compared. Enhancement of flexural modulus of 200 or 150% was observed with PBS biocomposite loaded with 70？wt% of OPMF or OPEFBF. PBS/OPMF biocomposites exhibited higher values of tensile, flexural and impact strengths, and tensile and flexural moduli than those of PBS/OPEFBF biocomposites. These results indicated that OPMF feature better reinforcing agent for PBS as compared to that of OPEFBF. 1. Introduction Poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) is a biodegradable polymer synthesized by the polycondensation of 1, 4-butanediol and succinic acid [1]. It has excellent mechanical properties, melt processing capability, and biodegradability [2]. It can be degraded by microorganisms in compost, soil, and seawater [1, 3]. However, relatively high production cost of PBS as compared to nonbiodegradable polymer has limited many of its applications. Therefore, blending of PBS with low cost natural fiber may produce the required materials at competitive price [3]. Utilization of natural fibers in composite preparation offer several advantages compared to those of synthetic fibers which include low density, low cost, renewability, and biodegradability [4, 5]. Natural fibers like kenaf [3, 6], jute [2, 5], coir [7], silk [8], bamboo [9], sisal [10], and oil palm empty fruit bunch [11–13] have been extensively studied for fabrication of polymer/fiber composites. Rozman et al. [11] reported that incorporation of the OPEFBF into polypropylene matrix resulted in an improved tensile modulus but reduced in tensile strength, elongation at break, and impact strength with increasing fiber content. Biomass of OPMF and OPEFBF are lignocellulosic materials produced in palm oil mill after the oil extraction process. OPEFBF is obtained from the fruit bunch after removal of oil palm fruits whereas OPMF is residue obtained from oil palm fruits after the oil extraction [14]. They are either left in the palm oil mill as wastes or used as boiler fuel to produce steam and to generate power [13, 15]. The current utilization of these fibers however has created huge environmental pollution to the environment. Due to this reason, this research was carried out to utilize them in a better way as filler for biocomposites preparation. Additionally, the utilization of these