Review of state-of-the-art studies on the water absorption capacity of agricultural fiber-reinforced polymer composites for sustainable construction

Abstract With the growing environmental impact related to the production, disposal, and recycling of synthetic fiber based polymeric matrix composites, environmentally friendly composites have been developed using materials based on natural resources. Of late, the disposal of agro-waste from industrial crops is another serious concern in developing countries. Based on the availability of agro-wastes, its usage for the development of sustainable composite materials is on the rise which constitutes a very interesting option for the construction industry. However, the water uptake characteristic of these natural fibers is established to be the most critical factor for the progressive deterioration of resultant composites’ properties over time. Present review article attempts to comprehensively report studies related to water absorption properties of agricultural fiber reinforced polymer composites. This study is divided into three sections: The first section highlights the water absorption mechanism including the experimental measurement and prediction using Fickian modelling. The second part outlines the experimental results of water absorption capacity for various composites with different types of thermosets, thermoplastics and agro-wastes. The last section analyses the potentiality of agro-waste materials to partly replace the conventional composites in building material research. The impact of water absorption on the mechanical properties of composites is also demonstrated. The literature survey compares the moisture/water content level of previous findings with the existing wood-based products in service and the established standard requirement for industrial building materials. This review article will provide a comprehensive data source for further research in this topic to explore the application of agricultural fiber-reinforced polymer composites as cheap, primary building construction materials.