Isolation and chemical characterization of lignocellulosic fiber from Pueraria montana using Box-Behnken design for weed management.

The huge demand for natural fibers necessitates the search for non-traditional bioresources including invasive species which are deteriorating the ecosystem and biodiversity. The study aims to utilize Pueraria montana weed for the extraction of lignocellulosic fiber using both traditional (water retting) and chemical extraction methods to determine the better extraction method. Chemically extracted fiber showed 17.09 g/tex bundle strength whereas water-extracted fiber showed 11.7 g/tex bundle strength. Therefore, chemical extraction method was chosen for fiber isolation by optimization of reaction conditions using Box Behnken Design. Based on the design, optimal conditions obtained were 1 % w/v NaOH, 0.75 % v/v HO, and 3 days retting time. Solid-state NMR illustrated the breakdown of hemicellulose linkages at 25.89 ppm. FTIR revealed the disappearance of C=O groups of hemicellulose at 1742 cm. TGA demonstrated thermal stability of chemically treated fiber up to 220 °C and activation energy of 60.122 KJ/mol. XRD evidenced that chemically extracted fiber has a crystallinity index of 71.1 % and a crystal size of 2 nm. Thus P. montana weed holds potential for the isolation of natural fiber as its chemical composition and properties are comparable to commercial lignocellulosic fibers. The study exemplifies the transformation of weed to a bioresource of natural fibers.