ABSTRACT
Sugar palm or Arenga pinnata is a natural fiber native to tropical Asia. It is readily available, versatile, and almost all parts of the tree can be utilized to form a product. Chapter 6 reviews the impregnation modification done on sugar palm fiber and other lignocellulosic materials, as well as other impregnating mediums used. Impregnation is the act of infusing the cell wall of fiber with fluid to create a material with a loaded cell wall. Lignocellulosic material is any material consisting of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose. Some of the other impregnation processes discussed are resin transfer molding, vacuum assisted resin transfer molding, vacuum assisted resin infusion and autoclave prepreg molding. This type of modification has been seen to enhance the properties of the treated sugar palm fibers and other lignocellulosic materials and has been proven based on testing that showed improved results.
