Open Access

EDITORIAL

Filomena Barreiro, Ana Vera Machado
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 1-1, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634101
Abstract a special issue containing 12 papers is presented here.The Guest Editors of this special issue are grateful to Alessandro Gandini, co-editor in-chief of the Journal of Renewable Materials, Linda Mohr, the Journal Editors’ assistant, as well as to the entire journal team for their valuable contributions that made this excellent work possible. Last but not least, our sincere appreciation to the contributing authors for the work performed and to all the reviewers involved, for their critical and con-structive comments on the submitted manuscripts.A special acknowledgement to Martin Scrivener for his constant follow-up and support.We look More >

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ARTICLE

M.A. Pérez-Limiñana^*, M.M. Sánchez-Navarro, M.J. Escoto-Palacios, F. Arán-Aís, C. Orgilés-Barceló
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 3-8, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634119
Abstract The tanning i ndustry generates very large quantities of industrial wastes. The advancement of European policy and legislation protecting the environment has prompted the transformation of tannery solid waste materials into valuable co-products, useful to be recycled or employed in other industries. The objective of this work is to obtain gelatine from tannery wastes, in order to reuse it as natural microencapsulating agent in the production of active materials with functional properties. Concretely, this paper focuses on the influence of the extraction temperature on gelatine properties and its microencapsulating ability. An alternative enzymatic pre-treatment to More >

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1495

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ARTICLE

Monique de Alvarenga Pinto Cotrim^1*, Jessyca Aparecida Paes Dutra², Suzana Gonçalves Carvalho², Janaina Cecília Oliveira Villanova², Eliane Ayres¹
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 9-17, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634122
Abstract In recent years there has been an increasing demand for the application of natural products to address problems in the environment. The use of products derived from renewable resources can provide a sustainable strategy to replace totally or partially synthetic products. Cymbopogon, commonly known as lemongrass, is a tropical grass cultivated mostly for its essential oil, which has demonstrated several bioactivities, including antibacterial and antifungal properties. In the present work the formation of inclusion complex between β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and lemongrass essential oil (LGEO) as well as its fi xation onto cotton fabric were investigated. Inclusion More >

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1627

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ARTICLE

Szczepan Bednarz^*, Angelika Wesołowska, Magdalena Trątnowiecka, Dariusz Bogdał
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 18-23, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634131
Abstract New methods of preparation of crosslinked polymers from itaconic acid as a renewable monomer have been explored. Synthesis of hydrogels and xerogels from the acid in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are described and some basic properties of the materials are reported. Most importantly, a surfactant-free method of creation of macroporous poly(itaconic-co-bisacrylamide) by phase separation polymerization in binary mixture of the DES and poly(ethylene glycol) is demonstrated. More >

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1581

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ARTICLE

Dragomir Vassilev^1*, Nadezhda Petkova², Milena Koleva¹, Panteley Denev²
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 24-30, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634125
Abstract This article presents the results obtained by the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of sucrose and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) esters with fatty acids (palmitic and 10-undecylenic), the identifi cation of the products and the study of their possible application as plasticizers in plastics processing. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H and ¹³C NMR) spectroscopy were used to identify the synthesized carbohydrate esters. The plasticizing effect of the sucrose palmitate applied in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was evaluated by the glass transition temperatures; the decrease of the T_g with the increase of the ester content could be accepted as… More >

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1915

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José M. R. C. A. Santos^*, Ana R. Sampaio, Joana Branquinho
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 31-40, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634123
Abstract Cellulose-based materials are one of the most widely used materials provided by nature to mankind. In particular, cotton fi bers have been used for millennia to produce clothing items. This wide usage stems from the inherent properties of cotton fabrics such as hydrophilicity and permeability to water vapor. However, increasingly sophisticated uses for cotton-based clothing (e.g., technical textiles) demand specifi c properties such as hydrophobicity and oleophobicity for repellent functions. The current surface treatments used to attain these functionalities are based on thermally initiated polymerization reactions, using water-based formulations. Thus, the current technologies are energy-… More >

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1814

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Flávio Pereira¹, João Pereira², Nádia Paiva³, João Ferra³, Jorge Manuel Martins^1,4, Fernão D. Magalhães¹, and Luísa Carvalho^1,4*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 41-46, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634128
Abstract This work studies the use of soy protein as a natural formaldehyde scavenger in wood particleboard production. The protein is incorporated in two forms: a) as a powder, during the blending process of wood particles with urea-formaldehyde binder resin, and b) as an aqueous solution, added at different times during resin synthesis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the signifi cance level of two effects (amount of added soy and time of addition) on internal bond strength, thickness swelling, and formaldehyde content of the resulting panels. The results showed that soy protein can More >

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2119

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Isabel Patrícia Fernandes¹, Mariana Barbosa¹, Joana Soares Amaral², Vera Pinto³, José Luís Rodrigues³, Maria José Ferreira³, Maria Filomena Barreiro^1*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 47-56, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634126
Abstract Among the wide variety of materials employed in the manufacture of shoes, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) are one of the most widely used. Given its widespread use, and associated waste management problems, the development of more biodegradable and evironmentally compatible solutions is needed. In this work, a polyester-based TPU used in the footwear industry for outsoles production was modifi ed by compounding with lignin, starch and cellulose at content of 4% (w/w). The biodegradability was evaluated by using agar plate tests with the fungi Aspergillus niger ATCC16404, the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027 and an association More >

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3186

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2130

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Itxaso Algar¹, Clara Garcia-Astrain¹, Alba Gonzalez², Loli Martin³, Nagore Gabilondo¹, Aloña Retegi^1*, Arantxa Eceiza^1*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 57-65, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634124
Abstract Bacterial cellulose/montmorillonite (BCMMT) hybrid bionanocomposite membranes were prepared by in-situ assembling or one-step biosynthesis process. The presence of MMT in BC membranes was confi rmed by thermogravimetric analysis and quantifi ed by mass spectrometry, resulting in bionanocomposites with MMT contents between 7–13 wt%. The incorporation of MMT during BC biosynthesis modifi ed BC morphology and led to lower porosity, even though higher water holding capacity was achieved. Bionanocomposites showed improved thermal stability and water vapor and oxygen gas barrier properties up to 70 and 80% with respect to neat BC membranes. This improvement was related More >

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1703

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Mary Isabel Lopretti^1,2*, Natalia Irene Baldyga³, Maria Gonzalez¹, Laura Beatriz Olazabal³, Marina Graciela Torres³, Fernando Resquin⁴, Leonidas Carrasco⁴
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 66-71, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634133
Abstract Nowadays, there is a great interest in using lignocellulosic materials as substrate for the production of biorefi nery products. Eucalypti are good options to use as crops to obtain different kinds of biofuels and derivatives, since their plantations show high adaptation potential to soil and weather conditions in Uruguay. The basic process steps involved in the obtainment of biorefi nery materials are: pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation and products separation. As delignifi cation is an important process to obtain biorefi nery products, in this context the evaluation of the biological (BT) and hydrothermal (TT) pretreatment of different More >

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1250

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Marcin Włoch, Janusz Datta^*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 72-77, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634130
Abstract Modern polymer science and technology is focused on the development of partial or fully green polymers. This focus is related to green chemistry trends, which propose using natural and renewable resources as monomers in the synthesis of polymers. In this study, biobased diamine was used as a chain extender of ester-urethane prepolymer. Obtained poly(ester-urethane-urea) contains 16 wt% of biobased diamine. There is mention of an amine curing agent that is an amine derivative of dimerized fatty acids (obtained from vegetable oils). Application of two chain extenders, i.e., 1,4-butanediol and biobased diamine (applied separately or in More >

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1831

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Aleksander Prociak^*, Elźbieta Malewska, Szymon Bąk
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 78-85, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634129
Abstract In this article, the results of the foaming process analysis of fl exible polyurethane with different isocyanate indexes are presented. Two types of flexible polyurethane foams (FPURF) were obtained: (1) by using petrochemical components and a rapeseed-oil-based polyol (used in the amount of 20 wt%), (2) by using petrochemical components and cellulose as a natural fi ller in the amount of 3 php (per hundred parts of polyol). The characteristic parameters of the foaming process, such as the foam’s growth velocity, the core temperature and dielectric polarization, were measured using a Foamat device. Moreover, the More >

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3603

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M. Kirpluks^1*, U. Cabulis¹, A. Ivdre¹, M. Kuranska², M. Zieleniewska³, M. Auguscik³
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 86-100, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634132
Abstract The most common sustainable solution for polyurethane (PU) materials is their production using renewable resources. Polyols derived from biomass and recycled polymers are the most promising way to do that. This study compares five different sustainable polyols as a possible raw material for production of highdensity rigid PU foams for automotive application. The goal of our study was to show that biobased polyols are a suitable replacement for polyols derived from petrochemical products. The influence of the chemical structure of polyols on the PU polymer matrix and foam properties was investigated. Two sources of PU… More >

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