Deniz Sema Sarul¹, Dogan Arslan², Emre Vatansever¹, Yusuf Kahraman², Ali Durmus³, Reza Salehiyan⁴, Mohammadreza Nofar^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.1, pp. 149-164, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.017003 - 27 July 2021

Abstract Polylactide (PLA)/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) blend nanocomposites including 3 wt% of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were prepared by melt compounding method in a twin-screw extruder and an internal mixer. Blend nanocomposites were formulated by diluting three different masterbatches prepared by solution casting method that contained 7 wt% of CNC. These masterbatches were: (m1) PLA/PBAT/CNC masterbatch; (m2) PLA/CNC masterbatch; and (m3) PBAT/CNC masterbatch. These were to explore how different preparation methods affect the dispersion and localization of CNC and hence the properties of PLA/PBAT/CNC blend nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the structural changes… More >

Ewa Szefer^*, Agnieszka Leszczyńska, Edyta Hebda, Krzysztof Pielichowski

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.6, pp. 1127-1142, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.014584 - 11 March 2021

Abstract The aim of this work was to use cellulose nanocrystals that were obtained by hydrolysis in phosphoric acid solution and further modified with succinic anhydride in the microwave field for PLA reinforcement. A series of all-bionanocomposites containing unmodified and surface modified cellulose nanocrystals with CNC content in the range of 1–3 %_w.t. were obtained by melt blending and tested by XRD, SEM, DSC and DMA to investigate the effect of surface esterification of CNCs on the structure, morphology, dynamic mechanical properties of bionanocomposites, as well as phase transitions of PLA in the presence of cellulosic nanofiller. More > Graphic Abstract

Xiaozheng Sun^*, Qiang He, Yu Yang

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.4, pp. 447-460, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09671 - 24 April 2020

Abstract Agricultural waste straw is the renewable resource with the highest annual yield in the world. In value-added applications of agricultural waste, dicarboxyl cellulose nanocrystals (DCCs) are prepared from rice, wheat, and corn straw by sequential periodate-chlorite oxidation. In this study, DCCs from rice, wheat, and corn straw were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The carboxyl content of the DCCs was also investigated. XRD results show that the crystallinity index decreased after sequential periodate-chlorite oxidation; however, the cellulose I structure was maintained. TEM… More >

Mariia Stepanova¹, Ilia Averianov¹, Olga Solomakha¹, Natalia Zabolotnykh², Iosif Gofman¹, Mikhail Serdobintsev², Tatiana Vinogradova², Viktor Korzhikov-Vlakh^1,3, Evgenia Korzhikova-Vlakh^1,3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.4, pp. 383-395, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09206 - 24 April 2020

Abstract The biocomposite films were prepared from poly(L-lactic acid) and cellulose nanocrystals. To improve interfacial compatibility of hydrophilic cellulose nanocrystals with hydrophobic matrix polymer as well as to provide the osteoconductive properties, cellulose was functionalized with poly(glutamic acid). The modified cellulose nanocrystals were better distributed and less aggregated within the matrix, which was testified by scanning electron, optical and polarized light microscopy. According to mechanical tests, composites filled with nanocrystals modified with PGlu demonstrated higher values of Young’s modulus, elongation at break and tensile strength. Incubation of composite materials in model buffer solutions for 30 weeks More >

Brody A. Frost, E. Johan Foster^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.2, pp. 187-203, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.07940 - 01 February 2020

Abstract As the world's population exponentially grows, so does the need for the production of food, with cereal production growing annually from an estimated 1.0 billion to 2.5 billion tons within the last few decades. This rapid growth in food production results in an ever increasing amount of agricultural wastes, of which already occupies nearly 50% of the total landfill area. For example, is the billions of dry tons of cellulose-containing spent coffee grounds disposed in landfills annually. This paper seeks to provide a method for isolating cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from spent coffee grounds, in order… More >

Maud Chemin, Céline Moreau, Bernard Cathala, Ana Villares^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.1, pp. 29-43, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.07850 - 01 January 2020

Abstract In this work, we studied the adsorption of modified cellulose nanocrystals onto solid surfaces by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). Cellulose nanocrystals obtained from tunicate (CNC) were modified at reducing end by amidation reactions. Two different functionalities were investigated: a polyamine dendrimer (CNC-NH₂), which interacts with gold surface by the amine groups; and a biotin moiety (CNC-Biot), which has a strong affinity for the protein streptavidin (SAV). QCM-D results revealed different adsorption behaviors between modified and unmodified CNCs. Hence, unmodified CNCs covered almost all the surface forming a rigid and flat layer whereas reducing More >

Malika Talantikite^1,*, Antoine Gourlay¹, Sophie Le Gall¹, Bernard Cathala¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.12, pp. 1381-1390, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07838

Abstract Plant components are an inexhaustible source for the construction of bio-based materials. Here we report, for the first time, the elaboration of biobased cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)/xyloglucan (XG) hydrogels. XG is a hemicellulose displaying a great affinity for cellulose surface and can be thus irreversibly adsorbed on CNC. Properties of the hydrogels were investigated by varying the molar mass of XG either by enzymatic treatment with Endoglucanase (EG2) or physical fractionation by ultrasound (US). Fractions were characterised by high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and their monosacchari decompositions were determined. Three fractions with high, average and small… More >

Marcia Cristina Branciforti^1,*, Caroline Faria Bellani², Carolina Lipparelli Morelli², Alice Ferrand³, Nadia Benkirane-Jessel³, Rosario Elida Suman Bretas²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 269-277, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.01833

Abstract Although nanocomposites have recently attracted special interest in the tissue engineering area, due to their potential to reinforce scaffolds for hard tissues applications, a number of variables must be set prior to any clinical application. This manuscript addresses the evaluation of thermo-mechanical properties and of cell proliferation of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) films and their bionanocomposites with 2 wt% of CNC obtained by casting technique. Cellulose nanocrystals extracted from Balsa wood by acid hydrolysis were used as a reinforcing phase in PBAT and PCL matrix films. The films and pure CNC… More >

Ingrid Souza Vieira da Silva¹, Natália Soares Prado¹, Patrícia Gontijo de Melo², Danilo Campion Arantes³, Mara Zeni Andrade⁴, Harumi Otaguro¹, Daniel Pasquini^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 73-87, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00042

Abstract In this work, nine different types of edible coating based on pectin, cellulose nanocrystals, glycerol, and essential oil of lemongrass were prepared and used to coat strawberries with a film formed directly on the surface of the coated fruit. The effects of the different edible coatings on refrigerated fruits in terms of weight loss, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, pH, and anthocyanin content was evaluated after 2 days, 4 days, 6 days, and 8 days of storage. Application of the edible coatings reduced the weight loss of the coated strawberries and the anthocyanin content. The More >

Weijun Yang^1†, Xiaomin Zhao^2†, Elena Fortunati¹, Franco Dominici¹, Jose M. Kenny¹, Debora Puglia^1*, De-Yi Wang^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 423-434, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634146

Abstract Presented herein is a deep investigation of the fire, mechanical and thermal performances of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposites, which were obtained by combining cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with various contents of N,N’-diallyl-phenylphosphoricdiamide (P-AA) via a two-steps masterbatch melt extrusion process (glycidyl methacrylate grafting on PLA and CNC premixing with PLA). Results have shown that the value of the limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased to 28.8% and a V-0 rating in UL94 test was obtained when 2 wt% of P-AA was added in the presence of cellulose nanocrystals (3 wt%). The incorporation of CNC induced a decrease More >