Selwin Maria Sekar¹, Rajini Nagarajan^1,*, Ponsuriyaprakash Selvakumar², Ismail Sikiru Oluwarotimi³, Kumar Krishnan⁴, Faruq Mohammad⁵, Mohammed Rafi Shaik⁵, Nadir Ayrilmis^6,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.12, No.8, pp. 1455-1474, 2024, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2024.052952 - 06 September 2024

Abstract An innovative microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) natural fibre powder-reinforced PLA biocomposite was investigated using the hand lay-up technique. The polymer matrix composite (PMC) samples were prepared by varying the weight percentages (wt.%) of both PLA matrix and MCC reinforcement: pure PLA/100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 wt.%, respectively. From the results obtained, MCC powder, with its impressive aspect ratio, proved to be an ideal reinforcement for the PLA, exhibiting exceptional mechanical properties. It was evident that the 80:20 wt.% biocomposite sample exhibited the maximum improvement in the tensile, flexural, notched impact, compressive strength and hardness… More >

Aleksandra Jeżo^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.12, No.6, pp. 1029-1042, 2024, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2024.051330 - 02 August 2024

Abstract Bark extracts are sustainable sources of biopolymers and hold great promise for replacing fossil fuel-based polymers, for example, in wood-based composites. In addition to primary and secondary metabolites, tree bark also contains suberin, which plays a major role in protecting the tree from environmental conditions. Suberin is a natural aliphatic-aromatic cross-linked polyester present in the cell walls of both normal and damaged external tissues, the main component of which are long-chain aliphatic acids. Its main role as a plant ingredient is to protect against microbiological factors and water loss. One of the most important suberin More >

Joseph O. Dirisu^1,*, Imhade P. Okokpujie^2,3,*, Olufunmilayo O. Joseph¹, Sunday O. Oyedepo¹, Oluwasegun Falodun⁴, Lagouge K. Tartibu³, Firdaussi D. Shehu¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 485-511, 2024, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2024.045188 - 11 April 2024

Abstract Research into converting waste into viable eco-friendly products has gained global concern. Using natural fibres and pulverized metallic waste becomes necessary to reduce noxious environmental emissions due to indiscriminately occupying the land. This study reviews the literature in the broad area of green composites in search of materials that can be used in automotive brake pads. Materials made by biocomposite, rather than fossil fuels, will be favoured. A database containing the tribo-mechanical performance of numerous potential components for the future green composite was established using the technical details of bio-polymers and natural reinforcements. The development… More > Graphic Abstract

Sri Hidayati^1,*, Eugenia Fonny Budiyanto¹, Hadi Saputra¹, Sutopo Hadi¹, Apri Heri Iswanto^2,3, Nissa Nurfajrin Solihat⁴, Petar Antov⁵, Lee Seng Hua^6,7, Widya Fatriasari^4,8, Mohd. Sapuan Salit⁹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.6, pp. 2865-2879, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.027579 - 27 April 2023

Abstract Black liquor is obtained as a by-product of the pulping process, which is used to convert biomass into pulp by removing lignin, hemicelluloses and other extractives from wood to free cellulose fibers. Lignin represents a major constituent in black liquor, with quantities varying from 20% to 30%, of which a very low share is used for manufacturing value-added products, while the rest is mainly burned for energy purposes, thus underestimating its great potential as a raw material. Therefore, it is essential to establish new isolation and extraction methods to increase lignin valorization in the development… More > Graphic Abstract

Muhammad Ghozali^1,2, Yenny Meliana², Widya Fatriasari³, Petar Antov⁴, Mochamad Chalid^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.4, pp. 1963-1976, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.026060 - 01 December 2022

Abstract Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) starch is considered an important renewable, biodegradable, and eco-friendly polymer, which is derived from agricultural by-products and residues, with great potential for the development of biocomposite materials. This research was aimed at investigating the development of TPS biocomposites from A. pinnata palm starch using an extrusion process. Palm starch, glycerol, and stearic acid were extruded in a twin-screw extruder. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of TPS showed that the starch granules were damaged and gelatinized in the extrusion process. The density of TPS was 1.3695 g/mL, lower than that of palm starch, and… More > Graphic Abstract

Chaodong Liu, Yutong Yang, Boyu Cui, Weihong Wang^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.11, pp. 2961-2972, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.019761 - 29 June 2022

Abstract Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is often added to polylactic acid (PLA) matrixes as a reinforcing filler to obtain fully-biodegradable composites with improved mechanical properties. However, the incompatibility between MFC and the PLA matrix limits the mechanical performance of MFC-reinforced PLA composites. In this paper, DL-lactic acid-grafted-MFC (MFC-g-DL) was used to improve the compatibility with PLA. Reinforced composites were prepared by melt extrusion and hot-cold pressing. The tensile strength of the PLA/MFC-g-DL composite increased by 22.1% compared with that of PLA after adding 1% MFC-g-DL. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic thermomechanical analysis (DMA) were… More > Graphic Abstract

Xu Yan¹, Changheng Liu², Liang Qiao¹, Kaili Zhu², Hongsheng Tan^1,*, Shuhua Dong¹, Zhitao Lin¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.4, pp. 1039-1048, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.017239 - 02 November 2021

Abstract The crystallization behavior, crystal morphology and form, and viscoelastic behavior of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and coir fiber/PBS composites (CPB) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results of DSC measurement show that the crystallization temperature increases with the filling of coir fibers. POM images reveal that the spherulitic size and crystallization behavior of PBS are influenced by the coir fibers in the composites. XRD curves show that the crystal form of pure PBS and CPB are remaining almost identical. In addition, the More >

Sudhakar Muniyasamy^1,2,*, Asis Patnaik^3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.10, pp. 1661-1671, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.014904 - 12 May 2021

Abstract Present study deals with the biodegradable behavior of individual components and their preforms of nonwoven biocomposites developed from waste wool fibers including coring wool (CW), dorper wool (DW) and recycled polyester fibers (RPET). A respirometric technique was employed to estimate the production of CO₂ during the biodegradation experiments under soil and aqueous media conditions. Functional groups of test samples before and after biodegradation were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Leaching chemicals such as formaldehyde (hydrolyzed) and Chromium VI (Cr VI) was also measured. The CO₂ emission in wool fibers CW and DW indicated 90%… More >

Zinta Zimele^1,*, Ilze Irbe², Juris Grinins², Oskars Bikovens², Anrijs Verovkins², Diana Bajare¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.9, pp. 1067-1076, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09646 - 03 August 2020

Abstract Novel mycelium-based biocomposites (MBB) were obtained from local agricultural (hemp shives) and forestry (wood chips) by-products which were bounded together with natural growth of fungal mycelium. As a result, hemp mycocomposites (HMC) and wood mycocomposites (WMC) were manufactured. Mechanical, water absorption and biodegradation properties of MBB were investigated. MBB were characterized also by ash content and elemental composition. The results of MBB were compared with the reference materials such as the commercial MBB material manufactured by Ecovative^® Design (EV), hemp magnesium oxychloride concrete (HC) and cemented wood wool panel (CW), manufactured by CEWOOD^®. The mechanical properties… More >

T. Dipin¹, T. V. Jinitha¹, E. Purushothaman^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.11, pp. 1109-1119, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07636 - 14 July 2021

Abstract The present work mainly focuses on the estimation of various components and the extraction of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) from non- wood sources like Country Almond/Badam shell through acid hydrolysis. This hydrolyzed MCC was successfully used as reinforcement for development of biocomposites. Country Almond/Badam trees are found all over Kerala, India and they give nuts once in a year. Usually the nut shells are discarded and are becoming one of the sources of agricultural waste. During this investigation various components were isolated from the Country Almond shells and they were characterised using different spectral and analytical… More >