Special lssues
Table of Content

Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application

Submission Deadline: 31 October 2019 (closed)

Guest Editors

Puyou Jia, Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Chemical Industry of Forest Products,Chinese Academy of Forestry
Chaoqun Zhang, Professor, South China Agricultural University
Caoxing Huang, Associate Professor, Nanjing Forestry University

Summary

Polymers from renewable resources are receiving tremendous attention due to the increasing concerns on the depletion of fossil oils and deteriorated environments. On one hand, natural polymers including cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, chitosan, starch, protein, and natural rubber have been widely used to manufacture novel polymeric materials. On the other hand, monomers from renewable biomass, including vegetable oils, fatty acids, rosin acids, furfural, turpentine, and lactic acid, are molecularly engineered into green polymers. Fundamental and applied research in applying renewable polymer materials as a constituent/constituents, either as reinforcement or matrix component or both, to develop novel composites and nanocomposites with advanced performance and smart functionalities are growing. This Special Issue presents a focused collection of leading edge original research and reviews in polymer science related to renewable polymer materials design, processing, modification, functionalization, and application.

Some example topics include:

(1) Polymer synthesize, structural design and novel processing of renewable polymer materials;

(2) Biopolymer materials and bio-based materials with improved properties and superior performance;

(3) Renewable polymer modification for enhanced interfacial, flame retardant, degradation and plasticizing properties;

(4) Novel concept in renewable polymer composites and nanocomposites with advanced, multi-, and smart functionalities;

(5) Processing and application of renewable polymer nanocomposites;

(6) Biomass-based plasticizers, heat stabilizers, polyols, antimicrobials and their applications in polymers;

(7) Biopolymer materials and their derived materials in the bio-application.



Keywords

Polymer synthesize; Biopolymer materials; Renewable polymer modification; polymer composites; Biopolymer materials; Biomass-based plasticizers; heat stabilizers; polyols; antimicrobials; Bio-application; Polymer blend

Published Papers


  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Sawdust Short Fiber Reinforced Epoxidized Natural Rubber: Insight on Its Mechanical, Physical, and Thermal Aspects

    O. S. Dahham, N. Z. Noriman, H. Jaya, R. Hamzah, M. U. Umar, I. Johari
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.12, pp. 1633-1645, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.011377
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract In this work, Epoxidized natural rubber/sawdust short fiber (ENR-50/ SD) composites at different fiber content (5, 10, 15 and 20 phr) and size (fine size at 60–100 μm and coarse size at 10–20 mm) were prepared using two-roll mill and electrical-hydraulic hot press machine respectively. Curing characteristics, water uptake, tensile, morphological, physical, and thermal properties of the composites were investigated. Results indicated that the scorch time and cure time became shorter whereas torque improved as SD content increase. Though the decline of tensile strength and elongation at break values, modulus, hardness and crosslinking density have shown enhancements with the increasing… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Effect of Y-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) and Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) Towards Preparation of Oil Absorbent Foams from Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Reinforced with Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC)

    Dzun Noraini Jimat, Sharifah Shahira Syed Putra, Parveen Jamal, Wan Mohd Fazli Wan Nawawi, Mohammed Saedi Jami
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.7, pp. 739-757, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.010357
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract Increasing usage of foams in various industry sectors had causing serious disposal problems once it reaches the end of its life-cycle. Herein, PVA-MFC foam was prepared by freeze-drying using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) as a reinforced material from sugarcane bagasse (SCB). In this study, the PVA-MFC foam was chemically silylated with Y-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The wetting ability and mechanical strength of the silylated 2,20PVA-MFC foam was greatly enhanced compared with unmodified 2,20PVA-MFC foam. The silane chemicals (MPS and TEOS) had been confirmed grafted on 2,20PVA-MFC foam due to the presence of Si-C and Si-O-C stretching… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Isolation of Thermally Stable Cellulose Nanocrystals from Spent Coffee Grounds via Phosphoric Acid Hydrolysis

    Brody A. Frost, E. Johan Foster
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.2, pp. 187-203, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.07940
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    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 to recycle and utilize the… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Study on the Preparation and Adsorption Property of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Cellulose Nanocrystal/Graphene Composite Aerogels (PCGAs)

    Yan Wu, Xinyu Wu, Feng Yang, Li Xu, Meng Sun
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.11, pp. 1181-1195, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07493
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract The cellulose nanocrystals/graphene composite aerogel (CGA) and polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanocrystals/graphene composite aerogel (PCGA) were prepared by suspension titration, tert-butanol solution replacement and freeze-drying successively. The removal rates of methyl blue (MB) from water by CGA and PCGA were evaluated and the effects of additions, adsorption time, reaction temperature and pH value of CGA and PCGA on MB removal rate were discussed. It was found that the optimal concentrations of both CGA and PCGA were 2 g∙L-1 in the adsorption reaction process and the adsorption equilibrium was reached within 120 min. The higher the initial pH value of MB solution is,… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Comparison of Dilute Organic Acid Pretreatment and a Comprehensive Exploration of Citric Acid Pretreatment on Corn Cob

    Hui Qiao, Jingzhao Cui, Shuiping Ouyang, Jinjie Shi, Jia Ouyang
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.11, pp. 1197-1207, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07735
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract As an important agricultural waste, corn cob is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic biomass. In this work, dilute acid pretreatment using seven different organic acids were compared for compositional analysis of corn cob. The first pKa of organic acids, influenced by the number and type of the side group and distance between two carboxylic groups, played a crucial role in the pretreatment effect. Citric acid was found to have better pretreatment performance than other tested dicarboxylic acids. Under the condition of 30 mM, 160°C and 60 min, the level of xylose reached 22.64 g/L in pretreatment liquid, and the… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Extraction, Optical Properties and Bio-Imaging of Fluorescent Composition From Moso Bamboo Shoots

    Jinlai Yang, Liangru Wu, Yanhong Pan, Hao Zhong
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.11, pp. 1209-1219, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07896
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract A novel fluorescent composition was firstly isolated from natural winter fresh Moso bamboo shoots, and its optical properties were fully investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. It could emit strong blue light both in solid and solution state, providing high fluorescence intensity in ethanol. The solution’s concentration and addition of water greatly affected the fluorescence intensity, high concentration and addition of much water could quench fluorescence. Apoptosis results showed that the fluorescent extract (0-25 mg/L) could not induce apoptosis of Hela cells. Confocal fluorescent microscopic imaging in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) was realized using the fluorescent extract, it could dye the… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Bio-Based Hyperbranched Toughener From Tannic Acid and Its Enhanced Solvent-Free Epoxy Resin with High Performance

    Jie Xu, Jiayao Yang, Peng Lin, Xiaohuan Liu, Jinjie Zhang, Shenyuan Fu, Yuxun Tang
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.12, pp. 1333-1346, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07905
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract It is essential to design economic and efficient tougheners to prepare high-performance epoxy resin; however, this has remained a huge challenge. Herein, an eco-friendly, low-cost, and facile-fabricated bio-based hyperbranched toughener, carboxylic acid-functionalized tannic acid (CATA), was successfully prepared and applicated to the preparation of solvent-free epoxy resins. The mechanical performance, morphology, structural characterization, and thermal characterization of toughened epoxy resin system were studied. The toughened epoxy resin system with only 1.0wt% CATA reached the highest impact strength, 111% higher than the neat epoxy resin system. Notably, the tensile strength and elongation at break of toughened epoxy resin systems increased moderately… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Tribological Behavior of Plant Oil-Based Extreme Pressure Lubricant Additive in Water-Ethylene Glycol Liquid

    Haiyang Ding, Xiaohua Yang, Lina Xu, Mei Li, Shouhai Li, Jianling Xia
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.12, pp. 1391-1401, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07207
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract A water-soluble lubricant additive (RSOPE) was prepared by esterification reaction using fatty acid from rubber seed oil. The RSOPE was added into water-ethylene glycol (W-EG) solution as lubricant additive. Dispersion stability and rheological properties were investigated. We used a four-ball tribotester to assess the lubrication performance of W-EG based fluid with the RSOPE additive. The stainless-steel surface was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Good dispersion stability was observed in the RSOPE/W-EG solutions. Furthermore, nonNewtonian fluid behavior at low shear rates and Newtonian fluid behavior at high shear rates was exhibited. The addition of RSOPE… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Synthesis of Poly(acrylic acid)-Grafted Carboxymethyl Cellulose for Efficient Removal of Copper Ions

    Ying Lin, Yihua Cao, Qingping Song, Jiangang Gao, Puyou Jia, Hamed Alsulami, Marwan Amin Kutbi
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.12, pp. 1403-1414, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.08380
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract Biocompatible and high content grafted carboxymethyl cellulose-gpoly(acrylic acid) powder was successfully synthesized in an aqueous system, and used as adsorbents for the removal of Cu(II) in aqueous solution. The copolymer was characterized by FT-IR and SEM techniques. Graft copolymerization introduced a large number of carboxyl groups in the polymer and caused the micro-surface of the material to be porous. The fundamental adsorption behaviors of the material were studied. The adsorption kinetics was well fitted with pseudo-second order equation, while the adsorption isotherm preferred to be described the Langmuir equation. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained from the Langmuir model was 154.32… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Synthesis and Characterization of DOPO-g-CNSL and Its Effect on the Properties of Phenolic Foams

    Yufeng Ma, Xuanang Gong, Bing Xie, Xiang Geng, Puyou Jia
    Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 1037-1046, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07454
    (This article belongs to this Special Issue: Renewable Polymer Materials and Their Application)
    Abstract In order to improve the mechanical properties without reducing its flame retardancy of phenolic foams (PFs), 9, 10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) was introduced in the structure of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) to improve its flame retardant, and the product of DOPO grafting CNSL (DOPO-g-CNSL) was obtained to modify phenolic resin, and to prepare DOPO-g-CNSL modified PFs (DCMPFs). The structures of DOPO-g-CNSL were verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). Compared with CNSL, thermal stability of DOPO-g-CNSL was decreased and Ti decreased by 3.53%, but the residual carbon (800°C) was increased by 35.05%. Compared with pure PF,… More >

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