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William Eberts, Matthew T. Siniawski^*, Timothy Burdiak, Nick Polito
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 259-267, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634137
Abstract Single-ply biocomposite laminates were fabricated with two different woven fabrics and a bio-based resin using a wet layup technique at room temperature. A highly elastic, stockinette weave bamboo fiber fabric and a thicker, inelastic plain weave bamboo fabric were both investigated. The elastic fabric was pre-strained at 25% intervals, ranging from 0–100% of its original length. Samples made with E-Glass and S-Glass, two common glass fiber reinforcements, were also fabricated using the bioresin as benchmarks. The ultimate strength and modulus of elasticity characteristics of the composites were determined using the ASTM D3039/ D3039M-08 standard test method for determining the tensile… More >

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Erythrina Stavila, Katja Loos^*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 268-280, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634102
Abstract The selective and specific features of enzymes have drawn an enormous amount of attention for use as in-vitro catalysts in polymerization reactions. Various studies on the enzymatic synthesis of polyesters, polycarbonates, polysaccharides, polypeptides, and polyamides have been performed and some have been implemented on an industrial scale. Particularly in the synthesis of polyester and polyamides, lipases are the most used enzymes as catalysts for their polymerization. Polyamides are considered to be one of the largest engineering polymer families used in the automotive, electrical and electronics, and consumer goods industries; thus the enzymatic synthesis of polyamides will have a tremendous impact… More >

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Mario Alejandro Mejía Escobar^*, Frankin Jaramillo^*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 281-291, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634142
Abstract In recent years, the development of new materials has contributed markedly to improving the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Mesoporous semiconductors, solid electrolyte, non-conventional catalysts and synthetic dyes without ruthenium have been the focus of study. With respect to the last, lanthanides and porphyrins have presented good properties, but these elements have the same disadvantage as rutheniumbased dyes; being complicated to synthesize and very expensive. These limitations have stimulated much research in the use of natural dyes as sensitizers due to their exceptional photoelectochemical properties and low cost. Furthermore, they are regarded as renewable and environmentally friendly materials. For… More >

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M. Purushothaman¹, P. Santhana Gopala Krishnan^1,2,*, S. K. Nayak^1,2
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 292-301, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634114
Abstract Four copolymers of poly(ethyl lactate acrylate-co-acrylic acid) were prepared by the solution polymerization technique by varying the comonomer content from 0.2 to 0.8 mole percent. The copolymers were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and proton decoupled ¹³C-NMR spectroscopic techniques. The reactivity ratio of ethyl lactate acrylate (ELA) and acrylic acid (AA) was calculated using the Fineman-Ross method and the values were found to be 0.101 and 0.186, respectively, indicating the formation of an alternating copolymer. From the wide-angle X-ray diffraction studies (WAXD), the average molecular interchain spacing () was calculated from the 2θ value of amorphous halo at about 20°. The… More >

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Mario Alejandro Mejía Escobar^*, Franklin Jaramillo^*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 302-317, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634121
Abstract Energy alternatives have been one of the most important research focal areas of the last decade due to the imminent lack of fossil fuels. This motivation has allowed the evolution of the materials science field in areas such as electrochemistry, where high availability, low cost and negligible environmental impact are the desired principal qualities. For this reason, as an example of a photoelectrochemical device, we have proposed the use of natural dyes from 37 agro-industrial wastes in dye-sensitized solar cells. We obtained dyes from red cabbage, radish and roselle wastes with a good stability for eight hours with a constant… More >

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Yujie Zhang¹, Marc A. Dubé^1,*, Eduardo Vivaldo-Lima²
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 318-326, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634115
Abstract Renewable monomers containing allylic C-H bonds in their structure are prone to degradative chain transfer in free-radical polymerization, which will dramatically decrease the polymerization rate. In order to understand this mechanism, a kinetic model incorporating a degradative chain transfer mechanism for the free-radical copolymerization of d-limonene (LIM) and n-butyl methacrylate (BMA) was developed using PREDICI. Model predictions offered insight on how degradative chain transfer reactions affect conversion, copolymer composition and molecular weight in the polymerization. Experimental data from copolymerizations at monomer feed compositions (LIM/BMA, mol/mol) of 10/90, 20/80 and 30/70 were compared to the model’s predictions. Moreover, it was discovered… More >

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