Noureddine Baaka^1,*, Manel Ben Ticha^1,2, Wafa Haddar^1,3, Mohamed Farouk Mhenni¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 289-300, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.04355

Abstract Acrylic fibres are highly crystalline and non-polar polymers, which makes their dyeing a very difficult step that poses real technical challenges. In order to overcome this concern, it is intended in this paper to modify acrylic fibers by different methods namely cationisation using the Crosscolor DRT then amidoximation using hydroxylamine hydrochloride and ammonium acetate. The resulted samples were dyed then with the bio-colorant extracted from grape marc. The effect of the pretreatment on fibers fine structure using X-ray diffraction and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and its correlation with the colour strength of the More >

Daniel Cônsoli Silveira^1,*, Tiago Teixeira da Silva Braga¹, Daniel Molina Gil¹, Newton Adriano dos Santos Gomes², Lilia Müller Guerrini³, Edson Cocchieri Botelho¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 279-287, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.01834

Abstract This study investigated and defined the optimal processing parameters for the electrospinning of polysulfone polymer solutions with N,N-dimethylacetamide. Variation of parameters such as solute concentration, electrical voltage, and working distance were correlated with the quality of the obtained nanofibers using morphological characterization via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Carbonyl iron additive was dispersed in the polymer solutions, using ultrasonic tip, and the material processed via electrospinning with aforementioned parameters defined. Nanofibers with the property of interaction with electromagnetic waves were obtained. The dispersion of different concentrations of the additive and electromagnetic characterizations in the X-band of 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 >

Fatima Ezzahra El Abbassi^1,*, Mustapha Assarar², Rezak Ayad², Hamid Sabhi², Stephane Buet², Nouzha Lamdouar³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 253-267, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.01759 - 14 July 2021

Abstract This paper aims at studying the effect of recycling on the static and dynamic properties of short alfa fibre reinforced polypropylene. For this purpose, alfa fibres reinforced composites were elaborated by an injection moulding process and were subjected to different mechanical recycling cycles. Then, non-recycled and recycled materials were subjected to static tests and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) to evaluate the effect of recycling on their behaviour. Besides, the effects of alkali and salt water treatments on the static and dynamic properties of the alfa composite were also investigated. The obtained results show that tensile More >

Ana Clara Lancarovici Alves, Rafael Grande, Antonio José Felix Carvalho^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 245-252, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00833

Abstract The interest in thermoplastic starch (TPS) as a substitute material to replace conventional thermoplastics continues especially due its biodegradability, availability, low cost and because it is obtained from renewable sources. However, its poor mechanical properties and its high sensitivity to humidity have limited its use in several applications. Here, the copolymer poly (ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH), with two different ethylene contents, 27 and 44 mol% were blended with TPS by extrusion in order to overcome these limitations. The obtained blends were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), mechanical tensile testing, Scanning Electron Microscopy More >

Cláudia Leites Luchese^*, Julia Menegotto Frick Pavoni, Jordana Corralo Spada, Isabel Cristina Tessaro

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 235-243, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00033

Abstract Corn starch, glycerol and agroindustrial residues were used to produce films by casting. By-products from juice processing, blueberry and jaboticaba in powder with different particle sizes were added in the filmogenic matrix to evaluate its potential as a colorimetric indicator. Blueberry and jaboticaba peels are commonly discarded although contain high amount of important compounds as anthocyanins. These compounds have the ability to color change after immersion in different pH values, demonstrating its potential for the intelligent packaging development. Analyses were performed in a colorimeter after films immersion in different buffer solutions. Visual color changes were More >

Lídia K. Lazzari^*, Vitória B. Zampieri, Ademir J. Zattera, Camila Baldasso

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 227-234, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00024

Abstract This work aimed at analyzing the petroleum adsorption capacity and the compressive strength of cellulose cryogels produced with the addition of 4 and 8% (w/w) sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Cryogels were produced from a 1.5% (m/m) suspension of cellulose microfibers, which originated from Pinus elliotti, in distilled water. The addition of NaOH increased the compression strength of cryogel by 30% when compared to cryogel without the reagent. Due to the 50% decrease in volume, the cryogel FLNB-8h (8% NaOH) has its petroleum adsorption capacity decreased in average by 58%, whereas the FLNB-4 (4% NaOH) cryogel had More >

Murat Kaya^1,*, Idris Sargin¹, Povilas Mulerčikas², Jalel Labidi³, Asier M. Salaberria³, Yavuz S. Cakmak¹, Sonata Kazlauskaitė², Demet Erdonmez⁴, Vykintas Baublys⁵

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 215-226, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00002

Abstract Hylobius abietis is a plant parasitic insect belonging to the order Coleoptera and which causes severe damages to coniferous forests in Northern and Eastern Europe. This current study is aimed to provide a new viewpoint into the waste of this insect by producing chitosan. Dry insect corpses consisted of 27.9% chitin and 86.2% of the chitin was converted into the chitosan. FT-IR spectra analyses confirmed the purity and the deacetylation degree of the produced chitosan (molecular weight of chitosan; 7.3 kDa). This chitosan exhibited antimicrobial activity against 18 bacterial strains. Further, biodegradable chitosan composite films More >

Larissa Stieven Montagna, Isabela CÉSAR Oyama, Rita de CÁSSIA Barbosa Camargo Lamparelli, Ana Paula Silva, THAÍS Larissa do Amaral Montanheiro, Ana Paula Lemes^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.2, pp. 117-128, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00036

Abstract Biodegradable polymers have been increasingly used for scientific and commercial applications because they are similar to some conventional thermoplastics and exhibit the ability of self-degradation. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) nanocomposites films with 1 and 2 wt% of carbon nanotubes (CNT) were prepared by solution mixing, followed by solvent evaporation. In this work, PHBV/CNT nanocomposites were submitted to biodegradation in an aqueous medium for 34 days through a respirometric system. Then, the PHBV films were analyzed by the CO2 production and mineralization as a response of a microbial attack, which was monitored by back titration during all the… More >

Weeradech Kiratitanavit¹, Ferdinando F. Bruno^2,*, Zhiyu Xia¹, Shiran Yu¹, Jayant Kumar^3,4, Ramaswamy Nagarajan^1,3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.2, pp. 205-214, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00031

Abstract Polyserotonin was enzymatically synthesized using Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as the catalyst. This novel conjugated polymer exhibited good fluorescent properties with significantly higher Stokes shift than its monomer. The enzymatic polymerization eliminated the need for extensive purification of the product (typically necessary for the removal of residual metal catalyst) allowing the product to be naturally fluorescent as synthesized. The reaction was monitored using UV-Vis spectrophotometry and the polymers were characterized using Fluorescence, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermogravimetry. The possibility of using polyserotonin for the detection of nitro-aromatic compounds, including 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and trinitrotoluene (TNT), More >