Antonio Greco*, Francesca Ferrari, Raffaella Striani, Carola Esposito Corcione

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 1023-1035, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07778

Abstract This work is aimed at the development of new green composite materials through the incorporation of the solid organic waste (SOW) in a thermoplastic matrix. After being ground, the organic waste was exposed to a sterilization process, though an autoclave cycle, in order to obtain a complete removal of the bacterial activity. The SOW was found to have a high amount of water, about 65-70%, which made uneconomical its further treatment to reduce the water amount. Therefore, a water soluble polymer, poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was chosen in order to produce SOW based blends. However,… More >

Fei Song¹, Puyou Jia^1,*, Yanan Xiao², Caiying Bo¹, Lihong Hu¹, Yonghong Zhou^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 1011-1021, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.08044

Abstract Phenolic foams (PFs) as thermal insulation material with outstanding flame retardancy are required to match society’s ever expanding safety expectations; however, a trade off exists between flame retardancy and toughness. Here, for the first time, we synthesized a novel reactive phosphorus containing tung oil based derivative and used it to toughen PF, resulting in PFs with a combination of excellent mechanical properties and flame retardancy. Compared with pure PF, the modified PFs exhibit enhanced mechanical properties, with specific compressive and flexural strengths as high as 5.67 MPa and 12.46 MPa, which represent increases of 90.67% More >

M. A. Shaharuzaman^1,2,4, S. M. Sapuan^1,3,*, M. R. Mansor^2,4, M. Y. M. Zuhri^1,3

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 997-1010, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07529

Abstract The enforcement on sustainable design and environmental-friendly products has attracted the interest of researchers and engineers in the context of replacing metals and synthetic fibers with natural based fibers, especially in the automotive industry. However, studies on sustainable natural fiber material selection in the automotive industry are limited. Evaluation for the side-door impact beam was conducted by gathering product design specification from literature which amounted to seven criteria and it was forwarded to ten decision makers with automotive engineering and product design background for evaluation. The weightage required for decision-making was obtained using the Analytic… More >

Mohammed Mohammed¹, Bashir O. Betar², Rozyanty Rahman¹, Aeshah M. Mohammed³, Azlin F. Osman¹, Muhammed Jaafar⁴, Tijjani Adam^5,*, Omar S. Dahham⁵, Uda Hashim⁶, Nik Z. Noriman⁵

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 967-982, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07562

Abstract Increasing need for materials with special features have brought various new inventions, one of the most promising hope for new material with special features and functionalities is composites materials. Thus, this study report an integration of zinc nanoparticles into kenaf/polyester polymer composite to introduce new behavior to the composite. The composite behaviors were compared for mechanical, thermal, moisture absorption and biodegradability properties. Prepared Zinc Oxide nanoparticles entrenched in the kenaf/polyestaer composites net structure through chemical bonds between kenaf/ZnO/polyester resin, existence of ZnO significantly influence the mechanical and thermals properties of composites. Thermal analysis based on… More >

M. Khennache^1,*, A. Mahieu¹, M. Ragoubi¹, S. Taibi¹, C. Poilâne², N. Leblanc¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 821-838, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06772

Abstract In France, the use of flax fibers as reinforcement in composite materials is growing exponentially in the automotive sector, thanks to their good physicochemical properties, environmental reasons, health neutrality and due to the European Council Directives on the reuse, recycling and valorization of car components and materials. The aim of our study is to investigate biochemical, physicochemical, and mechanical properties of technical flax fibers to evaluate the impact of transformation processes (scutching, hackling, and homogenization) on final properties of associated composite materials. Different chemical analysis such as Van Soest (biochemical fraction measurement), FTIR (Fourier Transform More >

Daniel Scida^1,*, Sébastien Alix¹, Stéphane Buet¹, El Hadi Saidane¹, François Courmont^1,2, Karim Behlouli², Rezak Ayad¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 865-875, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06609

Abstract This work aims at studying the effect of hygrothermal and UV cyclic aging on the tensile properties and esthetic characteristics of non-woven composites. The composite materials were thermo-compressed from non-woven mats made up of PP and flax or kenaf fibers. This works included evaluating the change in color appearance and analyzing the variations in tensile properties and damage mechanisms, depending on the aging time. The presence of the UV protection film on the composite surface showed its effectiveness against aging. From visual observations and measurement of colorimetric parameters, it has been proved effective in the More >

Khouloud Cheour^1,*, Mustapha Assarar¹, Daniel Scida¹, Rezak Ayad¹, Xiaolu Gong²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 877-889, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06826

Abstract The aim of this study is to show the interest of the mechanical and dynamical properties of glass-flax hybrid composites. Therefore, various staking sequences of glass-flax hybrid composites were manufactured and tested in free vibrations. The damping coefficients were identified by fitting the experimental responses of free-free bending vibrations. The obtained results show that the staking sequences and the position of flax fiber layers in the hybrid composites changed the properties, so a classification of different stacking sequences was established. In fact, the hybrid laminate made of two glass external layers placed on both sides More >

Fatma Kharrat¹, Rania Chaari¹, Mohamed Khlif¹, Loic Hilliou², José A. Covas², Mohamed Haboussi^3,*, Hedi Nouri¹, Chedly Bradai¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 891-901, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06827

Abstract Biocomposite films prepared with melt compounding and film blowing have become a new trend in plastic research to deliver more eco-friendly packages. Polylactic acid (PLA) was melt compounded with minimally processed date palm leaf fiber (DPLF) and converted into films by blown film extrusion. The compounding was done in order to enhance the film mechanical properties in one hand, and to decrease the film production cost in the other hand. In this present study, a reference PLA film and films with 1%, 2%, and 5% of DPLF (weight %) were produced with different process parameters.… More >

S. Najmeh Aboutorabi¹, Majid Nasiriboroum,^2,*, Pourya Mohammadi¹, Hassan Sheibani^1,*, Hossein Barani³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.8, pp. 787-794, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06438

Abstract Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by a bio-reduction method using an aqueous extract of mullein leaves (Verbascum thapsus L.) functioning as reducing as well as a stabilizing agent. Various synthesis parameters such as reaction time, temperature and concentration of the extract were also studied for the synthesis of AgNPs. The so prepared AgNPs were characterized by various techniques including UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (equipped with energy dispersive analysis of X-rays), and transmission electron microscopy. The electron microscopy images suggest the formation of polydispersed spherical AgNPs with average particle size of about 20 More >

Nina Graupner^1,*, Koranat Narkpiban^2,5, Thiprada Poonsawat³, Porntip Tooptompong⁴, Jörg Müssig¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.8, pp. 693-711, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06785

Abstract Toddy palm fruit have an apparent density below 0.8 g/cm³ and offer an interesting lightweight construction potential in polylactide (PLA) composites reinforced with 37 mass-% fibres. Single fibre bundles show similar mechanical properties compared with coir: tensile strength of 240 MPa, Young´s modulus of 3.8 GPa and an elongation at break of 31%. However, density and diameter (~ 50 μm) of fruit fibre bundles are significantly lower. The compression moulded composites have a density of 0.9 g/cm³ and achieved an unnotched Charpy impact strength of 12 kJ/m², a tensile strength of 25 MPa, Young’s modulus… More >