G. Mondragon, C. Peña-Rodriguez, A. Eceiza, A. Arbelaiz^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 345-356, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634124

Abstract In this work, the main chemical reactions conditions of a succession of specific chemical treatments used for the isolation of nanocellulose from sisal fibers were evaluated. The novelty of this work is the study done to analyze the effect of different reaction conditions (time or concentration) in fiber structure and composition as well as in the characteristics of obtained cellulosic samples. In order to achieve this goal different physicochemical, thermal and morphological characterization techniques were used after each chemical treatment and the most suitable reaction conditions were selected for the subsequent treatment. Moreover, the thermal More >

Melissa Camacho¹, Yendry Regina Corrales Ureña^*,1, Mary Lopretti², Leonel Bustamante Carballo¹, Galia Moreno¹, Brian Alfaro¹, Jose Roberto Vega Baudrit^1,3

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 271-279, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634117

Abstract Pineapple peel biomass was used as raw material for nanocellulose extraction. The raw material is a residue from the Costa Rican fruit industry. The nanocellulose was obtained by a two-step hydrolysis process. Firstly, the cellulose was hydrolyzed with HCl to obtain microcrystalline cellulose. In the second step, the hydrolysis was carried out using H2SO4 to obtain smaller fragments and decrease the lignin content. A timedependent study was carried out to determine the particle size decrease depending on the contact time with the H2SO4. The chemical, thermal and morphological properties were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared More >

Samantha Andrade Vale de Sousa¹, Mercês Coelho da Silva², Orlando Gama da Silva Júnior³, Artur Caron Mottin⁴, Rodrigo Lambert Oréfice³, Eliane Ayres^1*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 251-257, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634115

Abstract Buriti or miriti (Mauritia flexuosa) is a palm tree found in the Brazilian cerrado. Herein buriti petiole, part of the trunk that supports the leaves, was ground and used without any treatment as low density load to prepare poly(lactic acid) biocomposites. X-ray microtomography of buriti petiole showed its porous structure, with a wide pore size distribution determined with the aid of SEM. The obtained biocomposites with 1, 5 and 10 wt% of buriti petiole particles were investigated by their sessile drop contact angle, FTIR, TGA and tensile test. The tensile properties indicated poor adhesion between More >

Bernal Sibaja^1,2,3, Camila Pereira Matheus^1,2, Ricardo Ballestero Mendez^1,2,Ramsis Farag^1,2,4, J. R. Vega-Baudrit³, Maria L. Auad^*,1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 241-250, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634114

Abstract The thermo-mechanical properties and linear fracture mechanics of acrylated soybean oil and the triglycidylated ether of α-resorcylic acid interpenetrated networks as a function of their weight composition are the focus of Part 2 of this article. Thermo-mechanical characterization showed that the obtained materials behave as thermoset amorphous polymers, and that both the modulus and glass transition are extremely dependent on the epoxy/acrylate weight ratio. Modulus values ranged from 0.7 to 3.3 GPa at 30 °C, and glass transition temperatures ranged from around 58 °C to approx. 130 °C. No synergistic effect on these two properties More >

Bernal Sibaja^1,2,3, Camila Pereira Matheus^1,2, Ricardo Ballestero Mendez^1,2, J. R. Vega-Baudrit³, Maria L. Auad^*,1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 231-240, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634113

Abstract Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) using an epoxy phase synthesized from chemically modified α-resorcylic acid, and an acrylate phase employing acrylated soybean oil are the main focus of this study. Part 1 details the epoxidation of α-resorcylic acid with epichlorohydrin in alkaline medium, as well as the study of the polymerization and network formation of the generated epoxy-acrylate interpenetrated systems. The epoxy content of the epoxidized α-resorcylic acid was measured by means of a titration using HBr in acetic acid solution, and the functionalization was studied by FTIR. From the obtained results, mainly calorimetry and gel More >

Luis Daniel Mora-Murillo¹, Felipe Orozco-Gutierrez², José Vega-Baudrit², Rodolfo Jesús González-Paz^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 220-230, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634112

Abstract Nowadays, green polyurethane (PU) foams are mostly synthesized by replacing an amount of petrochemical polyol with biobased polyol. Here we report five different families of isocyanate prepolymer formulations that were prepared with biobased sources and the correlation between the structure of chains and the properties of the produced PU foam. Foam behavior in tension, torsion, compression, shape memory tests and physical properties were studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA); interactions in the polymer chains were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); and thermal analysis was performed by thermogravimetry (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry More >

Ananda S. Amarasekara^*, Muhammad A. Hasan, Eve Larkin

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.1, pp. 62-66, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634129

Abstract Condensation polymerization of renewable resources-based monomers, 4-ketopimelic acid and glycerol, were studied using two different catalysts; p-toluenesulfonic acid and Sb2O3. The highest polymer yield of 96% was achieved by using a 3:4 mole ratio mixture of 4-ketopimelic acid and glycerol, with Sb2O3 (0.5 mol% relative to 4-ketopimelic acid) as catalyst and heating at 23–210 °C, under N2 for 1 h; then 210 °C, vacuum, 12 h. The poly(4-ketopimelic acid-glycerol) formed is insoluble in all common organic solvents and is shown to contain a branched polymeric structure with ketal and ester links by using FT-IR, 1H More >

Flores S¹, A Promis², L Faúndez³

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.85, pp. 324-332, 2016, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2016.85.324

Abstract Jubaea chilensis (Molina) Baill. (Chilean palm) is an endemic species in Chile. It has been classified as a vulnerable species because of the reduction and the fragmentation of its population numbers, the exploitation of the palms for the production of syrup, the indiscriminate harvest of seed for human consumption, and the reduction of the accompanying native vegetation cover. The southernmost limit of its natural distribution is located in Palmas de Tapihue (Pencahue, Maule region). The objective of this study was to benchmark the conservation status of this population and its accompanying vegetation. The population of J. chilensis… More >

M.N.D. Cherief¹, M. Elmeguenni¹, M. Benguediab¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.51, No.3, pp. 187-201, 2016, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2016.051.187

Abstract Impact behavior of polymers has received considerable attention in recent years, and much work based on fracture mechanic approaches has been carried out. In this paper, fracture behavior in large deformation of a high density polyethylene (HDPE) materials was investigated through experimental impact testing on single edge notched specimen (SENB) and by using theoretical and analytical fracture criteria concepts. Moreover, a review of the main fracture criteria is given in order to characterize the toughness of this polymer in the both cases (static and dynamic). The fractured specimens obtained from the Charpy impact test were More >

Jithin Joy^1,2,3, Cintil Jose³, Srirama B. Varanasi⁴, Lovely Mathew P.^2,3, Sabu Thomas², Srikanth Pilla^1,5*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.5, pp. 351-364, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634128

Abstract Isora nanofibers (INF) were produced by a combined thermal-chemical-mechanical method from Helicteres isora plant. The resulting fibers were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, which showed a network-like structure with a length of 600 nm, width of 50 nm and an aspect ratio of 12. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that chemical treatments progressively removed noncellulosic constituents. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that crystallinity increased with successive chemical treatments. Using the synthesized isora nanofibers, poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)-based biodegradable nanocomposites were prepared. The nanocomposites were processed using a Brabender twin-screw compounder and an injection… More >