Zafar-ul-Hye M¹, A Nasir¹, M Aon¹, S Hussain¹, M Ahmad², I Naz¹

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.87, pp. 25-31, 2018, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2018.87.025

Abstract Abiotic stresses like salt stress and soil compaction are responsible for increased ethylene production which may adversely affect crop growth. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of seed inoculation with ACC-deaminase containing rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas syringae) in the presence of recommended or half of a recommended rate of inorganic fertilizers at different growth stages of fodder maize in a compacted saline-sodic soil. At both fertilizer rates, seed inoculation with P. fluorescens and P. syringae significantly improved all growth parameters over the control treatment. After 30, 60 and 75 days of sowing, treatment with recommended NPK… 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 characterized with respect to their… More >

Muhammad Zafar-ul-Hye^1,*, Tariq Shahzad Bhutta¹, Muhammad Shaaban¹, Shahid Hussain¹, Muhammad Farooq Qayyum¹, Umar Aslam¹ and Zahir Ahmad Zahir²

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.88, No.2, pp. 119-129, 2019, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2019.06570

Abstract Soil salinity affects the growth and yield of crops. The stress of soil salinity on plants can be mitigated by inoculation of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR). The influence of PGPR inoculation on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crop productivity under salinity stress has not been properly addressed so far. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of various PGPR strains (W14, W10 and 6K; alone and combined) at several growth attributes of wheat plant under different soil salinity gradients (3, 6 and 9 dS m-1). The growth attributes of wheat (height, roots, shoots, spikes, grains quality, biological… More >

Xiaoyu Chen*, Jie Zhu

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.10, pp. 983-996, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07325

Abstract With the rapid development of textile industry, a large amount of dye-contaminated effluents was produced and caused serious environmental problem. To remove the dye from effluents, adsorption materials have been applied because of their relatively cheap, high efficiency, and easy handling. In this study, a novel composite hydrogel bead with unique multilayer flake structure was fabricated by alginate, acrylamide and attapulgite for dye adsorption. Acrylamide was grafted polymerization onto alginate to obtain alginate-g-poly(acrylamide). Then alginate-g-poly(acrylamide) was cross-linked by Ca²⁺ ions in present of attapulgite to form composite hydrogel bead. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results show that the freeze dried composite… More >

Nantharat Phruksaphithak^1,*, Chalermkiet Kaewnun², Sompong O-Thong²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.5, pp. 493-504, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00020

Abstract A new biocomposite was preformed between bacterial cellulose (BC) pellicle and polyethylene glycol (PEG) at different concentrations (0%, 5, 10%, 15% and 20%) and different molecular weight (600, 1000 and 2000). The structure and mechanical properties of BC/PEG biocomposite were investigated. The results indicated that the properties of the BC were improved by the addition of PEG. The morphology of the BC and BC/PEG blend was examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). These showed that PEG was coated with a large pore size fibril on the BC and the BC/PEG was dense with an even and smooth surface. All… 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 (SEM) and moisture absorption test.… More >

Yang Yu¹, Ramiz Boy^1,2,*, Richard Kotek¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 41-55, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00105

Abstract Current industrial methods for dissolution of cellulose in making regenerated cellulose products are relatively expensive, toxic and dangerous and have environmental problems coming with the hazard chemical wastes. To solve these problems, a novel ethylenediamine and potassium thiocyanate (ED/KSCN) solvent system was developed, that is economical, ecofriendly, and highly efficient. The ED/KSCN solvent system was proven to be a suitable solvent for fabricating cellulose (blended with other polymers) membranes. In this study, gluten was used to develop nonporous membranes with cellulose. The method of casting these membranes provided better ones than the former researchers’ techniques. These composite membranes’ physical and… More >

Regina Jeziorska*, Agnieszka Abramowicz, Agnieszka Szadkowska, Anna Pasnik and Ewa Spasowka

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.7, pp. 772-783, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2018.634114

Abstract Poly(phenylene oxide)/renewable polyamide 11 (PPO/PA11 20/80) blends toughened with glycidyl methacrylate grafted ethylene-n-octene copolymer (GEOC) were prepared in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. The reaction between GEOC and PPO/PA11 blend was analyzed by gel content tests. The morphology of PPO/PA11/GEOC blends was observed by scanning electron microscope. The SEM results showed that PPO formed the continuous phase, though it is a minority component of blends. With increasing GEOC content from 5 to 15 wt% the morphology of the blends transformed from droplet-matrix to co-continuous structure, in which both PA11 and PPO phases are continuous. The blend with co-continuous morphology had better… More >

S. Gaidukovs^1,2,*, G. Gaidukova², A. Ivdre^1,3, U. Cabulis³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.7, pp. 755-763, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2018.634112

Abstract This article deals with the study of the viscoelastic and thermal properties of polyurethane (PU) rigid foams from biobased and recycled components. Rapeseed oil (RO) and recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) were used to synthesize PU polyols. Addition of adipic acid (ADA) to polyol resulted in improved thermal and viscoelastic properties of foam materials. ADA content was varied from 1 to 6 wt%. Results of the dynamic mechanical spectra indicate an increase of the storage modulus E′ and the loss modulus E″ in the whole temperature range for specimens with higher loading of ADA. In addition, damping factor shifted to higher… More >

Jose Luis Orellana, Michael Mauhar, Christopher L. Kitchens^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.5, pp. 340-350, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634126

Abstract Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most widely used biodegradable polymers due to the ability to synthesize it economically at industrial scale and its favorable properties for many consumer products. However, the rigid nature of PLA is not desirable for specific applications, requiring the incorporation of effective bioderived additives in order to enhance the PLA toughness and broaden applications. In this work, PLA was modified by graft polymerization of polyacrylic acid (PLA-g-PAA) to increase the hydrophilicity to promote compatibilization of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) or high molecular polyethylene glycol (PEG). CNCs were found to act as a nucleating agent for… More >