Selma B. Jaconis^1,*, Augusto T. Morita², Paulo L. A. Coutinho³, Suzana Borschiver¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.11, pp. 1221-1230, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00025 - 14 July 2021

Abstract In recent years environmental and sustainability concerns have impacted the global chemical industry and instituted a rush to produce products from renewable raw materials. This dynamic, complex and turbulent organizational scenario, around themes touching on the issue of sustainable development model, was created involving a large number of different actors: chemical/petrochemical industries, agroindustry companies, oil/gas companies, brand owners and end users, biotechnology startups, governments, universities and society. This paper proposed the application of a structured and dynamic method of technological prediction for biopolymers in three levels: systematic monitoring process, relational database and the “alive” Technology More >

Silvia Helena Fuentes da Silva¹, Patricia Soares Bilhalva dos Santos², Darci Alberto Gatto³, Maria Angeles Andres¹, Itziar Egüés^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.6, pp. 527-534, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.04291

Abstract Kraft lignin was liquefied using polyethylene glycol #400 (PEG) and glycerol (G) in a weight ratio of 80/20 (w/w) and sulphuric acid (SA) as catalyst under atmospheric pressure at 160ºC. The three independent variables: reaction time (60, 80 and 100 min), percentage of lignin (15, 20 and 25%, w/w), and catalyst concentration (0, 3 and 6%, w/w), were varied resulting in 27 experimental runs. The effect of these reaction conditions on the properties of the polyols was evaluated. The statistical analysis showed that only “the percentage of lignin” did not influence the properties of the More >

E. M. Ciannamea^1,*, L. A. Castillo^2,3, R. A. Ruseckaite¹, S. E. Barbosa^2,3

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.1, pp. 21-30, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.00043

Abstract Blends of gelatin (Ge) plasticized with varying amounts of glycerol (Gly), buffer solution pH 10 and epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) to enhance hydrophobicity were prepared by mixing and injection-molding. Blends were characterized by rheological tests and microscopy to select optimal conditions for scaling up their processing. The effect of each component on rheological response was analyzed using parallel plate geometry. Coating of gelatin specimens with PDMS during rheological tests led to reliable and reproducible results since water evaporation was prevented. A gradual increment in ESO concentration led to blends with increased degree of phase separation, 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 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, More >

Zijian Chen¹, Rui Hou, Jianbing Cheng, Fengjie Fang, Donglin Tang^*, Guangzhao Zhang

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.6, pp. 584-590, 2018, DOI:10.32604/JRM.2018.00120

Abstract Biobased urea nowadays attracts increasing attention as a biomass resource with giant potential, which benefits from the development of biobased ammonia and ecological sanitation system. Urea is an ideal feedstock for chemical industry and developing new urea-based pol ymer materials can take advantage of the urea resource. In this work, a class of renewable linear polyesters, nam ely polyisocyanuratoesters (PICEs) were synthesized from a urea-based monomer bis(2-carbomethoxyethyl) isocyanurate and biobased aliphatic diols. Compared with conventional aliphatic polyesters, PICEs containing isocyanurate rings in the polymer chain backbone exhibit outstanding flame retardancy that both PICE-4 (the number More >

Claudio Gioia*, Maria Barbara Banella, Grazia Totaro, Micaela Vannini, Paola Marchese, Martino Colonna, Laura Sisti, Annamaria Celli

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.1, pp. 126-135, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634191

Abstract New fully biobased polyether/esters have been synthesized by a one-pot polymerization reaction of ricinoleic acid (RA), vanillic acid (VA) and ethylene carbonate (EC). In particular, EC selectively reacts with the phenolic group of VA to obtain in-situ 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-3-methoxybenzoate (EV), suitable for subsequent copolymerization with RA. The procedure was carried out in a single step, without any solvent. Chemical structure and thermal properties of the new materials were studied in order to explore relationships between composition and final performances. The combination of EV, bearing a rigid aromatic structure, with RA, characterized by high flexibility and potential More >

S.H. Hassan^1,2, Lee Hwei Voon^1*, T.S. Velayutham^2*, Lindong Zhai³, Hyun Chan Kim³, Jaehwan Kim³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.1, pp. 1-25, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634173

Abstract Cellulose is a renewable biomass material and natural polymer which is abundantly available on Earth, and includes agricultural wastes, forestry residues, and woody materials. The excellent and smart characteristics of cellulose materials, such as lightweight, biocompatibility, biodegradability, high mechanical strength/stiffness and low thermal expansibility, have made cellulose a high-potential material for various industry applications. Cellulose has recently been discovered as a smart material in the electroactive polymers family which carries the name of cellulose-based electroactive paper (EAPap). The shear piezoelectricity in cellulose polymers is able to induce large displacement output, low actuation voltage, and low… More >

M. Čekon^*, K. Struhala, R. Slávik

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, Suppl.1, pp. 84-93, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634135

Abstract Cardboard-based packaging components represent a material that has significant potential as a renewable source for exploitation in buildings. This study presents the results of thermal and environmental analyses of existing packaging materials compared with standard conventional thermal insulations.
Experimental measurements were performed to identify the thermal performance of studied cardboard packaging materials. Real-size samples were experimentally tested in laboratory measurements. The thermal resistance and conductivity of all the analyzed samples were measured according to the procedure indicated in the ISO8032 standard. A life-cycle assessment according to ISO 14040 was also performed to evaluate the environmental More >

Małgorzata Wyciszkiewicz, Agnieszka Saeid^*, Katarzyna Chojnacka

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, Suppl.1, pp. 39-52, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634132

Abstract The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of using B. megaterium in solubilization of phosphates from different secondary raw materials, such as fish bones, poultry bones, ashes and phosphorite, by identification of the effect of different doses of phosphorus-bearing materials on the growth of microbial cells and the effectiveness of the solubilization process. Both FTIR as well as SEM-EDX techniques were used to compare the effect of the acids on renewable phosphorus source. Two doses of mentioned materials were used: 2 and 30 g/L. The effect of solubilization was expressed as the solubilization More >