Sri Hidayati^1,*, Eugenia Fonny Budiyanto¹, Hadi Saputra¹, Sutopo Hadi¹, Apri Heri Iswanto^2,3, Nissa Nurfajrin Solihat⁴, Petar Antov⁵, Lee Seng Hua^6,7, Widya Fatriasari^4,8, Mohd. Sapuan Salit⁹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.6, pp. 2865-2879, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.027579 - 27 April 2023

Abstract Black liquor is obtained as a by-product of the pulping process, which is used to convert biomass into pulp by removing lignin, hemicelluloses and other extractives from wood to free cellulose fibers. Lignin represents a major constituent in black liquor, with quantities varying from 20% to 30%, of which a very low share is used for manufacturing value-added products, while the rest is mainly burned for energy purposes, thus underestimating its great potential as a raw material. Therefore, it is essential to establish new isolation and extraction methods to increase lignin valorization in the development… More > Graphic Abstract

Shuang Zhao¹, Shenglan Chen², Shuan Ren¹, Gang Li³, Ke Song^1,4, Jie Guo^1,4, Shima Liu^1,4, Jian He^1,4, Xianwu Zhou^1,4,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.6, pp. 2531-2553, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.026066 - 27 April 2023

Abstract Petroleum-based materials, such as plastic, are characterized by adverse environmental pollution; as a result, researchers have sought alternative degradable plastics that are environmentally friendly, such as polylactic acid (PLA). PLA has shown great potential to replace petroleum-based plastics. In this study, seven different samples of unmodified Pueraria lobata root powder (PRP) with different contents (i.e., 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 wt%) and three different modified PRPs (i.e., treated with NaOH, NaOH-KH-550, and Formic) were used to reinforce polylactic acid (PLA) via solution casting process. These prepared PRP/PLA composite films were characterized using SEM,… More > Graphic Abstract

Muhammad Ghozali^1,2, Yenny Meliana², Widya Fatriasari³, Petar Antov⁴, Mochamad Chalid^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.4, pp. 1963-1976, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.026060 - 01 December 2022

Abstract Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) starch is considered an important renewable, biodegradable, and eco-friendly polymer, which is derived from agricultural by-products and residues, with great potential for the development of biocomposite materials. This research was aimed at investigating the development of TPS biocomposites from A. pinnata palm starch using an extrusion process. Palm starch, glycerol, and stearic acid were extruded in a twin-screw extruder. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of TPS showed that the starch granules were damaged and gelatinized in the extrusion process. The density of TPS was 1.3695 g/mL, lower than that of palm starch, and… More > Graphic Abstract

Chaodong Liu, Yutong Yang, Boyu Cui, Weihong Wang^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.11, pp. 2961-2972, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.019761 - 29 June 2022

Abstract Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is often added to polylactic acid (PLA) matrixes as a reinforcing filler to obtain fully-biodegradable composites with improved mechanical properties. However, the incompatibility between MFC and the PLA matrix limits the mechanical performance of MFC-reinforced PLA composites. In this paper, DL-lactic acid-grafted-MFC (MFC-g-DL) was used to improve the compatibility with PLA. Reinforced composites were prepared by melt extrusion and hot-cold pressing. The tensile strength of the PLA/MFC-g-DL composite increased by 22.1% compared with that of PLA after adding 1% MFC-g-DL. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic thermomechanical analysis (DMA) were… More > Graphic Abstract

Xu Yan¹, Changheng Liu², Liang Qiao¹, Kaili Zhu², Hongsheng Tan^1,*, Shuhua Dong¹, Zhitao Lin¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.4, pp. 1039-1048, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.017239 - 02 November 2021

Abstract The crystallization behavior, crystal morphology and form, and viscoelastic behavior of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and coir fiber/PBS composites (CPB) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results of DSC measurement show that the crystallization temperature increases with the filling of coir fibers. POM images reveal that the spherulitic size and crystallization behavior of PBS are influenced by the coir fibers in the composites. XRD curves show that the crystal form of pure PBS and CPB are remaining almost identical. In addition, the More >

Nataša Knez¹, Mirko Kariž², Friderik Knez¹, Nadir Ayrilmis^3,*, Manja Kitek Kuzman^2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.11, pp. 1883-1895, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.016128 - 04 June 2021

Abstract The effects of selected printing parameters on the fire properties of additively produced composites from neat polylactic acid (PLA) and wood/PLA filaments were investigated. The reaction to fire of the 3D-printed specimens was tested according to the ISO 5660-1 cone calorimeter test method. The results showed that the properties of the specimens when exposed to fire were significantly affected by the incorporation of wood flour into the PLA filament. It was also interesting that PLA specimens had much better reactions to fire than the wood/PLA specimens. Time to ignition was found to be much longer More >

Sudhakar Muniyasamy^1,2,*, Asis Patnaik^3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.10, pp. 1661-1671, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.014904 - 12 May 2021

Abstract Present study deals with the biodegradable behavior of individual components and their preforms of nonwoven biocomposites developed from waste wool fibers including coring wool (CW), dorper wool (DW) and recycled polyester fibers (RPET). A respirometric technique was employed to estimate the production of CO₂ during the biodegradation experiments under soil and aqueous media conditions. Functional groups of test samples before and after biodegradation were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Leaching chemicals such as formaldehyde (hydrolyzed) and Chromium VI (Cr VI) was also measured. The CO₂ emission in wool fibers CW and DW indicated 90%… More >

Achille Gnassiri Wedaïna^1,2, Antonio Pizzi², Wolfgang Nzie¹, Raidandi Danwe³, Noel Konaï^4,*, Siham Amirou², Cesar Segovia⁵, Raphaël Kueny⁵

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.3, pp. 477-493, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.012782 - 14 January 2021

Abstract The Piptadeniastrum Africanum bark tannin extract was characterized using MALDI TOF, ATR-FT MIR. It was used in the development of a resin with Vachellia nilotica extract as a biohardener. This tannin is consisting of Catechin, Quercetin, Chalcone, Gallocatechin, Epigallocatechin gallate, Epicatechin gallate. The gel time of the resin at natural pH (pH = 5.4) is 660 s and its MOE obtained by thermomechanical analysis is 3909 MPa. The tenacity of Urena lobata fibers were tested, woven into unidirectional mats (UD), and used as reinforcement in the development of biocomposite. The fibers tenacity at 20, 30 and 50 mm More >

Zinta Zimele^1,*, Ilze Irbe², Juris Grinins², Oskars Bikovens², Anrijs Verovkins², Diana Bajare¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.9, pp. 1067-1076, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09646 - 03 August 2020

Abstract Novel mycelium-based biocomposites (MBB) were obtained from local agricultural (hemp shives) and forestry (wood chips) by-products which were bounded together with natural growth of fungal mycelium. As a result, hemp mycocomposites (HMC) and wood mycocomposites (WMC) were manufactured. Mechanical, water absorption and biodegradation properties of MBB were investigated. MBB were characterized also by ash content and elemental composition. The results of MBB were compared with the reference materials such as the commercial MBB material manufactured by Ecovative^® Design (EV), hemp magnesium oxychloride concrete (HC) and cemented wood wool panel (CW), manufactured by CEWOOD^®. The mechanical properties… More >

Narsimha Pandi¹, Shirish H. Sonawane^1,*, Sarang P. Gumfekar², Anand Kishore Kola¹, Pramod H. Borse³, Swapnil B. Ambade⁴, Sripadh Guptha¹, Muthupandian Ashokkumar⁵

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.12, pp. 1279-1293, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07609

Abstract The present study deals with the intensified synthesis of starchpolyaniline (starch-PANI) nanocomposite using an ultrasound-assisted method. Starch is a key component in this nanocomposite, which acts as a backbone of the nucleation of PANI. The Electrochemical property of the nanocomposite arises due to the addition of PANI. This is one of green approach for the synthesis of bio nanocomposite using ultrasound. The crystallinity of the composite is evaluated using the Scherrer Formula. The starch-PANI nanocomposite was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, Raman, XPS and TEM. The composite nanoparticles show spherical morphology. The elemental composition of starch-PANI More >