Neeraj Dubey¹, Geeta Agnihotri¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.45, No.1, pp. 39-56, 2015, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2015.045.039

Abstract In this paper, midrib of coconut palm leaves (MCL) was investigated for the purpose of development of natural fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites. A new natural fiber composite as MCL/polyester is developed by the hand lay-up method, and the material and mechanical properties of the fiber, matrix and composite materials were evaluated. The effect of fiber content on the tensile, flexural, impact, compressive strength and heat distortion temperature (HDT) was investigated. It was found that the MCL fiber had the maximum tensile strength, tensile modulus flexural strength, flexural modulus and Izod impact strength of 177.5MPa, More >

D. Puglia^*, R. Petrucci, E. Fortunati, F. Luzi, J.M. Kenny, L. Torre

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 66-76, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634134

Abstract Posidonia Oceanica waste was used as reinforcement in a polyethylene matrix and the obtained composites were characterised by a tensile test and morphological analysis. The fi brous material derived from P. Oceanica wastes was characterised by morphological, thermal and chemical analysis, and a subsequent treatment with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at different weight content (2, 5 and 10 wt%) was considered as an optimised method for surface modifi cation of pristine fi bres (PO). The TGA analysis and morphological investigation of the treated fi bres selected the 5 wt% of NaOH as the best treatment. Matrix compatibilisation with More >

A. Terenzi¹, A. Iannoni¹, L. Torre¹, A. Jiménez^2,*, J.M. Kenny¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 42-51, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634101

Abstract The development of new nano-biocomposites has been one of the main research areas of interest in polymer science in recent years, since they can combine the intrinsic biodegradable nature of matrices with the ability to modify their properties by the addition of selected nano-reinforcements. In this work, the addition of mineral nanoclays (montmorillonites and sepiolites) to a commercial starch-based matrix is proposed. A complete study on their processing by melt-intercalation techniques and further evaluation of the main properties of nano-biocomposites has been carried out. The results reported show an important infl uence of the nano-biocomposites… More >

Rosana Moriana^1,2,*, Emma Strömberg¹, Amparo Ribes², Sigbritt Karlsson^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 145-156, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634103

Abstract The purpose of this work was to study the effect of hydrothermal, biological and photo degradation on natural fi bres reinforced biodegradable starch-based (Mater-BiKE) composites to characterize the structural changes occurring under exposure to different environments. The composites water-uptake rate was hindered by the interfacial interactions between matrix and fi bres. Thermal, structural and morphological analysis provided useful information about the irreversible changes in the properties of the composites caused by degradation in soil and photodegradation, and their synergetic effects. The effects due to the photo-oxidation and degradation in soil on the composites depended on… More >

Marta Martínez-Sanz, Amparo López-Rubio, Maria José Fabra, José M. Lagaron^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 107-117, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634106

Abstract Due to their high crystallinity and aspect ratio, bacterial cellulose nanowhiskers (BCNW) represent an appealing choice for the development of fully biobased nanocomposite materials with high barrier performance. However, their strong tendency to self-associate, together with their highly hydrophilic character, has restricted the production of nanocomposites containing cellulose nanowhiskers by industrial processing techniques such as melt compounding. Th is article presents an overview of the latest published results carried out within our group and also in other relevant literature, which have led to the development of an effi cient strategy for the incorporation of highly… More >

V. K. Srivastava¹, A. Pizzi^2,3,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 201-206, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634107

Abstract Fine wood powder/furanic foams were prepared with a strong predominance of the wood component. Low weight and density are important properties of foamed composites. Focusing on preparing light materials, wood foam composites were made using a chemical foaming method and expanded using diethyl ether as the foaming agent. The additives were added to note their effect on the density and mechanical properties, like impact strength and Young’s moduli, of the expanded composites. Various tests and scanning electron microscopy analysis were also performed. The foaming agent resulted in closed cells with varied sizes and more or More >

A. Sauget^1,*, X. Zhou¹, A. Pizzi^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 173-181, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634128

Abstract Tannin-resorcinol-formaldehyde (TRF) resin shows a good compatibility with natural fl ax fi bers and yields composite materials of good mechanical properties when using paraformaldehyde as a hardener. Different formulations, curing parameters and processes such as high-temperature curing in press or spray-drying have been explored in order to adapt this resin to composite manufacturing and to improve the properties of this new material. Additional testing has been performed on the TRF resin by thermomechanical analysis to observe its reactivity at different pH and with the use of different hardeners. More >

Richard C. Ferguson, Sharathkumar K. Mendon, James W. Rawlins^*, Shelby F. Thames

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 166-172, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634133

Abstract Commercial particleboards are currently synthesized by blending wood furnish with formaldehyde-based resins and curing them under a combination of heat and pressure. Particleboards manufactured with urea-formaldehyde resin are known to liberate formaldehyde during their service lives. Formaldehyde’s carcinogenicity has prompted the search for environmentally-friendly resins for wood composite manufacture. Soybean protein-based adhesives have been developed as a renewable and formaldehyde-free replacement for urea-formaldehyde resins. Particleboards processed using the soybean protein adhesive matched or exceeded performance criteria of M-2-grade commercial particleboards when evaluated as per American National Standards Institute (ANSI) specifi cations. More >

Aimé S. Fotso Talla^1,2,*, Fouad Erchiqui^1,2, Duygu Kocaefe¹, Hamid Kaddami³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.4, pp. 285-290, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634122

Abstract The properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) reinforced with 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20% (w/w) alkaline-treated hemp fi bers were investigated following a series of processing stages. The fi ber concentration signifi cantly impacts the compounding process, yielding thermostable composites below 300°C. Their elastic moduli varied logarithmically with fi ber concentration, and were increased by up to 20% with respect to the nonreinforced formulation. Such reinforcement was, however, followed by a drastic decrease in the elongation at break, from more than 20 mm for the unreinforced PET to as low as 2.5 mm. Other properties More >

Antti Ojala^1,*, Lisa Wikström¹, Kalle Nättinen², Jani Lehmonen³, Karita Kinnunen-Raudaskoski⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.4, pp. 278-284, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634126

Abstract This article presents a new method of producing thermomoldable nonwoven materials based on kraft lignin (KL) and softwood kraft pulp (KP). A mixture of starch acetate (SA) and triethyl citrate (TEC) was used as a water insoluble plasticizer for KL. The thermoplastic lignin (TPL) material with the optimized ratio of KL, SA and TEC was prepared in a twin-screw extruder. The TPL compound was ground and mixed with KP fi bers to produce thermoformable sheets using foam-laid technology. The formed webs were compression molded (CM) into plates and mechanically tested. The foam-laid composites had tensile More >