Noé Navarro-Guajardo¹, Edgar Miguel García-Carrillo², Carlos Espinoza-González^2,*, Rubén Téllez-Zablah¹, Fátima Dávila-Hernández², Jorge Romero-García², Antonio Ledezma-Pérez²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.3, pp. 226-236, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634164

Abstract Efforts to improve crop yields with efficient use of fertilizers are needed to guarantee global food security. Enhanced slow-release fertilizer systems (SRFs) encapsulated in biodegradable matrices are being developed to address this global concern. From a wide range of strategies for SRFs development, we explored a nature-inspired solution based on the plant cuticle model and its function as a membrane for water and nutrient transport control. Here, Candelilla wax, extracted from Candelilla wild plants (Euphorbia antisyphilitica), is studied as a renewable slow-release matrix for fertilizers encapsulated by a modified spray chilling process. From this process, microencapsulates containing 40 wt% of… More >

Hilary Ureña-Saborío^1*, Sergio Madrigal-Carballo¹, Jorge Sandoval², José R. Vega-Baudrit³, Alejandro Rodríguez-Morales²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 290-299, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634119

Abstract Currently there is a trend towards reducing the use of agrochemicals in developing countries. However, they are still being applied intensively in tropical countries. Thus, there is a trend towards developing new products based on natural chemicals for pest control, leading to second-generation pesticides incorporating nano- and biotechnologies. Costa Rica is one of the largest producers of bananas in the world. One of the most important pests of banana and plantain crops is the burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis (Cobb) Thorne. Highly toxic chemical compounds have traditionally been used to control this specific pest in banana plants, which can have dangerous… More >

M.A. Pérez-Limiñana^*, M.M. Sánchez-Navarro, M.J. Escoto-Palacios, F. Arán-Aís, C. Orgilés-Barceló

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 3-8, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634119

Abstract The tanning i ndustry generates very large quantities of industrial wastes. The advancement of European policy and legislation protecting the environment has prompted the transformation of tannery solid waste materials into valuable co-products, useful to be recycled or employed in other industries. The objective of this work is to obtain gelatine from tannery wastes, in order to reuse it as natural microencapsulating agent in the production of active materials with functional properties. Concretely, this paper focuses on the influence of the extraction temperature on gelatine properties and its microencapsulating ability. An alternative enzymatic pre-treatment to the conventional alkaline one is… More >

Carole Planchette¹, Elise Lorenceau¹, Günter Brenn²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.7, No.3, pp. 279-302, 2011, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2011.007.279

Abstract This work is dedicated to a general description of collisions between two drops of immiscible liquids. Our approach is mainly experimental and allows us to describe the outcomes of such collisions according to a set of relevant parameters. Varying the relative velocity U as well as the impact parameter X we can build for each pair of investigated liquids a nomogram X,U showing three possible regimes: coalescence, head-on separation and off-center separation. In this paper, we also study the influence of the liquid properties, i.e. viscosity, density, surface and interfacial tensions using a set of aqueous glycerol solutions together with… More >