Che Engku Noramalina Che Engku Chik¹, Amyra Suryatie Kamaruzzan¹, Ahmad Ideris Abdul Rahim¹, Fathurrahman Lananan^2,3, Azizah Endut⁴, Siti Aslamyah⁵, Nor Azman Kasan^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.3, pp. 1181-1197, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.022755 - 31 October 2022

Abstract Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide, produced mainly as an industrial waste stream during crustacean processing. Chitin can be derived into chitosan through the deacetylation process. Conversion of shrimp waste into chitosan via the deacetylation process could be considered a practical approach for shell waste remediation. In this study, chitosan’s physicochemical characteristics extracted from two types of Pacific white leg shrimp, L. vannamei’s shell (i.e., rough and smooth), were compared with commercial chitosan. The yield, moisture, ash, solubility, water and fat binding capacity were measured. The degree of deacetylation (DDA) was calculated using FTIR, and… More > Graphic Abstract

Vikas Gulia, Anirban Sur^*

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.18, pp. 1-10, 2022, DOI:10.5098/hmt.18.40

Abstract Over the past few decades, the world is moving towards miniature products owing to the technological developments in variegated industrial domains such as aerospace, biomedical, electronics, etc. This has led to the exponential growth of efficient micro cooling systems which are light in weight and have effective thermal performance. Microchannel Heat Sinks and Microchannel Heat Exchangers are the widely adopted solutions for such efficient micro cooling systems. This paper comprehensively reviews the recent developments in the field of Microchannel Heat Sinks and Microchannel Heat Exchangers. Initially, the concept of microchannel cooling is discussed. Further, a More >

Diako Khodaei¹, Mohammad Nejatian^2,*, Hassan Ahmadi Gavlighi², Farhad Garavand^3,*, Ilaria Cacciotti⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.11, pp. 2805-2817, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.021752 - 29 June 2022

Abstract The seeds from bitter orange, the by-product of juice making units, hold the potential to facilitate novel, easy yet high-quality pectin extraction. To test this hypothesis, orange seed pectin (OSP) was extracted by distilled water and its compositional parameters and rheological behavior were then evaluated. Results showed that galacturonic acid was the major component of OSP (∼425 mg/g) confirming the purity of the extracted pectin, followed by glucose and some minor neutral sugars. The Mw (weight-average molar mass), Rn (number average molar mass), and Rz (z-average molar mass) values for the OSP were 4511.8 kDa,… More > Graphic Abstract

Yongjie Zheng^1,2,3,*, Mingjian Xu¹, Jingzhi Tian¹, Meihong Yu¹, Bin Tan⁴, Hong Zhao^2,3,*, Yin Tang^2,3

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.11, pp. 2949-2959, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.019702 - 29 June 2022

Abstract Fully bio-based and biodegradable starch/polylactic acid blends have received increasing attentions for their biodegradability and potential to offset the use of unsustainable fossil resources, specifically, their application in packaging. Herein, corn starch was first esterified with maleic anhydride and then compounded with polylactide (PLA) to prepare esterified corn starch/polylactic acid blends with starch content up to 35 wt%. The structures, morphologies, thermal and mechanical properties of starch or blends were investigated. The results showed that corn starch was successfully grafted with maleic anhydride, which showed increased crystallinity and particle size than native starch. Esterified corn More >

Mahmood Hameed Majeed^*, Nabeel Kadhem Abd Alsaheb

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.9, pp. 2391-2408, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.019887 - 30 May 2022

Abstract Tissue engineering’s main goal is to regenerate or replace tissues or organs that have been destroyed by disease, injury, or congenital disabilities. Tissue engineering now uses artificial supporting structures called scaffolds to restore damaged tissues and organs. These are utilized to attach the right cells and then grow them. Rapid prototyping appears to be the most promising technology due to its high level of precision and control. Bone tissue replacement “scaffolding” is a common theme discussed in this article. The fused deposition technique was used to construct our scaffold, and a polymer called polylactic acids… More > Graphic Abstract

Taofeeq D. Moshood, Gusman Nawanir, Fatimah Mahmud^*, Fazeeda Mohamad, Mohd Hanafiah Ahmad, Airin AbdulGhani

Energy Engineering, Vol.119, No.4, pp. 1611-1647, 2022, DOI:10.32604/ee.2022.019028 - 23 May 2022

Abstract This study examines the literature on bio-based and biodegradable plastics published between 2000 and 2021 and provides insights and research suggestions for the future. The study gathers data from the Scopus and ISI Web of Science databases, then picks 1042 publications objectively and analyses their metadata. Furthermore, 144 papers from the Web of Science are analysed to present insights and classifications of the literature based on content analyses, including assessment/evaluation of the sustainability of bio-based and biodegradable Plastics, sustainability of biodegradable Plastics, and factors driving the uptake of biodegradable plastics. The study finds that most… More >

Bingyu Jian^1,2, Ke Cheng³, Haitao Li^1,2,*, Mahmud Ashraf^2,4, Xiaoyan Zheng^1,2, Assima Dauletbek^1,2, Mahdi Hosseini^1,2, Rodolfo Lorenzo⁵, Ileana Corbi⁶, Ottavia Corbi⁶, Kun Zhou⁷

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.8, pp. 2073-2098, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.021983 - 25 April 2022

Abstract Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) has been used in the construction industry because of its advantages such as high strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, low density and high elasticity. This paper presents a review of bonding techniques adopted to strengthen timber beams using FRP to achieve larger spans. Different methods of bonding between FRP and timber beams have been summarized with a focus on the influencing factors and their effects as well as relevant bond-slip models proposed for fundamental understanding. Experimental investigations to evaluate the flexural performance of timber beams strengthened by FRP bars, sheets and More > Graphic Abstract

ZHIHUI HUANG¹, JIAMIAO CHEN¹, YANPING HUO¹, JINGWEI ZHAO²

Journal of Polymer Materials, Vol.38, No.3-4, pp. 257-269, 2021, DOI:10.32381/JPM.2021.38.3-4.7

Abstract The effect of the ether/keto ratios on the thermal properties, mechanical performances and crystallization behavior of the Poly(aryl ether ketone)s (PAEK) were investigated. A formula was proposed the estimate the melting temperatures of the PAEKs with high accuracy. Glass transition temperatures were affected by the ether/keto ratios and molecular weights, and were related with the brittle-tough transition of the PAEKs. Mechanical performances of tensile, impact, flexural and compressive strength decreased with the increase of ether/keto ratios, while elongation had a trend of increase. The non-isothermal crystallization curves exhibited well linearity when treated with Jeziorny’s model, More >

Magdalini Ntetsika, Panayiotis Papadopoulos^*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.129, No.3, pp. 1243-1258, 2021, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2021.017404 - 25 November 2021

Abstract A new and computationally efficient version of the immersed boundary method, which is combined with the coarse-graining method, is introduced for modeling inextensible filaments immersed in low-Reynolds number flows. This is used to represent actin biopolymers, which are constituent elements of the cytoskeleton, a complex network-like structure that plays a fundamental role in shape morphology. An extension of the traditional immersed boundary method to include a stochastic stress tensor is also proposed in order to model the thermal fluctuations in the fluid at smaller scales. By way of validation, the response of a single, massless, More >

Jiaqian Lei, Yaojun Zhang^*, Panyang He

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.9, No.12, pp. 2277-2289, 2021, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2021.015824 - 22 June 2021

Abstract Geopolymers have been developed to various catalysts due to their advantages. However, low conductivity restricts their application in the electrocatalysis field. In this study, an α-Fe₂O₃/circulating fluidized bed fly ash based geopolymer (CFAG) composite anode was fabricated using a facile dip-coating method by loading α-Fe₂O₃ in the matrix of CFAG. The effects of α-Fe₂O₃ content on the composition, surface morphology and electrochemical performance of α-Fe₂O₃/CFAG composite anode were investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) results demonstrated that α-Fe₂O₃ was successfully inlaid with the surface of amorphous CFAG matrix. The electrochemical measurements indicated that α-Fe₂O₃/CFAG More > Graphic Abstract