Mfiso Emmanuel Mngomezulu¹, Adriaan Stephanus Luyt², Steve Anthony Chapple³, Maya Jacob John^3,4*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.1, pp. 26-37, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634140

Abstract This work reports on the effect of commercial expandable graphite (EG) on the flammability and thermal decomposition properties of PLA-starch blend. The PLA-starch/EG composites were prepared by melt-mixing and their thermal stability, volatile pyrolysis products and flammability characteristics were investigated. The char residues of the composites, after combustion in a cone calorimeter, were analyzed with environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The thermal decomposition stability of the composites improved in the presence of EG. However, the char content was less than expected as per the combination of the wt% EG added into PLA-starch and the % residue of PLA-starch. The flammability… 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 power consumption in the application… More >

Weijun Yang^1†, Xiaomin Zhao^2†, Elena Fortunati¹, Franco Dominici¹, Jose M. Kenny¹, Debora Puglia^1*, De-Yi Wang^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 423-434, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634146

Abstract Presented herein is a deep investigation of the fire, mechanical and thermal performances of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposites, which were obtained by combining cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with various contents of N,N’-diallyl-phenylphosphoricdiamide (P-AA) via a two-steps masterbatch melt extrusion process (glycidyl methacrylate grafting on PLA and CNC premixing with PLA). Results have shown that the value of the limiting oxygen index (LOI) increased to 28.8% and a V-0 rating in UL94 test was obtained when 2 wt% of P-AA was added in the presence of cellulose nanocrystals (3 wt%). The incorporation of CNC induced a decrease of both PHRR and THR… More >

Liqing Wei¹, Shupin Luo², Armando G. McDonald², Umesh P. Agarwal¹, Kolby C. Hirth¹, Laurent M. Matuana³, Ronald C. Sabo^1* , Nicole M. Stark^1*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 410-422, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634144

Abstract Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are renewable and sustainable filler for polymeric nanocomposites. However, their high hydrophilicity limits their use with hydrophobic polymer for composite materials. In this study, freeze-dried CNCs were modified by transesterification with canola oil fatty acid methyl ester to reduce the hydrophilicity. The transesterified CNCs (CNCFE) were compounded with PLA into nanocomposites. CNCFE with long-chain hydrocarbons plays a role as plasticizer. Increasing CNCFE loadings resulted in clear plasticizing effects. Lower Tg and Tm were achieved for CNCFE-based nanocomposites. Plasticizing nanocomposite melt with CNCFE can mitigate the degradation of CNCs during thermal processing. The elongation at break of nanocomposites… More >

Poonam Trivedi¹, Jens Schaller², Jan Gustafsson¹, Pedro Fardim^1,3*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 400-409, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634143

Abstract In the present study, we report the supramolecular design of cellulose-sulfonate hydrogel beads by blending water soluble sodium cellulose ethyl sulfonate (CES) with the pretreated cellulose in sodium hydroxide-ureawater solvent system at −6 °C followed by coagulation in the 2M sulfuric acid system. The increasing of CES amount from 10% to 90% had a substantial effect on the viscosity and storage (G′) and loss (G″) moduli of the blended solutions. The CES concentration up to 50% in blends led to the formation of physically stable hydrogels after coagulation in acidic medium at pH-1 and showed the retention of nearly the… More >

F. J. Santiago-Medina¹, A. Pizzi^{1, 2*}, M. C. Basso¹, L. Delmotte³, S. Abdalla²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 388-399, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634142

Abstract The reaction of a desulphurized kraft lignin with hexamethylene diamine as a model of a polyamine has been investigated. For this purpose, guaiacol was also used as a lignin model compound and treated under similar conditions. Solid state CP-MAS 13C NMR, FTIR and MALDI-TOF spectroscopy studies revealed that polycondensation compounds leading to resins were obtained by the reaction of the amines with the phenolic and aliphatic hydroxy groups of lignin. Simultaneously a second reaction leading to the formation of ionic bonds between the same groups occurred. These new reactions have been clearly shown to involve several phenolic and alcohol hydroxyl… More >

N. A. Sri Aprilia¹, M. S. Nurul Atiqah², Zhari Ismail³, C. Y. Loo², Chaturbhuj K. Saurabh², Rudi Dungani⁴, Abdul Khalil H.P.S^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 380-387, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634130

Abstract Due to environmental concerns, green composites have become a highly researched material. In the present study, kenaf fiber was used as reinforcement in epoxy-based composite with weight fraction ranges from 0, 5, 10, and 15% (w/w of resin). The ratio of epoxy to hardener was 65:32.5. Prior to incorporation, kenaf bast fiber underwent Soda-AQ pulping followed by total chlorine-free bleaching (OAZP sequence). The obtained pulp was then subjected to supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SCE) treatment. It was observed that epoxy composite with 10% of fiber loading demonstrated the highest mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 64 MPa, tensile modulus… More >

Arun Kumar Pradhan^1,2*, Prafulla Kumar Sahoo¹, Pradeep Kumar Rana²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 371-379, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634129

Abstract Chitosan grafted with poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) and adsorbed with kaolin functionalized as bioadhesive was prepared via emulsion polymerization technique and physiochemically characterized as a bone-graft substitute. The so prepared grafted bioactive bone cement (BBC) bionanocomposites (BNCs), chitosan-g-PMMA/kaolin, was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The water uptake, retention ability and the nanosize particle arrangement in the polymeric BBC-BNCs were studied along with the mechanical and biodegradation properties. These preliminary investigations of the BNCs will open the door for their use in bioadhesive bone-cement implants in the future. More >

M. Purushothaman^†,1, P. Santhana Gopala Krishnan^1,2*, S. K. Nayak^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 363-370, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634128

Abstract In the present work, the hydrophilicity and thermal behavior of nanocomposites of poly(butyl lactate methacrylate) were investigated using different weight percent of sepiolite. These nanocomposites were prepared by solution casting method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicated that the increase in sepiolite content decreased the average molecular interchain spacing () values from 7.18 to 6.23 Å in nanocomposites. Apart from the amorphous halo peak of nanocomposites, the appearance of crystalline peak at 7.41° was due to the d110 plane of sepiolite. Surface morphology of nanocomposites was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques and the uniform… More >

E. M. Ciannamea, D. C. Marin, R. A. Ruseckaite, P. M. Stefani^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 357-362, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634125

Abstract In the development of materials based on renewable resources, the search for lignocellulosic substitutes for wood is one of the biggest challenges that academia and the particleboard and wood industries are facing. In this article, particleboards were processed using rice husk, an agricultural waste, as a substitute for wood. Rice husk without any further treatment was processed into particleboards using phenol-formaldehyde resin as binder. The effect of the processing parameters, pressure and binder content (BC) on the density, water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TS), modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) was analyzed. The performance of the obtained… More >