M. Khennache^1,*, A. Mahieu¹, M. Ragoubi¹, S. Taibi¹, C. Poilâne², N. Leblanc¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 821-838, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06772

Abstract In France, the use of flax fibers as reinforcement in composite materials is growing exponentially in the automotive sector, thanks to their good physicochemical properties, environmental reasons, health neutrality and due to the European Council Directives on the reuse, recycling and valorization of car components and materials. The aim of our study is to investigate biochemical, physicochemical, and mechanical properties of technical flax fibers to evaluate the impact of transformation processes (scutching, hackling, and homogenization) on final properties of associated composite materials. Different chemical analysis such as Van Soest (biochemical fraction measurement), FTIR (Fourier Transform More >

Wajdi Zouari^1,*, Mustapha Assarar¹, Abderrazak Chilali², Rezak Ayad¹, Hocine Kebir³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 839-853, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06773

Abstract This contribution deals with the development of a three-node triangular plane finite element to analyze the transient hygroscopic behavior of 2/2 twill flax fabric-reinforced epoxy composite. Several plates of this material were fabricated using the vacuum infusion process and composite specimens were then cut and aged in tap water at room temperature until saturation. To simplify, a plane modelling of water diffusion in the aged specimens is adopted and Fick’s model is used to describe the water diffusion kinetics. To highlight the heterogeneity of the flax-epoxy samples, the twill flax fabrics waviness is modelled with More >

Morgan Chabannes^1,2,*, Frédéric Becquart^1,2, Nor-Edine Abriak^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 855-863, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06779

Abstract The return to old building methods by mixing crop by-products with mineral binders is arousing great interest in Europe since about 25 years. The use of these bio-aggregates based materials for the design of building envelopes is a valuable opportunity to deal with increasingly demanding thermal regulations. In addition, the regulatory framework is moving towards reducing the overall car-bon footprint of new buildings. Some traditional and historic buildings are based on timber framing with earth-straw as infill material for instance. Hemp concrete is a bio-based material that can be manually tamped in timber stud walls… More >

Daniel Scida^1,*, Sébastien Alix¹, Stéphane Buet¹, El Hadi Saidane¹, François Courmont^1,2, Karim Behlouli², Rezak Ayad¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 865-875, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06609

Abstract This work aims at studying the effect of hygrothermal and UV cyclic aging on the tensile properties and esthetic characteristics of non-woven composites. The composite materials were thermo-compressed from non-woven mats made up of PP and flax or kenaf fibers. This works included evaluating the change in color appearance and analyzing the variations in tensile properties and damage mechanisms, depending on the aging time. The presence of the UV protection film on the composite surface showed its effectiveness against aging. From visual observations and measurement of colorimetric parameters, it has been proved effective in the More >

Khouloud Cheour^1,*, Mustapha Assarar¹, Daniel Scida¹, Rezak Ayad¹, Xiaolu Gong²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 877-889, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06826

Abstract The aim of this study is to show the interest of the mechanical and dynamical properties of glass-flax hybrid composites. Therefore, various staking sequences of glass-flax hybrid composites were manufactured and tested in free vibrations. The damping coefficients were identified by fitting the experimental responses of free-free bending vibrations. The obtained results show that the staking sequences and the position of flax fiber layers in the hybrid composites changed the properties, so a classification of different stacking sequences was established. In fact, the hybrid laminate made of two glass external layers placed on both sides More >

Fatma Kharrat¹, Rania Chaari¹, Mohamed Khlif¹, Loic Hilliou², José A. Covas², Mohamed Haboussi^3,*, Hedi Nouri¹, Chedly Bradai¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 891-901, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06827

Abstract Biocomposite films prepared with melt compounding and film blowing have become a new trend in plastic research to deliver more eco-friendly packages. Polylactic acid (PLA) was melt compounded with minimally processed date palm leaf fiber (DPLF) and converted into films by blown film extrusion. The compounding was done in order to enhance the film mechanical properties in one hand, and to decrease the film production cost in the other hand. In this present study, a reference PLA film and films with 1%, 2%, and 5% of DPLF (weight %) were produced with different process parameters.… More >

Lepeng Wang¹, Hélène Lenormand^1,*, Hafida Zmamou¹, Nathalie Leblanc¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.9, pp. 903-913, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06788

Abstract Plant aggregate-based building materials are a viable solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing good thermal and acoustic performances. In this study, the investigated lightweight mortars require a hydraulic reaction. Laboratory and on-site empirical observations about plant aggregate-based materials indicate a delay in setting time and a decrease in the mechanical performances of concretes based on plant aggregates. The natural origin of plant-aggregates causes a lot of variability in their properties. Related studies have shown that the incompatibility between plant aggregates and cement is mainly caused by the dissolved and decomposed components of plant… More >

Md. Anwar Hossain^1,2, Lee Hwei Voon^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.8, pp. 731-748, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.04703

Abstract Synthesizing polyol-based ester from biomass feedstocks for the preparation of biolubricant overcomes the dependence on petroleum oil usage. Albeit biomass-derived bio-oil is an alternative for the production of polyol ester, upgrading is essential prior to use as biolubricant. Levulinic acid (LA), obtained from bio-oil was applied for the catalytic esterification with two polyols, e.g., trimethylolpropane (TMP) and pentaerythritol (PE), in the presence of mixed-ligand Ni(II), Co(II), and Fe(II) complexes as catalyst. New mixed-ligand coordination complexes with empirical formula; [Ni(Phe)(Bpy)Cl].H2O, [Co(Phe)(Bpy)Cl].H2O, and [Fe(Phe)(Tyr)Cl].H2O were synthesized by the reaction of ligands [L-phenylalanine (Phe), 4,4'-bipyridine (Bpy), and L-tyrosine More >

Gouni Thirupathiah¹, Sukanya Satapathy¹, Aruna Palanisamy^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.8, pp. 775-785, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.06399

Abstract An acidic cation exchange resin has been used to prepare epoxidised castor oil (ECO) which was used as a co-plasticizer with epoxidised soyabean oil (ESBO) for processing polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The structure of ECO was confirmed and its physico chemical properties were evaluated. PVC/ (ESBO&ECO) blends were prepared by melt mixing and compression molded into sheets. The specimens were evaluated for tensile properties, impact strength and hardness. While the tensile strength did not vary much, the elongation reduced with the replacement of ESBO with ECO. Dynamic mechanical studies revealed that the glass transition temperature increased More >

Changqing Fu^1,2, Jiahui Wang^1,2, Lie Chen^1,2, Liang Shen^1,2,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.8, pp. 795-805, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.07503

Abstract In this paper, a fully bio-based vinyl oligomer with high functionalities was successfully prepared from rapeseed oil by three modification steps: epoxidation of rapeseed oil, solvent-free and catalyst-free ring opening by 10-undecylenic acid followed by esterification with 10-undecenoyl chloride. Then, the renewable polymers were prepared by photo-polymerization of these modified vegetable oils with typical thiol monomers: pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate), pentaerythritol tris (3-mercaptopropionate) and 1,2-ethanedithiol. The synthesis of the vinyl oligomer was monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The average number of the carbon-carbon double bonds of the resulting vinyl oligomer is high… More >