Natural Fiber-Based Green Materials

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Fibers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2024 | Viewed by 3041

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, Sweden
Interests: biocomposites; bio-based polymers; natural fiber composites
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue intends to provide a platform for dialogue about the latest innovations in the use of bio-based materials. The continuous development in the field of bio-based materials has resulted in the use of several natural fibers. Research on green materials is currently widespread, which is evident through numerous research undertakings globally resulting in a large number of original publications. In this Special Issue, researchers from both academia and industry are invited to submit their latest studies on natural fiber-based green materials.

The scope of this Special Issue includes research on natural fibers, the production of natural fiber composites, interfacial studies between natural fibers and polymers and the characterization of these fibers and their composites (physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal and morphological properties).

Dr. Sunil Kumar Ramamoorthy
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • jute
  • sisal
  • flax
  • hemp
  • kenaf
  • cellulose

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 5768 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Waste Nicotiana rustica L. (Tobacco) Fiber Having a Potential in Textile and Composite Applications
by Sabih Ovalı
Polymers 2024, 16(8), 1117; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16081117 - 17 Apr 2024
Viewed by 476
Abstract
Nicotiana rustica L. (NRL) is a type of tobacco plant, and its stalk waste is a potential lignocellulosic source for obtaining cellulose fibers freely available in nature. However, they are left in fields after harvesting, and this study provides a green and sustainable [...] Read more.
Nicotiana rustica L. (NRL) is a type of tobacco plant, and its stalk waste is a potential lignocellulosic source for obtaining cellulose fibers freely available in nature. However, they are left in fields after harvesting, and this study provides a green and sustainable method to reuse tobacco waste. Fiber was obtained by retting the plant stalks in water and decomposing them naturally in three weeks. NRL fiber was characterized by comparing it with known bast fibers, and tests were applied to examine its physical, chemical, mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties. With its high cellulose content (56.6 wt%), NRL fiber had a high tensile strength (113.4 MPa) and a good crystallinity index (70%) that helped it to bond with other fibers in the composite matrix. Furthermore, the fiber is an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic fibers with a diameter of 36.88 μm and low density (1.5 g/cm3). The NRL fiber was found to have a semi-crystalline structure and large crystalline size, which makes it hydrophobic. The thermal gravimetric analysis showed that it can be durable (353.9 °C) in higher temperatures than the polymerization temperature. As a result, it can be concluded that NRL fiber has the potential to be used as a reinforcement in polymer composites, technical textiles, and agricultural applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Fiber-Based Green Materials)
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16 pages, 3897 KiB  
Article
Characterisation of Sodium Acetate Treatment on Acacia pennata Natural Fibres
by Kasirajan Rajam Jaya Sheeba, Retnam Krishna Priya, Krishna Prakash Arunachalam, Siva Avudaiappan, Nelson Maureira-Carsalade and Ángel Roco-Videla
Polymers 2023, 15(9), 1996; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15091996 - 23 Apr 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1679
Abstract
The present study concerns the physico-chemical, structural, mechanical and thermal characterization of Acacia pennata, a natural and almost inexpensive fibre, as a potential reinforcement in polymer composites. The effect of treating the fibre with sodium acetate to increase its qualities has been seen [...] Read more.
The present study concerns the physico-chemical, structural, mechanical and thermal characterization of Acacia pennata, a natural and almost inexpensive fibre, as a potential reinforcement in polymer composites. The effect of treating the fibre with sodium acetate to increase its qualities has been seen through the use of thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), mechanical property tester, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). According to XRD analysis, the elimination of lignin and wax-like impurities resulted in an increase in the AP fibre’s crystalline index (79.73%). The fibre’s thermal stability was also discovered to be 365 °C. Tensile strength (557.58 MPa) and elongation at break both increased by 2.9% after treatment with sodium acetate. The surface nature and quality of AP fibres improved after sodium acetate treatment. It was confirmed by the reduction of chemical compositions (such as hemicellulose, lignin and pectin). Given its density, the fibre can be suggested as a reinforcement in polymer composites for light-weight applications because its lightweight property will be more useful for composite manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Fiber-Based Green Materials)
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