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Fibers
Special Issues
Alternative Bio-Based Fibers for Paper, Packaging, Textile and Other Materials
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Alternative Bio-Based Fibers for Paper, Packaging, Textile and Other Materials

A special issue of Fibers (ISSN 2079-6439).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 5525

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Urška Vrabič-Brodnjak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Textiles, Graphic Arts and Design, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: natural fibers; paper fibers; textile fibers; packaging materials; bio-based materials; fiber analysis; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Klemen Možina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering Aškrčeva, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: papaer recycling; primary and secondary cellulose fibers; FTIR; SEM analyses; optical microscopy; invasive plant spisies; viscoelasticity; mechanical-physical properties

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global production of fibers in various industries is a dynamic, vital issue, and current global changes are having a major impact on the development of alternative bio-based fibers to replace existing synthetic materials. There are significant pressures to reduce the use of plastics and related products, mainly in the paper, packaging and textile industries, where possible. Accordingly, there is strong demand for clean, renewable, recyclable, biodegradable products with an alternative solution. Consequently, there is an increasing need to develop new and more sustainable sources for obtaining raw materials, starting from alternative fibers. There are some solutions on the market, but there are still many limitations to overcome, such as stability, efficient amount of raw materials/fibers for industrial production, circularity, price, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the advances in processing methods, alternative polymers, characterization, stability, durability, circularity and future opportunities to overcome the limitations of alternative fibers.

This Special Issue collects new findings and recent advances in the development, structure–activity relationships, applications, limitations, circularity and future solutions of alternative fibers in papermaking, packaging, textile and other material engineering industries.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the latest research regarding mentioned topics and covers all aspects of bio-based and alternative fiber materials at all levels.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Pulp and paper alternative fibers;
  • Fibers and polymeric materials in the papermaking process;
  • Packaging and textile fibers;
  • Other alternative fibers for different manufacturing and material processes;
  • Nanotechnology;
  • Durability, recycling or biodegradation;
  • Circularity of alternative fiber materials;
  • Applications.

Dr. Urška Vrabič-Brodnjak
Dr. Klemen Možina
Guest Editors

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. Fibers is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2000 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

  • alternative bio-based fibers
  • fiber analysis
  • papermaking
  • packaging and textile materials
  • fiber and material analysis
  • stability, circularity and durability of alternative fiber materials
  • processing methods
  • applications

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2919 KiB  
Article
Raman Spectra of Delignified Plant Fibers: Exploring the Impact of Xylan’s Presence on the Spectral Features of Cellulose
by Umesh P. Agarwal and Sally A. Ralph
Fibers 2024, 12(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib12010005 - 27 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1568
Abstract
Wood and plants are made of fibers that contain, in addition to cellulose, lignin and hemicelluloses. Xylan and galactoglucomannan are the dominant secondary cell wall hemicelluloses. In modern times, fibers are important materials for the biorefinery industry and for developing biocomposites. For these [...] Read more.
Wood and plants are made of fibers that contain, in addition to cellulose, lignin and hemicelluloses. Xylan and galactoglucomannan are the dominant secondary cell wall hemicelluloses. In modern times, fibers are important materials for the biorefinery industry and for developing biocomposites. For these and other applications, the structural analysis of fibers is important, and Raman spectroscopy is among the many analytical techniques used. However, given the structural similarity between hemicelluloses and cellulose, many of their Raman contributions overlap, and the extent to which the overlapping features of hemicellulose modify the spectrum of cellulose is not yet fully understood. The present investigation focuses on this aspect by examining xylan, one of the hemicelluloses. As a model system, samples with various mass ratios of cotton microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and xylan (birch wood) were prepared and analyzed using FT-Raman spectroscopy. In most cases, the Raman intensities were sample-composition-dependent, and, when the selected band intensities were plotted against the xylan content, good linear correlations (with an R2 between 0.69 and 1.0) were obtained. The results indicated that with increased xylan content, the peak intensities increased at 1460, 898, and 494 cm−1 and declined at 1480, 1121, 1096, and 520 cm−1. Additionally, intensity changes (%) in the MCC bands with respect to MCC’s fractions in various mixture samples showed that, in most cases, the mixture intensities increased and were highly correlated with the xylan amounts in the mixtures (with an R2 between 0.75 and 0.97). These findings were applied to interpret Raman spectra of selected xylan-containing delignified plant fibers. It is hoped that the insights gained in this study will allow for better interpretation of the spectra of natural and treated plant materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Bio-Based Fibers for Paper, Packaging, Textile and Other Materials)
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18 pages, 15637 KiB  
Article
Improving Recycled Paper Materials through the Incorporation of Hemp, Wood Virgin Cellulose Fibers, and Nanofibers
by Inese Filipova, Laura Andze, Marite Skute, Juris Zoldners, Ilze Irbe and Inga Dabolina
Fibers 2023, 11(12), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib11120101 - 27 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2012
Abstract
A significant increase in the consumption of recycled fiber products has been observed worldwide, and the industry is forced to solve the challenges of recycled fiber quality and add strength agents and/or virgin fibers to reach sufficient properties. In order to investigate whether [...] Read more.
A significant increase in the consumption of recycled fiber products has been observed worldwide, and the industry is forced to solve the challenges of recycled fiber quality and add strength agents and/or virgin fibers to reach sufficient properties. In order to investigate whether the mechanical and air permeability properties of waste fiber (WF) material can be significantly improved by adding wood kraft fibers (KF), hemp soda fibers (HF), and ammonium persulfate oxidated cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), different fiber blends were prepared and tested. Results revealed the excellence of hemp fibers over wood fibers regarding the improvement of WF products. The results of WF after the addition of 10% mixed fibers (KF + HF) were higher than the results of a 50% KF addition. The impact of CNF depended on fiber composition and properties. A formula for modeling the CNF impact on different fiber compositions was proposed. Obtained fiber material samples showed suitability for home composting, thus contributing to the goals of the European Green Deal regarding reducing landfill waste and the development of cleaner products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Bio-Based Fibers for Paper, Packaging, Textile and Other Materials)
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9 pages, 2865 KiB  
Communication
The Natural Growth of CaCO3 Crystals on Hemp Yarns: A Morphology Analysis and the Mechanical Effects on Composites
by Quentin Drouhet, Romain Barbière, Fabienne Touchard, Laurence Chocinski-Arnault and David Mellier
Fibers 2023, 11(10), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/fib11100088 - 20 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1282
Abstract
Plant fibres are promising candidates to replace synthetic fibres in polymer matrix composites. However, there is still an important issue to overcome: the poor quality of adhesion at the fibre/matrix interface. Many surface treatments of plant fibres have been developed, most of them [...] Read more.
Plant fibres are promising candidates to replace synthetic fibres in polymer matrix composites. However, there is still an important issue to overcome: the poor quality of adhesion at the fibre/matrix interface. Many surface treatments of plant fibres have been developed, most of them based on non-environmentally friendly processes. In this paper, a 100% natural treatment is proposed. Hemp yarns are immersed in tap water until the natural growth of limestone beads attached to their surface occurs. The morphology analysis reveals that these calcium carbonate crystals have a nanoneedle architecture, with hemp fibres acting as nucleators for these highly ordered coral-like structures. Tensile tests on ±45° woven hemp/epoxy composites show that the presence of CaCO3 beads improves the adhesion quality of the fibre/matrix interface and, therefore, increases Young’s modulus value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternative Bio-Based Fibers for Paper, Packaging, Textile and Other Materials)
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