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Environmentally-Friendly Biodegradable Polymer-Based Composites

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2023) | Viewed by 4201

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Istituto per i Polimeri, Compositi e Biomateriali, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Pozzuoli, NA, Italy
Interests: polymers; composites; blends; phase transitions; heat transfer; microstructure; morphology; optical and thermal properties; Interface
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Guest Editor Assistant
Scientific Research, Department of Education, Psychology and Communication, Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples (NA), Naples 80135, Italy
Interests: extraction of natural fibers from biomass and their utilization in green materials; micropropagation and regeneration of species of agricultural interest from differentiated explants and undifferentiated tissues; extraction and analysis of metabolites produced in plants under biotic or abiotic stress; recognition of the main pathogenic fungal species of legumes and cereals; fungal growth and reproduction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ecological issues compel limited production of durable plastics and their replacement with low-impact materials. Offering a remedy to plastic pollution and waste disposal difficulties, biodegradable macromolecules and their composites are desirable candidates for a broad range of applications, from packaging to medical, agricultural, and many others.

This Special Issue aims to highlight innovative evolutions of biodegradable materials. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Advances in synthesis, preparation, and processing of sustainable biopolymers and biocomposites;
  • Characterization, properties, and potentiality of novel biodegradable polymers and composites;
  • Research on biodegradability under various conditions and environments.

Dr. Maria Raimo
Guest Editor

Dr. Elvira Lotti
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • bio-based polymers and composites
  • biomaterials
  • bacterial polymers
  • natural fibers
  • cellulosic material
  • matrix-fiber adhesion
  • biodegradability
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5924 KiB  
Article
The Mechanical Properties Prediction of Poly [(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-hydroxyvalerate)] (PHBV) Biocomposites on a Chosen Example
by Grzegorz Janowski, Wiesław Frącz and Łukasz Bąk
Materials 2022, 15(21), 7531; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15217531 - 27 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1085
Abstract
This paper aims to experimentally determine the properties of the poly [(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-hydroxyvalerate)]—(PHBV)—30% hemp fiber biocomposite, which is important in terms of numerical simulations of product manufacturing, and to evaluate the mechanical properties by means of micromechanical modeling. The biocomposite was manufactured using a [...] Read more.
This paper aims to experimentally determine the properties of the poly [(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-hydroxyvalerate)]—(PHBV)—30% hemp fiber biocomposite, which is important in terms of numerical simulations of product manufacturing, and to evaluate the mechanical properties by means of micromechanical modeling. The biocomposite was manufactured using a single-screw extruder. Specimens for testing were produced by applying the injection molding technology. Utilizing the simulation results of the plastic flow, carried out by the Moldflow Insight 2016 commercial software and the results of experimental tests, the forecasts of selected composite mechanical properties were performed by means of both numerical and analytical homogenization methods. For this purpose, the Digimat software was applied. The necessary experimental data to perform the calculations for the polymer matrix, fibers, and the biocomposite were obtained by rheological and thermal studies as well as elementary mechanical tests. In the paper, the method of determining selected properties of the biocomposite and the method of forecasting its other properties are discussed. It shows the dependence of the predicted, selected properties of the biocomposite on the filler geometry assumed in the calculations and the homogenization method adopted for the calculations. The results of the work allow for the prediction of properties of the PHBV biocomposites—hemp fiber for any amount of filler used. Moreover, the results allow for the estimation of the usefulness of homogenization methods for the prediction of properties of the PHBV-hemp fiber biocomposites. Furthermore, it was found that for the developed and tested biocomposites, the most effective possibility of mechanical properties prediction is using the Mori-Tanaka homogenization model, which unfortunately has some limitations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally-Friendly Biodegradable Polymer-Based Composites)
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17 pages, 3399 KiB  
Article
Preference Index of Sustainable Natural Fibers in Stone Matrix Asphalt Mixture Using Waste Marble
by Sandeep Singh, Mohammad Iqbal Khairandish, Mustafa Musleh Razahi, Raman Kumar, Jasgurpreet Singh Chohan, Aditya Tiwary, Shubham Sharma, Changhe Li, R. A. Ilyas, M. R. M. Asyraf and S. Z. S. Zakaria
Materials 2022, 15(8), 2729; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15082729 - 7 Apr 2022
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 2517
Abstract
The present study investigates the preference index of natural fibers such as sisal, coir, and rice straw fibers in stone matrix asphalt mixtures (SMA), using waste marble as filler. Waste marble was used as the filler in asphalt mixtures and was crushed by [...] Read more.
The present study investigates the preference index of natural fibers such as sisal, coir, and rice straw fibers in stone matrix asphalt mixtures (SMA), using waste marble as filler. Waste marble was used as the filler in asphalt mixtures and was crushed by abrasion machine and sieved according to SMA filler requirements. The SEM topography and EDS analysis of sisal, coir, and rice straw fibers were also carried out. The Marshall test was conducted, which is the most acceptable, cost-effective, and widely adopted method to estimate the optimum bitumen and to examine several Marshall Measures, such as flow value, voids filled with bitumen (VFB), stability, voids in mineral aggregate (VMA), and air voids (VA). Furthermore, tests were performed on the specimen with the optimum amount of bitumen, different percentages of fibers, and waste marble as filler to calculate drain down, moister sensitivity, and Marshall Stability. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques were implemented to obtain subjective and objective weights, which were further used to compute the values of the preference index of natural fiber contents. The outcomes revealed favorable results for the usage of marble dust as filler in Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA). In addition, the preference index upshots are inclined toward the usage of rice straw over coir followed by sisal fiber. It was observed that the value of the preference index in rice straw at 0.3 varied from 0.918, 0.925, and 0.931 in rice straw using equal, objective, and subjective weights, respectively. The maximum drain down value observed is 0.335 based on ASTM-D 6390 and IRC-SP-79 are against 0.3 percent natural fiber. Moreover, as per the prescribed limit of MoRTH, because of the thin film around aggregates, moisture susceptibility characteristics, i.e., better resistance to moisture, were enhanced by more than 80%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally-Friendly Biodegradable Polymer-Based Composites)
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