Effect of Fiber Surface Modification on the Interfacial Adhesion and Thermo-Mechanical Performance of Unidirectional Epoxy-Based Composites Reinforced with Bamboo Fibers

Biodegradable starch foams reinforced by food-chain side streams

Biodegradable starch foam trays offer an eco-friendly substitute for petroleum-based single-use packaging, notably polystyrene foams. However, they lack flexibility, tensile strength, and water-sensitivity, addressable through lignocellulosic reinforcement. This study aimed to develop biodegradable starch foam trays filled with different food-chain side streams for sustainable alternative packaging. Corncob, soybean straw, cassava peel, araucaria seed hull, yerba mate stalks and yerba mate leaves petiole were collected, dried and ground to <250 μm. The trays were filled with 13 % (w/w) of each food-chain side streams and produced by hot molding. The trays morphology, moisture, water activity (aw), thickness, bulk density, tensile strength, elongation at break, Young's modulus, bending strength, maximum deflection, and sorption isotherms were investigated. Reinforcements slightly increased the foams bulk density, reduced the tensile strength and maximum deflection and while bending strength increased from 0.20 MPa to 1.17-1.80 MPa. The elasticity modulus decreased by adding any filling, that resulted in ductility improvement; however, these packaging have moisture-sensitive material especially for aw higher than 0.52, which drives the use recommendation for dry products storage or shipping/transport. The biodegradable starch foam trays filled with side streams were successfully produced and offer excellent alternative to petroleum-based packaging low-density material with bending strength improved.

Influence of fly ash filler on the mechanical properties and water absorption behaviour of epoxy polymer composites reinforced with pineapple leaf fibre for biomedical applications

This study explores the impact of fly ash (FA) filler on the mechanical, morphological, and water absorption properties of pineapple leaf fibre (PALF)-reinforced epoxy composites for biomedical applications. PALF, sourced from abundant agricultural waste, offers a sustainable alternative to synthetic fibres. Employing the hand layup process, varying wt% of FA (3%, 6%, and 9%) are incorporated into PALF-reinforced epoxy composites with different PALF concentrations (10%, 20%, and 30%). Mechanical assessments, including impact, flexural, and tensile strength, reveal that the introduction of up to 6 wt% FA enhances tensile strength by 65.3%, reaching its peak at this concentration. Flexural strength also improves by 31.9% with 6 wt% FA, while impact resistance reaches its maximum (74.18% improvement) at 9 wt% FA. Water absorption measurements demonstrate a decrease with increased FA content and exposure period, indicating enhanced water resistance. Scanning electron microscopy confirms the uniform distribution of FA, contributing to improved mechanical characteristics and water resistance. Optimality tests using Taguchi and response surface methodology (RSM) further confirm the experimental outcomes, emphasizing the potential of FA to enhance natural fibre-reinforced composites. This research suggests FA as a promising filler to elevate mechanical performance and water resistance in environmentally friendly composites.

One More Step towards a Circular Economy for Thermal Insulation Materials-Development of Composites Highly Filled with Waste Polyurethane (PU) Foam for Potential Use in the Building Industry

The rapid development of the building sector has created increased demand for novel materials and technologies, while on the other hand resulting in the generation of a severe amount of waste materials. Among these are polyurethane (PU) foams, which are commonly applied as thermal insulation materials. Their management is a serious industrial problem, due to, for example, their complex chemical composition. Although some chemical and thermochemical methods of PU foam recycling are known, their broader use is limited due to requirements related to the complexity and safety of their installation, thus implicating high costs. Therefore, material recycling poses a promising alternative. The incorporation of waste PU foams as fillers for polymer composites could make it possible to take advantage of their structure and performance. Herein, polypropylene-based composites that were highly filled with waste PU foam and modified using foaming agents were prepared and analyzed. Depending on the foam loading and the foaming agent applied, the apparent density of material was reduced by as much as 68%. The efficient development of a porous structure, confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution computed micro-tomography, enabled a 64% decrease in the thermal conductivity coefficient. The foaming of the structure affected the mechanical performance of composites, resulting in a deterioration of their tensile and compressive performance. Therefore, developing samples of the analyzed composites with the desired performance would require identifying the proper balance between mechanical strength and economic, as well as ecological (share of waste material in composite, apparent density of material), considerations.

Effect of Coir Fiber Surface Treatment on Interfacial Properties of Reinforced Epoxy Resin Composites

Coir-fiber-reinforced epoxy resin composites are an environmentally friendly material, and the use of coir fibers improves the mechanical properties of epoxy resin. In order to improve the interfacial adhesion between coir fibers and the epoxy resin matrix, microwave treatment, alkali treatment, acetic anhydride modification, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane modification and their reasonable combination method treatments were carried out on coir fibers, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze the effects of the different treatments on the characteristics of the coir fibers, and single-fiber pullout tests were performed on the pullout specimens made from the above coir fibers. The results calculated by the proposed estimation method show that the combination method of alkali treatment and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane surface modification could better enhance the interfacial bonding ability between coir fibers and epoxy resin with an interfacial shear strength and pullout energy of 6.728 MPa and 40.237 N·mm, respectively. The principal analysis shows that the method can form both mechanical interlocking and chemical bonds at the interface to enhance the interfacial bonding ability. This study provides a more suitable method for improving the interfacial properties of coir-fiber-reinforced epoxy resin composites and has implications for the study of natural fiber composites.

Influence of Epoxy Resin Treatment on the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Hemp-Fiber-Reinforced Plant-Derived Polyamide 1010 Biomass Composites

In this study, we investigated the influence of epoxy resin treatment on the mechanical and tribological properties of hemp fiber (HF)-reinforced plant-derived polyamide 1010 (PA1010) biomass composites. HFs were surface-treated using four types of surface treatment methods: (a) alkaline treatment using sodium chlorite (NaClO₂) solution, (b) surface treatment using epoxy resin (EP) solution after NaClO₂ alkaline treatment, (c) surface treatment using an ureidosilane coupling agent after NaClO₂ alkaline treatment (NaClO₂ + A-1160), and (d) surface treatment using epoxy resin solution after the (c) surface treatment (NaClO₂ + A-1160 + EP). The HF/PA1010 biomass composites were extruded using a twin-screw extruder and injection-molded. Their mechanical properties, such as tensile, bending, and dynamic mechanical properties, and tribological properties were evaluated by the ring-on-plate-type sliding wear test. The strength, modulus, specific wear rate, and limiting pv value of HF/PA1010 biomass composites improved with surface treatment using epoxy resin (NaClO₂ + A-1160 + EP). In particular, the bending modulus of NaClO₂ + A-1160 + EP improved by 48% more than that of NaClO₂, and the specific wear rate of NaClO₂ + A-1160 + EP was one-third that of NaClO₂. This may be attributed to the change in the internal microstructure of the composites, such as the interfacial interaction between HF and PA1010 and fiber dispersion. As a result, the mode of friction and wear mechanism of these biomass composites also changed.

Characterisation of Natural Fibres for Sustainable Discontinuous Fibre Composite Materials

Growing environmental concerns and stringent waste-flow regulations make the development of sustainable composites a current industrial necessity. Natural fibre reinforcements are derived from renewable resources and are both cheap and biodegradable. When they are produced using eco-friendly, low hazard processes, then they can be considered as a sustainable source of fibrous reinforcement. Furthermore, their specific mechanical properties are comparable to commonly used, non-environmentally friendly glass-fibres. In this study, four types of abundant natural fibres (jute, kenaf, curaua, and flax) are investigated as naturally-derived constituents for high performance composites. Physical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the natural fibres are examined to evaluate their suitability as discontinuous reinforcements whilst also generating a database for material selection. Single fibre tensile and microbond tests were performed to obtain stiffness, strength, elongation, and interfacial shear strength of the fibres with an epoxy resin. Moreover, the critical fibre lengths of the natural fibres, which are important for defining the mechanical performances of discontinuous and short fibre composites, were calculated for the purpose of possible processing of highly aligned discontinuous fibres. This study is informative regarding the selection of the type and length of natural fibres for the subsequent production of discontinuous fibre composites.

E, Bassyouni M, Zoromba M, Abdel-Aziz M, Mira H, Y. E. Fabrication and Characterization of Microcellular Polyurethane Sisal Biocomposites

In this study, microcellular polyurethane (PU)-natural fiber (NF) biocomposites were fabricated. Polyurethanes based on castor oil and PMDI were synthesized with varying volume ratios of sisal fiber. The effect of natural fiber treatment using water and alkaline solution (1.5% NaOH) and load effect were investigated. Biocomposites were mechanically and physically investigated using tensile, viscoelasticity, and water absorption tests. The interfacial adhesion between PU and sisal fiber was studied using SEM. Short NF loads (3%) showed a significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the PU-sisal composite such as modulus of elasticity, yield and tensile strength up to 133%, 14.35 % and 36.7% respectively. Viscoelastic measurements showed that the composites exhibit an elastic trend as the real compliance (J’) values were higher than those of the imaginary compliance (J’’). Increasing NF loads resulted in a decrease of J’. Applying variable temperatures (120–80 °C) caused an increase in the stiffness at different frequencies.