Chemical Modification of Banana Trunk Fibers for the Production of Green Composites

Natural fibers have proven to be excellent reinforcing agents in composite materials. However, a critical disadvantage of natural fibers is their hydrophilic nature. In this study, banana trunk fibers were mechanically damaged using a high-speed blender, and the resulting fibers (MDBTF) were treated with (i) stearic acid (SAMDBTF) and (ii) calcium carbonate coated with 5% (wt/wt) stearic acid (SACCMDBTF). The moisture sorption, oil sorption and thermal properties of the fibers were determined. The morphology, roughness and the functional groups present were also investigated. Study data of the present study indicate that SACCMDBTF exhibited a faster oil sorption capacity than SAMDBTF. Fast uptake of the oil occurred during the first 5 min, whereby the quantity of oil sorbed in SAMDBTF and SACCMDBTF was 5.5 and 15.0 g oil g⁻¹ fiber, respectively. The results of a used engine oil uptake study revealed that SAMDBTF and SACCMDBTF sorbed 9.5 and 18.3 g/g-1 fiber, respectively, at equilibrium. The obtained results suggest that the mechanically damaged process improved the thermal stability of the fibers. This work reveals that the inclusion of stearic-acid-coated calcium carbonate into the interstices of MDBTF yields is environmentally safe for green hydrophobic composites. SACCMDBTF are used as efficient adsorbents for the removal of spilled oil on aqueous media.

Chitosan Epoxidized Natural Rubber Biocomposites for Sorption and Biodegradability Studies

The slow-release mechanism of copper into soil followed by soil biodegradation was studied using the chitosan (CTS)/epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) biocomposite. The biocomposite was prepared by homogenizing CTS in ENR50 (ENR with about 50% epoxy content) latex in the presence of curing agents and acetic acid. It was found that the adsorption property of the biocomposite was very much influenced by chitosan loading, where 20phrCTS-t-ENR biocomposite can absorb 76.31% of Cu(II) ions. The desorption study indicates that the copper (II) ion can be released at a very slow and control phase as proven by the kinetic study using zero-order, first-order, Higuchi, and Korsmeyer Peppas equations. The slow-release studies comply with the Higuchi square-root equation, indicating that the release process is diffusion-controlled. Results of desorption and biodegradation process suggest that this biocomposite has the potential use of being a slow-release matrix in the field of agriculture.

An overview of polymeric nano-biocomposites as targeted and controlled-release devices

In recent years, controlled drug delivery has become an important area of research. Nano-biocomposites can fulfil the necessary requirements of a targeted drug delivery device. This review describes use of polymeric nano-biocomposites in controlled drug delivery devices. Selection of suitable biopolymer and methods of preparation are discussed.