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J. Compos. Sci.
Special Issues
Natural Fiber Composites (NFCs)—Current Research Trends and Applications
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Natural Fiber Composites (NFCs)—Current Research Trends and Applications

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fiber Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 November 2026 | Viewed by 3472

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Subrata Chandra Das

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Advanced and Sustainable Engineering Materials Laboratory (ASEMlab), Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2815 Gjøvik, Norway
Interests: natural fibers; natural fiber composites (NFCs); biocomposites; nanocomposites; nanomaterials; environmental ageing; textile materials; circular economy; recycling and reuse
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Andrejs Krauklis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
MEI (Material-Environment Interaction) Core Group, Institute of Civil Engineering and Woodworking, Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava 3001, Latvia
Interests: quantitative structure–property relationships (QSPRs); modeling; material–environment interactions (MEI); polymers and composites; environment and sustainability; circular economy; recycling and reuse
Dr. Nilmini Dissanayake

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Natural Material Innovation (CNMI), University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PX, UK
Interests: natural fiber composites (NFCs); sustainability and durability; life cycle assessment (LCA); life cycle costing (LCC); social LCA; techno-economic analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural fiber composites (NFCs) are gaining increasing prominence in both research and industry due to their distinct advantages (such as comparable specific stiffness, renewability, and environmental sustainability) over their synthetic counterparts, such as GFRPs and CFRPs. When paired with recyclable or circular polymer matrices, NFCs offer enhanced environmental performance, aligning with global green transition strategies, circular economy frameworks, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Their interdisciplinary applications span the automotive, maritime, construction, sports and recreation, aviation, and energy sectors, positioning NFCs as a dynamic and rapidly evolving research domain. This Special Issue aims to showcase recent advancements in NFCs, focusing on mechanical performance, environmental durability, sustainability assessments, and emerging applications. By consolidating current research, this collection seeks to advance the development of sustainable composite technologies and support their broader integration into diverse industrial ecosystems.
We welcome original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and short communications on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Natural fibers and natural fiber composites (NFCs)—surface treatment, processing techniques, and material characterization.
  • Environmental durability or long-term aging performance of NFCs.
  • Fully bio-based green composites utilizing natural fibers and biodegradable polymer matrices.
  • Circular NFCs with recyclable or circular polymer systems.
  • Hybrid NFCs—Combination of NFCs with other natural or synthetic fibers.
  • Functionalized NFCs—Incorporation of NFCs with organic, inorganic, or nano-scale fillers.
  • Sustainability assessments of natural fibers and their composites (Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing, Social LCA, and Techno-Economic Analysis).
  • Applications of NFCs.

Dr. Subrata Chandra Das
Dr. Andrejs E. Krauklis
Dr. Nilmini Dissanayake
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Journal of Composites Science 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 1800 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

  • natural fibers
  • natural fiber composites (NFCs)
  • natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites
  • biocomposites
  • green composites
  • recyclable polymers
  • circular composites
  • hybrid composites
  • surface modification
  • sustainable composites
  • life cycle assessment (LCA)
  • environmental impacts
  • mechanical characterization
  • recycling and reuse
  • circular economy
  • applications of NFCs

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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19 pages, 4058 KB  
Article
Assessing the Environmental Sustainability of Agro-Waste Fiber-Reinforced PLA Composites Through Life Cycle Assessment
by Vikas Yadav, Akshay Dvivedi and Subrata Chandra Das
J. Compos. Sci. 2026, 10(5), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs10050228 - 24 Apr 2026
Viewed by 531
Abstract
Agricultural residues and agro-waste are increasingly recognized as valuable reinforcements for sustainable composite materials. Natural fibers derived from these biomasses offer biodegradability, low density, renewability, and potential environmental benefits. However, their performance and sustainability depend strongly on extraction, surface treatment, and processing conditions. [...] Read more.
Agricultural residues and agro-waste are increasingly recognized as valuable reinforcements for sustainable composite materials. Natural fibers derived from these biomasses offer biodegradability, low density, renewability, and potential environmental benefits. However, their performance and sustainability depend strongly on extraction, surface treatment, and processing conditions. Therefore, evaluating the environmental emissions associated with natural fiber biocomposites is essential before claiming sustainability advantages. In this research, flax, jute, kenaf, and bagasse fibers were extracted and treated using an eco-friendly sodium bicarbonate solution, then incorporated into polylactic acid (PLA) matrix to fabricate biocomposites via injection molding. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted using the ReCiPe midpoint (H) method, with a functional unit defined as “per kg” of manufactured biocomposite. The results revealed that jute fiber composites generated the highest emissions across several impact categories, including climate change (1.290 × 101 kg CO2-Eq), terrestrial ecotoxicity (6.327 × 101 kg 1,4-DCB-Eq), human toxicity: carcinogenic effects (1.923 kg 1,4-DCB-Eq), and fossil resource use (3.202 kg oil-Eq). Jute also showed a 3.6% increase in terrestrial ecotoxicity and a 19.5% increase in land compared to flax, although it exhibited a 6.5% lower impact related to bagasse. A ±20% electricity-consumption sensitivity analysis further highlighted the dependence of environmental impacts on processing energy demand. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Fiber Composites (NFCs)—Current Research Trends and Applications)
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Review

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98 pages, 1839 KB  
Review
Advancing Sustainable Materials Engineering with Natural-Fiber Biocomposites
by Maryam Bonyani, Ian Colvin Marincic and Sitaraman Krishnan
J. Compos. Sci. 2026, 10(2), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs10020086 - 6 Feb 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1379
Abstract
Natural-fiber biocomposites are increasingly viewed as promising materials for sustainable engineering. However, their broader adoption remains constrained by coupled challenges related to interfacial compatibility, moisture sensitivity, environmental durability, processing limitations, and end-of-life trade-offs. Rather than treating fiber selection, matrix chemistry, processing routes, durability, [...] Read more.
Natural-fiber biocomposites are increasingly viewed as promising materials for sustainable engineering. However, their broader adoption remains constrained by coupled challenges related to interfacial compatibility, moisture sensitivity, environmental durability, processing limitations, and end-of-life trade-offs. Rather than treating fiber selection, matrix chemistry, processing routes, durability, and sustainability as independent considerations, this review emphasizes their interdependence through the fiber–matrix interface, which governs stress transfer, moisture transport, and long-term property evolution. It provides a comprehensive and integrative analysis of natural-fiber–reinforced polymer composites, encompassing plant-, animal-, and emerging bio-derived reinforcements combined with bio-based, biodegradable, and selected synthetic matrices. Comparative analysis across the literature demonstrates that interfacial engineering consistently dominates mechanical performance, moisture resistance, and property retention, while mediating trade-offs among stiffness, toughness, recyclability, and biodegradability. Moisture transport and environmental ageing are examined using thermodynamic and diffusion-controlled frameworks that link fiber chemistry, interfacial energetics, swelling, and debonding to performance degradation. Fire behavior and flame-retardant strategies are reviewed with attention to heat-release control and their implications for durability and circularity. Processing routes, including extrusion, injection molding, compression molding, resin transfer molding, and additive manufacturing, are assessed with respect to fiber dispersion, thermal stability, scalability, and compatibility with bio-based systems. By integrating structure–property relationships, processing science, durability mechanisms, and sustainability considerations, this review clarifies how natural-fiber biocomposites can be designed to achieve balanced performance, environmental stability, and circular life-cycle behavior, thereby providing guidance for the development of systems suitable for near-term engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Fiber Composites (NFCs)—Current Research Trends and Applications)
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Other

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37 pages, 1612 KB  
Systematic Review
Recent Advances in Biocomposite Materials Reinforced with Raw or Minimally Processed Wool: Fabrication Methods, Properties and Applications—A Systematic Review
by Carlos Ruiz-Díaz, Óscar Rodríguez-Alabanda, María M. Serrano-Baena and Guillermo Guerrero-Vacas
J. Compos. Sci. 2026, 10(2), 104; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs10020104 - 16 Feb 2026
Viewed by 818
Abstract
Sheep wool is a keratin-based natural fiber increasingly explored as a low-impact reinforcement and multifunctional modifier in composites, enabling valorization of coarse or waste wool streams. This systematic review consolidates evidence on raw or minimally processed wool-reinforced composites across polymer matrices and mineral [...] Read more.
Sheep wool is a keratin-based natural fiber increasingly explored as a low-impact reinforcement and multifunctional modifier in composites, enabling valorization of coarse or waste wool streams. This systematic review consolidates evidence on raw or minimally processed wool-reinforced composites across polymer matrices and mineral binders. Following a registered protocol and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for English-language journal articles (2015–2025), yielding 44 included studies after screening. Evidence mapping shows polymers dominate (33/44; thermosets 19/44), while mineral binders account for 11/44. Wool is mainly used as short fibers (27/44), with woven (9/44) and nonwoven/felt (8/44) architectures appearing in laminates and insulation products. Because heterogeneity limits pooled meta-analysis, outcomes are synthesized using matched-control comparisons where available (27/44) and interpreted with a TRiC appraisal (Transparency, Reproducibility, and Credibility). Mechanical effects are highly conditional: gains in impact/energy absorption and occasional tensile/flexural stress improvements coexist with frequent losses linked to dispersion, wetting/impregnation and void sensitivity. Functional trends are similarly system-dependent, with promising but uneven evidence for acoustic performance, variable thermal conductivity shifts, and formulation-driven fire behavior. Moisture uptake and durability emerge as principal translation bottlenecks, motivating minimum reporting and design practices to improve comparability and application readiness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Fiber Composites (NFCs)—Current Research Trends and Applications)
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