Green Composites: Preparation, Properties, and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Petrochemical-based plastics and synthetic thermoset composites have been increasingly used in all sectors, from home-products and toys to automotive/aerospace, to the medical and agro-food packaging industry, and so on. This is because of their large availability at relatively low costs and because of their good mechanical and thermal properties. However, an increased use of synthetic polymers has led to serious ecological problems due to their total non-biodegradability. Furthermore, recycling these materials is not always possible and most of the time is not economically convenient. Therefore, several thousands of tons of goods, made of plastic materials, are land-filled, every year increasing the problem of municipal waste disposal. The growing environmental awareness and the decline in oil resources leads to the adoption of eco-friendly solutions and is disconnected from the use of petroleum and its derivatives. Green composites from renewable resources are being increasingly studied because of their potential to provide benefits to companies, natural environments, and end-customers. Although the complete replacement of oil-based polymers and composites with ecofriendly materials is impossible to achieve, the use of green composites, in which an increasing percentage of synthetic material is replaced by natural ones, or in which eco-compatible reinforcements are used, should be the future.

Prof. Dr. Ignazio Blanco
Guest Editor

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