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Recent Advances in Polymer Composites Reinforced with Agro-Industrial Waste Fillers: Processing, Properties, and Functional Applications

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1109

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: polymer science; polymer synthesis and characterization; bio-mass valorization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the development of polymer composites reinforced with agro-industrial waste-based fillers, sustainable solutions for waste management, and the improvement of materials for engineering applications. Agro-industrial waste, such as cereal husks, seeds, pomaces, fibers, and residues from beverage and food production, represents a rich source of cheap and renewable fillers for polymer composites. Its use reduces raw material costs, reduces dependence on fossil resources, and contributes to the circular economy. Papers in this Special Issue should cover current processing methods, such as extrusion, compression, injection molding, and 3D printing, as well as the characterization of the mechanical, thermal, barrier, and degradation properties of the resulting materials. Special emphasis is placed on packaging, construction, automotive, electronics applications, and environmental impact assessment (e.g., LCA analysis). The aim is to present innovative approaches that combine agricultural and industrial waste with polymers (biopolymers or conventional) to develop functional, economically viable, and environmentally friendly composites.

Prof. Dr. Vesna Antić
Guest Editor

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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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

  • polymer composites
  • agro-industrial waste
  • sustainable fillers
  • composite processing
  • functional applications
  • environmental impact assessment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

23 pages, 5573 KB  
Article
Valorization of Tomato Stem Waste: Biochar as a Filler in Three-Dimensional Printed PLA Composites
by Dimitrios Gkiliopoulos, Sotirios Pemas, Stylianos Torofias, Konstantinos Triantafyllidis, Dimitrios N. Bikiaris, Zoi Terzopoulou and Eleftheria Maria Pechlivani
Polymers 2025, 17(19), 2565; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17192565 - 23 Sep 2025
Viewed by 520
Abstract
This study explores the valorization of tomato stem waste by converting it into biochar through slow pyrolysis and incorporating it into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites for fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing. The objective was to improve the valorization and added value of [...] Read more.
This study explores the valorization of tomato stem waste by converting it into biochar through slow pyrolysis and incorporating it into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites for fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing. The objective was to improve the valorization and added value of tomato stem waste. Biochar derived from tomato stems was characterized for its physicochemical properties, revealing a high surface area and small particle size. PLA-based composite filaments with 5% and 7.5% biochar were manufactured via melt extrusion. The effects of biochar concentration and printing infill patterns (concentric and rectilinear) on the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of the 3D-printed composites were investigated. Results indicated that biochar slightly increased the glass transition temperature of PLA and improved the flexural properties. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed that the storage modulus was enhanced in the glassy region for composites with 5% biochar, suggesting improved stiffness. This research demonstrates the potential of using tomato stem-derived biochar as a sustainable filler in PLA composites, contributing to the circular economy and reducing environmental impact. Full article
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