Durability of Natural Fibers and Plastics
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Processing and Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2020) | Viewed by 22769
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Biofibers have been used in plastics for some time, but it was the growth of the wood–plastic composite decking industry in the 1990s which gave rise to large commercial applications. As society moves toward more sustainable materials, there is a growing trend to further incorporate biomaterials into plastic composites and expand the use of these composites. Applications now are found not only in the construction industry, but the automotive, toy cosmetic, packaging, and consumer product industries. The use of biofibers has also grown to include not only wood fibers, but recycled paper fibers, agricultural residues (such as corn stover), agricultural fibers (such as jute, kenaf, and hemp), and food processing residues (such as corn husks and coconut fibers). More recently, cellulose nanomaterials have been produced and incorporated into plastics to make cellulose nanocomposites. Potential applications for these materials have expanded the industries that biomaterials can enter, including flexible films, consumer electronics, and medical devices.
Although the applications that can benefit from biofiber plastic composites is broad, many require some form of durability. Depending on the service environment, products may be subject to weathering, decay, freeze–thaw cycles, termites, moisture, and fire. Resistance to mechanical failure such as creep, cyclical mechanical and thermal loading, and folding may also be important. This Special Issue presents a collection of leading-edge original research related to durability of biofiber–polymer composites including materials selection, processing methods, modification, and testing.
Dr. Nicole M. Stark
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- Wood fiber
- Biofiber
- Composite
- Durability
- Cellulose nanomaterials
- Nanocomposites
- Weathering
- Fire
- Decay
- Creep
- Processing
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