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Polymers
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Durability of Natural Fibers and Plastics
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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 23011

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Nicole M. Stark

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI, USA
Interests: wood-plastic composites; durability; FTIR; cellulose nanocomposites; characterization

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

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.

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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 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

  • Wood fiber
  • Biofiber
  • Composite
  • Durability
  • Cellulose nanomaterials
  • Nanocomposites
  • Weathering
  • Fire
  • Decay
  • Creep
  • Processing

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2616 KiB  
Article
Physico-Mechanical and Biological Durability of Citric Acid-Bonded Rubberwood Particleboard
by Zhou Huaxu, Lee Seng Hua, Paridah Md Tahir, Zaidon Ashaari, Syeed SaifulAzry Osman Al-Edrus, Nor Azowa Ibrahim, Luqman Chuah Abdullah and Siti Fatahiyah Mohamad
Polymers 2021, 13(1), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13010098 - 29 Dec 2020
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3341
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of different citric acid content on the physico-mechanical and biological durability of rubberwood particleboard. Particleboards with density of 700 kg/m3 were produced with three different citric acid contents, namely 10, 15 and 20 wt%. Particleboards made from [...] Read more.
This study investigated the effects of different citric acid content on the physico-mechanical and biological durability of rubberwood particleboard. Particleboards with density of 700 kg/m3 were produced with three different citric acid contents, namely 10, 15 and 20 wt%. Particleboards made from 10 wt% urea formaldehyde (UF) resin were served as control for comparison purposes. FTIR analysis was carried out and the formation of ester linkages between -OH on cellulose and carbonyl groups of citric acid was confirmed. The peak intensity increased along with increasing citric content, which indicated that a higher amount of ester linkages were formed at higher citric acid content. Citric acid-bonded particleboard had inferior physical properties (water absorption and thickness swelling) and mechanical properties (internal bonding strength, modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity) compared to that of the UF-bonded particleboard. However, the performance of particleboard was enhanced with increasing citric acid content. Meanwhile, citric acid-bonded particleboard displayed significantly better fungal and termite resistance than UF-bonded particleboard owing to the acidic nature of citric acid. It can be concluded that citric acid is a suitable green binder for particleboard but some improvement is needed during the particleboard production process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Durability of Natural Fibers and Plastics)
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14 pages, 6848 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Recycling on Wood-Fiber Thermoplastic Composites
by Luísa Rosenstock Völtz, Irangeli Di Guiseppe, Shiyu Geng and Kristiina Oksman
Polymers 2020, 12(8), 1750; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12081750 - 5 Aug 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5665
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of recycling on polypropylene (PP) and wood-fiber thermoplastic composites (WPCs) using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. After nine extrusion passes microscopy studies confirmed that the fiber length decreased with the increased number of recycling [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of recycling on polypropylene (PP) and wood-fiber thermoplastic composites (WPCs) using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. After nine extrusion passes microscopy studies confirmed that the fiber length decreased with the increased number of recycling passes but the increased processing time also resulted in excellent dispersion and interfacial adhesion of the wood fibers in the PP matrix. Thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties were studied. The repeated extrusion passes had minimal effect on thermal behavior and the viscosity decreased with an increased number of passes, indicating slight degradation. The recycling processes had an effect on the tensile strength of WPCs while the effect was minor on the PP. However, even after the nine recycling passes the strength of WPC was considerably better (37 MPa) compared to PP (28 MPa). The good degree of property retention after recycling makes this recycling strategy a viable alternative to discarding the materials. Thus, it has been demonstrated that, by following the most commonly used extrusion process, WPCs can be recycled several times and this methodology can be industrially adapted for the manufacturing of recycled products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Durability of Natural Fibers and Plastics)
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14 pages, 3571 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Porous Recycled HDPE Biocomposites Foam: Effect of Rice Husk Filler Contents and Surface Treatments on the Mechanical Properties
by Farah Atiqah Abdul Azam, Nishata Royan Rajendran Royan, Nor Yuliana Yuhana, Nabilah Afiqah Mohd Radzuan, Sahrim Ahmad and Abu Bakar Sulong
Polymers 2020, 12(2), 475; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020475 - 19 Feb 2020
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4951
Abstract
In this study, a biodegradable, cheap and durable recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) polymer reinforced with rice husk (RH) fibre was fabricated into a foam structure through several processes, including extrusion, internal mixing and hot pressing. The effect of filler loading on the properties [...] Read more.
In this study, a biodegradable, cheap and durable recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) polymer reinforced with rice husk (RH) fibre was fabricated into a foam structure through several processes, including extrusion, internal mixing and hot pressing. The effect of filler loading on the properties of the foam and the influence of RH surface treatments on the filler–matrix adhesion and mechanical properties of the composite foam were investigated. The morphological examination shows that 50 wt.% filler content resulted in an effective dispersion of cells with the smallest cell size (58.3 µm) and the highest density (7.62 × 1011 sel/cm3). This small cell size benefits the mechanical properties. Results indicate that the tensile strength and the Young’s modulus of the alkali-treated RH/rHDPE composite foam are the highest amongst the treatments (10.83 MPa and 858 MPa, respectively), followed by UV/O3, which has shown considerable increments compared with the untreated composite. The flexural and impact tests also show the increment in strength for the composite foam after chemical treatment. Although the UV/O3 surface treatment has minor influence on the mechanical enhancement of the composite foam, this method may be a reliable surface treatment of the fibre-reinforced composite. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Durability of Natural Fibers and Plastics)
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15 pages, 2703 KiB  
Article
Accelerated Weathering and Soil Burial Effect on Biodegradability, Colour and Textureof Coir/Pineapple Leaf Fibres/PLA Biocomposites
by Ramengmawii Siakeng, Mohammad Jawaid, Mohammad Asim and Suchart Siengchin
Polymers 2020, 12(2), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12020458 - 16 Feb 2020
Cited by 88 | Viewed by 8002
Abstract
Accelerated weathering and soil burial tests on biocomposites of various ratios of coir (CF)/pineapple leaf fibres (PALF) with polylactic acid (PLA) were conducted to study the biodegradability, colour, and texture properties as compared with PLA.The biodegradability of a lignocellulosic composite largely depends on [...] Read more.
Accelerated weathering and soil burial tests on biocomposites of various ratios of coir (CF)/pineapple leaf fibres (PALF) with polylactic acid (PLA) were conducted to study the biodegradability, colour, and texture properties as compared with PLA.The biodegradability of a lignocellulosic composite largely depends on its polymer matrix, and the rate of biodegradation depends on many environmental factors such as moisture, light(radiation), temperature and microbes. Biodegradation was evaluated by soil burial and accelerated weathering tests. Changes in physical and morphological properties were observed in the biocomposites after weathering. These results allowed us to conclude that untreated CF/PALF/PLA biocomposites would be a more favourable choice owing to their better biodegradability and are suitable for the suggested biodegradable food packaging applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Durability of Natural Fibers and Plastics)
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