Synthesis, Applications, and Optimization of Composite Materials in Industry and the Environment

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2025) | Viewed by 719

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Environmental, Geomatic and Energy Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, Al. 1000-lecia PP7, 25-314 Kielce, Poland
Interests: renewable energy sources; energy-saving construction; natural construction; general construction; air conditioning and ventilation; the construction of energy-saving buildings
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Co-Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland
Interests: nanotechnology; innovation and underground construction; green buildings and environment protection; sustainable development; microstructure in materials; thermodynamics and material engineering
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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kazimierz Pułaski University of Technology and Humanities in Radom, ul. Malczewskiego 29, 26-600 Radom, Poland
Interests: silicates; sewage and network infrastructure of cities; environmental protection; silicate bricks

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Guest Editor Assistant
Physical Training Centre, Polish Air Force University, 08-530 Deblin, Poland
Interests: running; traveling; mountain and seaside trips; aviation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the most important factors driving the economy of all countries, especially highly developed ones, is production—in this case, in particular, construction materials used in the construction industry, aviation, industrial construction, underground construction, or electrical engineering.

The concept of production also includes aspects of the appropriate management of companies and projects, conversion, fuel and energy consumption (e.g., processes of burning materials, grinding aggregates, preparing raw materials for production, etc.), and energy products. It is fundamentally linked to many other important aspects of society.

The 21st century is based on reforms, regulations, and acts aimed at the proper management of the natural resources (especially in the context of natural aggregates) that the Earth has, which is why the issues of sustainable development, sustainable waste management, and recycling have become so important.

Every year, the so-called European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW) is organized, which aims to popularize activities, projects, and events promoting sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda together with the Sustainable Development Goals and to activate their implementation at various levels (education, industry, research, and general public awareness).

Traditional technologies may no longer be sufficient, and, in accordance with the principles of a sustainable economy, alternative production sources are sought in many areas of industry, from the production of substrates to entire materials, machines, and everyday products.

All of these elements will be an important part of the future of production systems based on composites, recycling, polymers, and other waste materials or those based on modifications to production processes.

This Special Issue devoted to the “Synthesis, Applications, and Optimization of Composite Materials in Industry and the Environment” will gather new research achievements in the fields of biomedical engineering; chemical engineering; materials engineering; mechanical engineering; medical biology; pharmaceutical sciences; agriculture and horticulture; biotechnology; and chemical sciences and topics that use modeling and simulation as an important component of the analysis of industrial production systems.

Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Design of technological processes in construction, aerospace, electrical engineering, and automotive processes;
  • Design of building materials;
  • Waste management;
  • Recycling in various industries;
  • Geopolymers and composites.

Prof. Dr. Jerzy Z. Piotrowski
Dr. Anna Stepien
Guest Editors

Dr. Iga Jasińska
Dr. Michał Breszka
Guest Editor Assistants

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. Processes 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 2400 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

  • composites
  • recycling
  • sustainable economy
  • industry
  • construction
  • aviation
  • electrical engineering
  • building materials
  • ecology.

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

27 pages, 5059 KB  
Article
In Vitro Degradation of Continuous Iron Wire-Reinforced PLLA Composite Monofilaments for Bioresorbable Vascular Stents Fabricated via a Novel 3D Printer: An Early-Stage Prototype Study
by Handai Liu, Alexandre Portela, Han Xu, Vlasta Chyzna, Yinshi Lu, Ke Gong, Daniel P. Fitzpatrick, Guangming Yan, Ronan Dunbar and Yuanyuan Chen
Processes 2025, 13(8), 2621; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13082621 - 19 Aug 2025
Viewed by 472
Abstract
Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and iron (Fe) are popular bioresorbable material candidates for biomedical implants. However, PLLA coronary stents are relatively too thick compared to metallic stents when providing the same mechanical strength, while iron degrades too slowly. Recent studies show that PLLA coatings [...] Read more.
Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and iron (Fe) are popular bioresorbable material candidates for biomedical implants. However, PLLA coronary stents are relatively too thick compared to metallic stents when providing the same mechanical strength, while iron degrades too slowly. Recent studies show that PLLA coatings can enhance iron’s corrosion rate, and iron has strong mechanical strength, making PLLA–Fe composites ideal for bioresorbable implants. Although PLLA coatings on iron samples have been studied, research on embedding iron wires in relatively thick PLLA matrices is limited. Moreover, no studies have yet explored 3D-printed metal wire-reinforced PLLA monofilaments for biomedical applications. To address these research gaps and investigate the in vitro degradation profile of PLLA/Fe wire monofilaments for bioresorbable stents, this study first developed a novel polymer filament–metal wire coextrusion 3D printer for printing PLLA/Fe wire monofilaments. In vitro degradation tests were then conducted on both PLLA/Fe and neat PLLA monofilaments at 50 °C. Thereafter, characterizations, including mass loss, pH, surface appearance and morphology, tensile tests, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), were performed. Results indicated that the overall degradation rate of PLLA/Fe monofilaments was higher than that of PLLA counterparts, while the degradation rate of PLLA matrix was not affected by the embedded iron wire according to molecular weight analysis. Notably, the Young’s modulus and stiffness of PLLA monofilaments were significantly improved by the iron wires during the early stages of degradation, but the reinforcement in tensile strength was negative after immersion due to the poor embedding quality of the iron wires in the PLLA monofilaments. With future improvement of the embedding quality of iron wire, the 3D-printed PLLA/Fe wire composites can have great potential in the development of biomedical devices using the novel 3D printing method, including most types of stents and bone scaffolds. Full article
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