The fique plant (Furcraea sp.) is a native plant of the Andean region with a great capacity to adapt to different environmental conditions, of which only 4% of the plant is used for developing natural fibers. The comprehensive use of fique and its by...
A relatively unknown natural fiber extracted from the leaves of the fique plant, native of the South American Andes, has recently shown potential as reinforcement of polymer composites for engineering applications. Preliminary investigations indicate...
This paper presents the development of handmade paper from fique residues, evaluating its technical and environmental viability through a scientific approach aimed at supporting low-income rural communities. The residues were characterized to assess...
Fique (Furcraea spp.) generates both primary fibers and industrial bagasse during fiber extraction, but the potential of these two lignocellulosic streams for nanofiber production has not been adequately compared. In this study, cellulose nanofibers...
Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) is one of the most common methods employed to study a material’s viscoelastic properties. The effect of thermal aging on plain epoxy and a fique fabric-reinforced epoxy composite was investigated by comparing the mas...
Polymer composites reinforced with natural fabric have recently been investigated as possible ballistic armor for personal protection against different levels of ammunition. In particular, fabric made of fique fibers, which is extracted from the leav...
Fiber-reinforced composites are among the most investigated and industrially applied materials. Many studies on these composites using fibers, especially with natural fibers, were made in response to an urgent action for ambient preservation. A parti...
Many studies available in the literature focus mainly on the mechanical characterization of fiber, leaving out other physicochemical and thermogravimetric analyses that allow for establishing its potential as an engineering material. This study chara...
The degradability of the biocomposite produced from a binary mixture of thermoplastic banana starch (TPS) and polycaprolactone (PCL) reinforced with fique fibers (Fs) was evaluated in three different environments (soil, compost, water). An experiment...
Buildings consume a large amount of energy during all stages of their life cycle. One of the most efficient ways to reduce their consumption is to use thermal insulation materials; however, these generally have negative effects on the environment and...
The main modifications of thermal and colorimetric parameters after thermal aging of DGEBA/TETA system (plain epoxy) and fique-fiber woven fabric-reinforced epoxy composites are described. As a preliminary study, thermal analysis was carried out on e...
A fully biobased composite was developed using a natural resin from the Elaeagia Pastoensis Mora plant, known as Mopa-Mopa reinforced with fique fibers. Resin extraction was through solvent processing reaching an efficient extraction process of 92% a...
This work presents the physical-thermal and mechanical characterization of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-Al matrix composite material that was obtained from reinforcing recycled (post-consumer) long-life Tetra Pak packages with fique natural fibe...
As natural fibers, low-cost biosorbents have proven to be an effective and clean tool to remove textile dyes from wastewater. In this research, the Reactive Black 5 removal ability of original and enzyme-modified natural fibers were assessed. A fiber...
Biocomposites were prepared from a ternary matrix of polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), and thermoplastic starch (TPS) and reinforced with native fique fibers from southwestern Colombia. The influence of surface modification by alkalizati...
Colombia is the world’s largest producer of fique fibers (Furcraea bedinghausii), with a net production of 30,000 tons per year. This work proposes to revalue waste from the Colombian fique agroindustry. For this purpose, cellulose nanofibers w...
Caffeine and diclofenac are molecules with high human intake, and both belong to the ‘emergent’ class of contaminants. These compounds have been found at different concentrations in many sources of water worldwide and have several negativ...
One of the activities most representative of the agricultural sector in Colombia is the production of biodegradable fique fiber. The efficiency of the defiberization process of the fique leaves is very low since a mere 4% of the total weight of the l...
Biochar has emerged as a promising adsorbent for removing organic pollutants from aqueous media, with its efficiency strongly influenced by the feedstock and pyrolysis conditions. In this study, biochar produced from fique pellets under controlled py...
Local production of construction materials is a valuable tool for improving the building sector sustainability. In this sense, the use of lignocellulosic fibers from local species becomes an interesting alternative to the development of such material...
Fique fibers, native to Colombia, are traditionally used for ropes and bags. In the extraction of long fibers for these purposes, the same amount of short fibers is generated; the short fibers are then discarded in the soil or in landfills. This agro...
Natural fibre meshes have emerged as a promising class of sustainable geotechnical reinforcement materials; however, no calibrated and validated directional constitutive model currently exists in the scientific literature for Furcraea macrophylla (fi...
This paper presents the results obtained from the chemical activation of bacterial nanocellulose (BCN) using fique juice as a culture medium. BNC activation (BNCA) was carried out with H3PO4 and KOH at activation temperatures between 500 °C to 80...
Given the current situation we face regarding climate change, one of the greatest and most critical concerns is related to the reduction in the bee population. This population largely depends on beekeeping production units around the world. However,...
The Musaceae family has significant potential as a source of lignocellulosic fibres and starch from the plant’s bunches and pseudostems. These materials, which have traditionally been considered waste, can be used to produce fully bio-based composite...
The use of natural fibers in hydro turbine rotors promotes sustainability by offering biodegradable, renewable materials with a lower carbon footprint. This study compares the hydrodynamic performance of two rotors in a gravitational vortex turbine:...
The Bacillus megaterium LVN01 species native to Colombia has demonstrated the ability to metabolize different coproducts or industrial waste (such as fique juice, cane molasses, and residual glycerol) and accumulate polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), giving...
This study explores the use of cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-stabilized Pickering emulsions for paper coatings, focusing on their rheological properties and effects on hydrophilicity and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). Two types of Pickering emulsi...
In recent decades, there has been an increasing focus on the alarming decline in global bee populations, given their critical ecological contributions to natural pollination and biodiversity. This decline, marked by a substantial reduction in bee col...
It is widely accepted that exercise training has beneficial effects on vascular health. Although a dose-dependent relation has been suggested, little is known about the effects of different exercise durations on endothelial markers. This study aimed...