Green composites were prepared with polypropylene matrix and 20 wt.% spent coffee ground (SCG) powder for uses as a wood plastic composite (WPC). The effects of hydrophobic treatment with palmitoyl chloride on SCG powder is compared with conventional surface treatment based on silanization with (3-glycidyloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane and the use of a maleated copolymer compatibilizer (polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride, PP-g-MA) in terms of mechanical properties, morphology, thermal properties and water uptake. Composites were previously mixed in a twin-screw co-rotating extruder and subsequently subjected to injection moulding. The comparative effect of the different surface treatments and or compatibilizers on mechanical performance was studied by flexural, impact tests and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA-torsion); in addition, the stabilizing effect of SCG was revealed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravymetric analysis (TGA). As one of the main drawbacks of wood plastic composites and natural fiber reinforced plastics is the moisture gain, water uptake tests were carried out in order to quantify the effectiveness of the hydrophobization process with palmitoyl chloride. Results show a slight increase in flexural modulus for composites with both untreated and treated/compatibilized SCG powder (20 wt.%).As expected, thermal stability is improved as indicated by an increase of more than 8% in the

ElsevierCarbonell Verdú, A.; Boronat Vitoria, T.; Fages Santana, E.; Gironés, S.; Sánchez Zapata, E.; Pérez Álvarez, JÁ.; Sánchez Nacher, L.... (2015). Wet-laid AbstractBiobased composites were fabricated with waste of tiger nut natural fibers, different binder fibers (lyocell and cotton) and thermo-bonding fibers (PLA, HDPE, PA6-CoPA).These composites were processed by wet-laid process and hot-press molding process.The obtained composites were characterized by flexural, hardness and Charpy impact tests.The internal structure of the composite was analyzed by SEM observing a significant heterogeneity. The high fiber content (80% wt) and the lack of a continuous matrix phase causes mediocre mechanical response of the material. Thermo-bonding fibers kind are more influential than the binder fibers. The best mechanical responses were obtained with additions of PLA fibers thermo-bonding fibers. Flexural modulus was maximum (865 MPa) for 80%wt tiger nut/10% wt binder fiber / 10% PLA fiber composite.

The aim of the present work is to analyse the durability of plasma treatment on the polylactic acid (PLA) surface. We have used atmospheric plasma treatment with air in order to improve the wettability of PLA, by evaluating the aging effect under controlled conditions of relative humidity (RH) and temperature (25% RH and 25 °C).The durability of the atmospheric plasma treatment was studied by measurements of contact angle, surface energy calculation and the change in resistance of the adhesive bonds PLA / PLA. These techniques allow to evaluate the recovery phenomenon hydrophobic PLA surface suffers from the effect of aging. The results provide the maximum storage time of PLA treated with atmospheric plasma, so this keeps its good adhesion properties, this time is lower than 3 days of storage at normal atmospheric conditions.

Biscayne Bay is a subtropical estuary located in South Florida. It is a rich environment containing a multitude of organisms such as seagrass, sponges, and fish. The Biscayne Bay ecosystem is currently undergoing a drastic environmental decline due to seagrass fatalities throughout the area, specifically in North Biscayne Bay. This literature review pinpointed the causes and effects of these seagrass fatalities from analyzed research that has been completed on this subject. The research papers found for this review came from five databases: Google Scholar, the Biscayne Bay Task Force Database (HPI), Gale in Context, Gale Academic OneFile and JSTOR. A total of 245 papers were looked over and 18 articles were left to use for this review. From those papers, it was concluded that the most probable cause of the seagrass fatalities was the pollution runoff from metropolitan areas that stimulated nutrient overloads. These nutrient overloads are factors that cause algal blooms, which in turn cause these seagrass fatalities due to lack of sunlight and resources for photosynthesis. The lack of seagrass regulating the fragile Biscayne Bay environment is also causing an influx of fish deaths, which is bringing about a local economic decline in commercialized fishing. Without the properties of seagrass in Biscayne Bay, it can cause a more drastic environmental meltdown that may not be fixable.

Cover factor is defined as the ratio of the area covered by yarns to the total area of the fabric. This fabric’s characteristic is a basic construction parameter of woven cloth related to its end-use behaviour. Different authors are focused on studying the effect of the cover factor fabric on different properties of the fabric, like air permeability, ultraviolet protection, noise absorption and light transmission. However, the aim of this work is study the capacity of the weft to achieve a certain degree of coverage in the woven fabric, taking advantage of the warp's ability to allow light to pass through its own structure and the opacity of the weft.