Nowadays, the use of natural fiber reinforced polymer-based composites is gradually increasing day by day for their many advantages for civil engineering construction applications. Due to their many advantages for polymer-based composite materials are widely used in civil construction, automobiles, aerospace, and many others. Natural fibers such as jute, kenaf, pineapple, sugarcane, hemp, oil palm, flax, and leaf, etc. are cheap, environmentally friendly, renewable, completely and partially biodegradable which can be utilized to obtain new high-performance polymer materials. These composites are having satisfactory mechanical properties (i.e. tensile properties, flexural stress-strain behavior, fracture toughness, and fracture strength) which make them more attractive than other composites. Due to easy availability and renewability, natural fibers can be used as an alternative of synthetic fibers as a reinforcing agent. The aim of this paper is to review different natural fibers reinforced based polymer composites with mechanical characterization, applications, also shows the opportunities, challenges and future demand of natural composite material towards civil applications.

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the choicest tropical fruit of the world and rightly designated as "King" of all fruits. It is a nutritionally important fruit being a good source of vitamin A, B and C and minerals. Post-harvest losses in mangoes have been estimated in the range of 25 to 40% from harvesting to consumption stage. Improved practices and preservation have a great impact on retaining mango fruit quality and on the supply chain. Nowadays food irradiation process is an engrained technology for the preservation of foods and food products. Three different kinds of ionizing radiation are applicable for food irradiation processes (Gamma-rays which is emitted from the radio-isotopes Cobalt-60 and Caesium-137, or electron beams and X-rays). Food irradiation can be considered an evolving technique that is capable of increasing the shelf-life, deferring the ripening and senescence of fruits, and thwart of microorganism activity along with insect infestation. Irradiated food is save for human health. This review article is focusing on irradiation effects on mango and the adoption of improved practices by the farmer for export besides that of food safety.

Tanning is the process of converting the raw skin and hides from different animals into a sustainable and manageable material called leather. Leather making is a very long process and consists of many different chemical and mechanical process steps. The most important step of the whole leather making process is the tanning step, which is performed commonly either by vegetable or mineral tanning. More than 85-90% of the leather making is performed by chrome tanning, which is the most common type of mineral tanning currently applied.

Radiation is the emission or transmission of energy as waves or particles through space or through a material medium which is able to penetrate various materials and is often categorized as either ionizing or non-ionizing depending on the energy of the radiated particles. Radiation processing can be defined as exposure of materials with high energy radiation to change their physical, chemical, or biological characteristics, to increase their usefulness, and safety purpose, or to reduce their harmful impact on the environment. Ionizing radiation is produced by radioactive decay, nuclear fission, and fusion, by extremely hot objects, and by particle accelerators. The radiation coming from the sun is due to the nuclear fusion; therefore, we are living in a natural radioactive world. Radioactive substances are common sources of ionized radiation that emit α, β, or γ radiation, consisting of helium nuclei, electrons or positrons, and photons, respectively. Alpha rays are the weakest form of radiation and can be stopped by paper. Beta rays are able to pass through paper but not through aluminum. Gamma rays are the strongest radiation. They are able to pass through paper and aluminum, but not through a thick block of lead or concrete. Alpha and beta radiation are the high energy subatomic particles where gamma radiation is a form of high energy electromagnetic waves. This review presents the fundamental introduction of radiation, the three types of radiation, and their applications.

Microorganisms or microbes are microscopic organisms that exist as unicellular, multicellular, or cell clusters. Microorganisms are widespread in nature and are beneficial to life, but some can cause serious harm. They can be divided into five major types: Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi, Protozoa, and Viruses. Microbes are everywhere in the biosphere, and their presence invariably affects the environment that they are growing in. Microorganisms are beneficial in producing oxygen in environment, decomposing organic material, medicine, providing nutrients for plants, and maintaining human health, but some can be pathogenic and cause diseases in plants and humans. They perform a key role and act as main engineers in governing all ecological processes. They act as universal catalyst and provide ecological transformations. Regardless of whether they influence human health and welfare favorably or unfavorably, microorganisms are capable of profound influences on life. That is to say, it is an integral part of our lives, and therefore acquiring knowledge about it should also be essential and the main thing.

The objective of this paper is to discuss the potential of seaweed based polysaccharides as biopolymer in the formulation development and its allied applications. This review is an attempt to describe possible ways to produce environmental friendly bio packaging, bio textile, bio medicinal stuffs that can be at least slightly decomposed to smaller substances by the living organisms from marine algae. The main applications in food packaging and biomedicine are briefly mentioned followed by tentative applications in the domains of packaging, textile, paper and medical textiles which are described. This review also suggests new perspectives for future studies with these polymers.

Composites have been identified as the most promising and discriminating material now accessible in the twenty-first century. Currently, composites reinforced with high-performance fibers of synthetic or natural materials are gaining traction as the market's need for lightweight materials with high strength increases. Outstanding performance not only does a fiber-reinforced polymer composite have a high strength-to-weight ratio, but it also exhibits excellent qualities such as increased durability, stiffness, damping property, flexural strength, corrosion resistance, wear, impact, and fire. Composite materials have found uses in various industrial sectors, including mechanical, construction, aerospace, automotive, biomedical, and marine. Because their constituent elements and fabrication techniques primarily determine the performance of composite materials, it is necessary to investigate the functional properties of various fibers available worldwide, their classifications, and the fabrication techniques used to fabricate the composite materials. A survey of a broad range of high-performance fibers is offered, together with their qualities, functionality, categorization, and production procedures, to identify the optimal high-performance fiber-reinforced composite material for crucial applications. Due to their superior performance in a wide variety of applications, high-performance fiber-reinforced composite materials have emerged as a viable alternative to solo metals or alloys.

At present, natural or lignocellulosic fiber-based bio composites are the talk of the town due to their low density, cost effective, eco-friendly, renewable properties. Bio fibers such as jute, kenaf, pineapple, sugarcane, flax, leaf, hemp, wool, silk etc obtained from plants or nature which can be utilized to obtain new high performance polymer composite materials. The physical and mechanical characteristics of these bio fibers (e.g., tensile properties, flexural stress-strain behaviour, fracture strength, impact strength) make them more sustainable and attractive than synthetic fibers with a remarkable biodegradable characteristic. The aim of this review is to give a thorough overview on natural fibers and natural fiber reinforced bio composite materials, their major physical and mechanical properties and potential applications.