The processing of olive (Olea europaea L.) oil results in large quantities of solid waste consisting primarily of tree pruning remainders from olive trees growing. This has led to the idea of utilizing the leftovers into a value-added product; natural composite materials are utilized as alternatives to environmentally damaging synthetic materials. This study deals with the evaluation of the filling properties of the residue; olive tree small branch (OTS), olive tree big brunch (OTB) and olive tree leaves powder, for epoxy matrix biocomposite. Olive powder reinforced epoxy composite was processed at 40% filler loading.

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Due to the growing trend to promote alternative materials, the use of cellulosic fibers as filler/reinforcement in polymer composites has increased in popularity. The objective of this research is to determine the effect of flax fabric loading on the physical and mechanical properties of bio-phenolic/epoxy composites. The composites were fabricated using hand lay-up method in a mould and cured using a hot press. Bio-phenolic/epoxy blend was fabricated as control. The sample was tested for physical, tensile, flexural, impact and morphological properties. The result showed that, increasing the flax fabric loading has increased the water absorption and density of composites. The highest water absorption density was shown by the composite with 50 wt% flax fabric loading which is 3.73% and 1.23 g/cm3. In addition, there is no significant difference in void content for all composites. Moreover, the incorporation of flax fabric as reinforcement has improved the mechanical properties of composites. According to the morphological analysis results of the experiments, there was a good bonding interaction between the flax fabric and bio-phenolic/epoxy. The highest tensile strength, tensile modulus and impact strength was shown by composite with 50 wt% flax fabric which was 105.04 MPa, 9.10 GPa and 11.94 kJ/m2 respectively while composite with 40 wt% showed the highest flexural strength and modulus which was 150.45 MPa and 8.4 GPa respectively. It was concluded that, bio-phenolic/epoxy blend reinforced with 50 wt% flax fabric showed the best overall mechanical properties and it will be used in the future study to fabricate carbon/kevlar/flax reinforced bio-phenolic/epoxy for ballistic helmet application.

The consequence of 2% v/v silane-treated and 4% v/v H 2 O 2 -treated upon thermal and acoustic behavior of hybrid oil palm EFB (OPEFB) and sorghum stalks bagasse fiber (SCB) reinforced phenolic composites for wall thermal insulation application is discussed in this paper. Hand lay-up approach was adopted to manufacture plain and hybrid composites with diverse formulation ratios such as 70:30 (7OPEFB:3SCB), 50:50 (5OPEFB:5SCB), and 30:70 (3OPEFB:7SCB). The experimental samples were manufactured with a purpose density of 0.5 g/cm 3 . Plain and hybrid composites were investigated for thermal analysis and thermal conductivity testing. Impedance tubes were used for acoustic behavior analysis of composites. Hybridization of H 2 O 2 treated HT 50:50 (5OPEFB:5SCB) showed greater thermal cohesion with a final residual of 58.69%, followed by hybridization of silane-treated ST 50:50 (5OPEFB:5SCB) with a residual of 45.10%. This study looks at four distinct air gap thicknesses (0 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm). The results reveal that silane-treated ST 50:50 (5OPEFB:5SCB) hybrid composites and H 2 O 2 -treated HT 50:50 (5OPEFB:5SCB) hybrid composites improved sound absorption coefficients more than 0.50. Thus, we concluded that thermal and sound absorption performances of hybrid composites from agro waste promise an environmentally friendly alternative solution in wall building material production.acoustic properties, biophenolic resin, hybrid composites, oil palm EFB fibers, sorghum stalks bagasse fiber, thermal properties | INTRODUCTIONAccording to recent research studies, green composites made of natural fibers have always piqued the interest of researchers and industrial sectors as a result of their excellent mechanical and physical properties, thus increased stability and stiffness, improved sustainability, biodegradability, lightweight, safe, and easy processing. [1]

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Two types of three layered particleboard composite, homogeneous (Acacia mangium core-face/back) and heterogeneous (Acacia mangium core, mixed sawdust face/back) were fabricated with three different resin contents and densities. Three different resin content; 8:10:8, 10:10:10 and 12:10:12, were use with 500, 600 and 700kg/m3 board densities. Urea Formaldehyde (UF) was used as a binder and 1% of wax was added. The properties of bending strength (MOR & MOE) and internal bond strength (IB) were evaluated based on Japanese Industrial Standard; JIS A 5908:2003 Particleboard (2003). The results showed that there were relationship between resin contents and densities on homogeneous and heterogeneous particleboard composites. Result obtained indicated that bending and internal bond strength of homogeneous composite bonded using ratio of 12:10:12 resin content with 700kg/m3 density was better compared to ratio of 8:10:8 and 10:10:10 resin contents. When the densities were increased, the mechanical properties also increased.

Lightweight constructions materials provide better thermal insulations properties for buildings. Using lightweight’s aggregates, such like wood particles is one of the most common ways for making lightweight building materials. The low cost and availability of wood particles made it the best ultimate materials preference in production of composites construction materials. Geopolymer, the alkali-activation cement-based materials have been proven can be used to produce lightweight materials. In additional, geopolymer possess excellent mechanical properties and significant reduction in CO2 emissions compare to ordinary Portland cement. The use of environmentally friendly building construction materials has become increasingly important. This paper presents a review on producing lightweight building materials from geopolymer with wood particles as an aggregate.

Natural fiber-based materials are widely accepted in the composite sector as a substitute for synthetic fiber, particularly in structural and semi-structural implementations in the automotive and aerospace industries, reflecting a recent trend and increased awareness of the importance of sustainable product design.