Composites from renewable and sustainable resources: Challenges and innovations

Abstract

Interest in constructing composite materials from biosourced, recycled materials; waste resources; and their combinations is growing. Biocomposites have attracted the attention of automakers for the design of lightweight parts. Hybrid biocomposites made of petrochemical-based and bioresourced materials have led to technological advances in manufacturing. Greener biocomposites from plant-derived fiber and crop-derived plastics with higher biobased content are continuously being developed. Biodegradable composites have shown potential for major uses in sustainable packaging. Recycled plastic materials originally destined for landfills can be redirected and repurposed for blending in composite applications, thus leading to reduced dependence on virgin petro-based materials. Studies on compatibility of recycled and waste materials with other components in composite structure for improved interface and better mechanical performance pose major scientific challenges. This research holds the promise of advancing a key global sustainability goal.

Strategy for the preparation of lightweight polypropylene/polyethylene‐octene elastomer composite foams with different phase morphologies using supercritical carbon dioxide

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Because automotive parts require lightweight materials, PP must be lightweight. [7][8][9][10] For satisfying this requirement, foamed PP has become a research focus. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Chemical foaming agents and physical foaming agents are the most popular foaming agents for the preparation of PP microcellular foaming materials.…”

Recent developments in the synthesis of poly(hydroxybutyrate) based biocomposites

“…53 From sustainable resources, proper combination of the polymers is used to develop biocomposites. 54 Specific requirements for sustainable biocomposites include renewable and recycled sources, 55 energy effective processing and modifications, 56 no toxicity should be observed at any stage, 54 and waste material should be easily disposed of. 57 The biocomposites obtained from renewable sources are biodegradable.…”

Cross‐Linkable Liquid‐Crystalline Biopolyesteramide as a Multifunctional Polymeric Platform Designed from Corn Oil Side‐Stream Product of Bioethanol Industry

“…Valorizing biomass feedstocks and biorefinery downstream products is of utmost importance to improve the viability of a more sustainable economic model. [1] Therefore, in the same way as chemists developing platform molecules from sugar conversion such as hydroxymethylfurfural to synthesize the building blocks of tomorrow, [2] we attempt to extend this con cept in developing a sustainable polymer platform that can be easily tunable in terms of architecture and functionality for diverse applications. [3] Among the bioethanol industry side stream products like distillers' grains with solubles and carbon dioxide, corn oil (CnO) figures as one of the major coproducts with an approximated production of 3.6 billion pounds in 2017 in USA.…”