Recycling of natural fiber composites: Challenges and opportunities

Photocured Nanocellulose Composites: Recent Advances

“…In contrast, the use of organic solvents during composite processing may compromise the potential environmental benefits of the constituents, and more effort should be put toward solvent recycling . The recycling of the cured composites into high-performance materials appears to be very limited, as reviewed in the case of natural fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites . In this respect, reversible photopolymers that polymerize under a wavelength λ 1 and depolymerize under a wavelength λ 2 < λ 1 (i.e., higher energy) emerge as an opportunity to facilitate the recycling of the otherwise irreversible networks. , As an alternative to recycling nanocellulose composites, one may consider biodegradation, which is well researched but is is presently not clear on which end-of-life strategy would be the most sustainable one.…”

Recovery of Particle Reinforced Composite 3D Printing Filament from Recycled Industrial Polypropylene and Glass Fibre Waste

“…The use of fibre-reinforced polymer composites has increased in recent years across various industries, such as aircraft, energy, sports, infrastructure, medical, defence, electronics, and automobile industries [1]. In particular, carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) and glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) [1,2] regularly demonstrate favourable strengthto-weight ratios at multiple size scales.…”

“…The use of fibre-reinforced polymer composites has increased in recent years across various industries, such as aircraft, energy, sports, infrastructure, medical, defence, electronics, and automobile industries [1]. In particular, carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) and glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) [1,2] regularly demonstrate favourable strengthto-weight ratios at multiple size scales. Until recently, these materials have been readily adopted without complete consideration of the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of the product-from raw material extraction, production, use and end-of-life outcome.…”

3D Printable Sustainable Composites with Thermally Tunable Properties Entirely from Corn-Based Products

“…Since natural materials are low cost, abundant, renewable, and biodegradable, they offer a solution to the environmental issues and health hazards associated with conventional plastics. − Recent advances in natural fiber-reinforced biocomposites have stimulated interests in developing engineering-grade materials for additive manufacturing (AM). − ,− Distinct from traditional manufacturing, AM enables customized and precision fabrication of composites with the control of internal microstructures and enhanced mechanical properties. , Extrusion-based AM techniques, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) , and direct ink write (DIW), ,,, are used for 3D print parts using natural fiber composites. Cellulose fibers are used for reinforcement − ,− due to their superior mechanical properties . However, the hydrophilic character of cellulose fibers is incompatible with synthetic hydrophobic polymers, leading to poor interfacial bonding between fillers and matrix. , …”