Скачать книгу

the most important step [8, 9]. In such techniques, several preferred fibers as well as polymer assets including mechanical, physical, economic, and environmental, have to be revealed in parallel and assessed to determine the best type of fibers for a certain application [9–11]. Further, proper capabilities and performance of new materials including the biobased ones, would enhance their industrial applications.

Schematic illustration of nanocellulose applications. Schematic illustration for the structure of cellulose extracted from plants.

      In general, the natural fibers are used in polymer composites as reinforcement [14–17]. Hence, the properties of these composites will directly be influenced by the type of fibers used, their aspect ratio (length/width), their extraction processes, and their interaction with the matrix material [18–20].

      Biodegradable materials are increasingly demanded to replace the conventional materials. Thermoplastic starch, for instance, is obtained from corn, potatoes, or other cereals. It mainly consists of amylose and amylopectin. As thermoplastic starch has highly sensitivity toward hydrolysis, and due to its low mechanical performance, it is usually used as a matrix for composites and not as a reinforcement. However, the starch phase is blended with polyesters to produce very interesting biodegradable products [21–23]. Examples of such products are commercially available in many fields such as the food packaging industry and in the manufacture of disposable items and films. Biomaterials are more and more in demand to replace the conventional materials and products in some applications. Thus, more efforts are still required to include their use in many industrial fields such as automobile, aerospace, construction, electronic, and food industries. However, before using the biodegradable materials in these industries, their reactions and performance with fire should be carefully assessed with various tools as well as with most newly established materials [24–29]. Thermoplastic starch has demonstrated good flame retardancy by including aluminum trihydroxide and coconut fibers; fire growth rate and the total heat release were significantly suppressed. This is due to the increase in carbonaceous char accompanied by the reduction of carbon content in the pyrolysis products. Also, using coconut fibers replaced a significant portion the aluminum trihydroxide causing its overall reduction in the thermoplastic starch. These results of flame retardancy opened the gate for researchers to explore alternatives from natural fibers to replace the current flame‐retardant additives for the thermoplastic starch biocomposites [30]. Thermoplastic starch‐blend materials are mainly produced for compostability. Hence, the organic wastes will be reduced, and the biogases will be decreased.

Schematic illustration of the classification of polymers. Schematic illustration of the commonly used forms of scaffolds in tissue engineering.

Скачать книгу