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Greener Composites from Plant Fibers: Preparation, Structure, and Properties

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Book cover Handbook of Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

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Abstract

Plant fibers are the witness of human civilization and their long journey. They are earliest known grown plants which developed and cultivated as per human needs and values. In terms of industries also, these fibers are significant part of textiles but got eliminated due to the introduction of cheap synthetic textile fibers. However, increasing awareness for environment conservation, global waste accumulation, pollution, and rising high crude oil prices encouraged the governments, researchers, industries, and farmers to look for some environment-friendly composites and polymers as alternatives to synthetic ones like glass, aramid, and carbon. Here, the journey of “biocomposites/green composites” started as the next-generation materials. Green composites synthesize entirely from renewable agricultural resources such as natural fiber (bamboo, banana, jute, wheat, sisal, sugarcane, oil palm, cotton, flax straw, silk, and coconut) and biodegradable polymers (PCL, polyester amide, poly (3-hydroxybutyrate), and polyhydroxyalkanoates). For fabrication of green composites, both components are fused by injection molding, compression molding, thermoforming, pultrusion, resin transfer molding, and hot pressing or mechanical and melt mixing technique. Fractional composition of fiber and biopolymers rely on the required properties of the final composite. In some cases, plant fibers also undergo chemical processing to enhance their technical properties. Nowadays, biocomposites are used by many industries including automobile, biomedical, energy, toys, and sports in place of conventional composites due to their flexibility, adaptability, and tensile strength. This chapter highlights the different aspects of green composites including preparation, and application in various industrial sectors.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

    Devarajan Thangadurai & Ravichandra Hospet

  2. Department of Zoology, Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

    Suraj Shashikant Dabire & Muniswamy David

  3. Department of Environmental Science, Central University of Kerala, Periye, Kasaragod, India

    Jeyabalan Sangeetha

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Maan, Jordan

    Abdel Rahman Mohammad Said Al-Tawaha

  5. Applied Microbiology, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Edo University Iyamho, Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria

    Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji

  6. Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biosciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

    Saher Islam

  7. Department of Applied Genetics, Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka, India

    Arun Kashivishwanath Shettar

  8. Nutrition and Toxicological Research Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry Sciences, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria

    Juliana Bunmi Adetunji

Authors
  1. Devarajan Thangadurai
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  2. Suraj Shashikant Dabire
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  3. Jeyabalan Sangeetha
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  4. Abdel Rahman Mohammad Said Al-Tawaha
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  5. Charles Oluwaseun Adetunji
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  6. Saher Islam
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  7. Arun Kashivishwanath Shettar
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  8. Muniswamy David
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  9. Ravichandra Hospet
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  10. Juliana Bunmi Adetunji
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry Science, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico

    Oxana Vasilievna Kharissova

  2. Instituto de Ingeniería Civil, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Leticia Myriam Torres-Martínez

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico

    Boris Ildusovich Kharisov

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Thangadurai, D. et al. (2021). Greener Composites from Plant Fibers: Preparation, Structure, and Properties. In: Kharissova, O.V., Torres-Martínez, L.M., Kharisov, B.I. (eds) Handbook of Nanomaterials and Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36268-3_21

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