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Polymers
Special Issues
Polymer Composites and Sustainability
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Polymer Composites and Sustainability

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Circular and Green Polymer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2021) | Viewed by 10357

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zaida Ortega

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería de Procesos, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Interests: natural fibers; composites; biomaterials; processing; rotational molding; PLA; polyethylene; recycling; agrowastes
Prof. Dr. Abbas Tcharkhtchi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, CNRS, CNAM, PIMM, HESAM University, 75013 Paris, France
Interests: polymers and composites; polymer processing; mechanical properties; solid mechanics; fracture mechanics; material characterization; additive manufacturing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability requires a balance between environmental, societal, and economic profits. Composites can be found in a wide number of applications, with the market being expected to increase by over an 8% from 2020 to 2021, and from 74 billion dollars in 2020 to almost 113 billion dollars in 2025. The excellent properties of such materials explain this increase and their adoption in several sectors; their relatively low weight and good durability, among other properties, make them interesting from the point of view of sustainability, although some questions are still to be answered. Are they recyclable, and to what extent? Can composites be biodegradable? Does the use of biobased materials (both matrices and fillers/reinforcements) make the composite sustainable?

So, this Special Issue focuses on studies of the end-of-life of composites (recyclability, design for reuse/disassembly), the use of alternative feedstocks for their production, and biodegradability, etc.

Dr. Zaida Ortega

Prof. Dr. Abbas Tcharkhtchi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Natural fibres
  • composites 
  • biomaterials 
  • agrowastes

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 26341 KiB  
Article
Development of Blends to Improve Flexibility of Biodegradable Polymers
by María Jordá-Reolid, Ana Ibáñez-García, Linda Catani and Asunción Martínez-García
Polymers 2022, 14(23), 5223; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14235223 - 01 Dec 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1817
Abstract
In this study, binary blends of biodegradable polymers were prepared to improve the ductile properties of those that have a more rigid and/or brittle behaviour. Specifically, PLA, PHA and TPS were blended with different amounts of PBS with the objective of reducing the [...] Read more.
In this study, binary blends of biodegradable polymers were prepared to improve the ductile properties of those that have a more rigid and/or brittle behaviour. Specifically, PLA, PHA and TPS were blended with different amounts of PBS with the objective of reducing the stiffness and brittleness of the three polymers. The compatibility of the blends and their resulting mechanical properties were studied. The flexibility of the blends increased with the addition of PBS; however, a limited compatibility was achieved, leading to a low impact resistance improvement. For this reason, other blend options with an EVA-based material were studied, increasing the impact resistance and flexibility of the PLA material in this case. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites and Sustainability)
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17 pages, 3825 KiB  
Article
Are Natural-Based Composites Sustainable?
by Luis Suárez, Jessica Castellano, Sara Díaz, Abbas Tcharkhtchi and Zaida Ortega
Polymers 2021, 13(14), 2326; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13142326 - 15 Jul 2021
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4056
Abstract
This paper assesses the aspects related to sustainability of polymer composites, focusing on the two main components of a composite, the matrix and the reinforcement/filler. Most studies analyzed deals with the assessment of the composite performance, but not much attention has been paid [...] Read more.
This paper assesses the aspects related to sustainability of polymer composites, focusing on the two main components of a composite, the matrix and the reinforcement/filler. Most studies analyzed deals with the assessment of the composite performance, but not much attention has been paid to the life cycle assessment (LCA), biodegradation or recyclability of these materials, even in those papers containing the terms “sustainable” (or its derivate words), “green” or “eco”. Many papers claim about the sustainable or renewable character of natural fiber composites, although, again, analysis about recyclability, biodegradation or carbon footprint determination of these materials have not been studied in detail. More studies focusing on the assessment of these composites are needed in order to clarify their potential environmental benefits when compared to other types of composites, which include compounds not obtained from biological resources. LCA methodology has only been applied to some case studies, finding enhanced environmental behavior for natural fiber composites when compared to synthetic ones, also showing the potential benefits of using recycled carbon or glass fibers. Biodegradable composites are considered of lesser interest to recyclable ones, as they allow for a higher profitability of the resources. Finally, it is interesting to highlight the enormous potential of waste as raw material for composite production, both for the matrix and the filler/reinforcement; these have two main benefits: no resources are used for their growth (in the case of biological materials), and fewer residues need to be disposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites and Sustainability)
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17 pages, 6230 KiB  
Article
The Role of Zinc Chloride in Enhancing Mechanical, Thermal and Electrical Performance of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate/Carbonized Wood Fiber Conductive Composite
by Mohd Hanif Mohd Pisal, Azlin Fazlina Osman, Tan Soo Jin, Rozyanty A. Rahman, Awad A. Alrashdi and Abdulhakim Masa
Polymers 2021, 13(4), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13040600 - 17 Feb 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3635
Abstract
Carbonized natural filler can offer the production of low cost composites with an eco-friendliness value. The evolving field of electronics encourages the exploration of more functions and potential for carbonized natural filler, such as by modifying its surface chemistry. In this work, we [...] Read more.
Carbonized natural filler can offer the production of low cost composites with an eco-friendliness value. The evolving field of electronics encourages the exploration of more functions and potential for carbonized natural filler, such as by modifying its surface chemistry. In this work, we have performed surface modification on carbonized wood fiber (CWF) prior to it being used as filler in the ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) composite system. Zinc chloride (ZnCl2) with various contents (2 to 8 wt%) was used to surface modify the CWF and the effects of ZnCl2 composition on the surface morphology and chemistry of the CWF filler were investigated. Furthermore, the absorptive, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the EVA composites containing CWF-ZnCl2 were also analyzed. SEM images indicated changes in the morphology of the CWF while FTIR analysis proved the presence of ZnCl2 functional groups in the CWF. EVA composites incorporating the CWF-ZnCl2 showed superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties compared to the ones containing the CWF. The optimum content of ZnCl2 was found to be 6 wt%. Surface modification raised the electrical conductivity of the EVA/CWF composite through the development of conductive deposits in the porous structure of the CWF as a channel for ionic and electronic transfer between the CWF and EVA matrix. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer Composites and Sustainability)
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