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Sustainable Composites and the Environment
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Sustainable Composites and the Environment

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 17 October 2024 | Viewed by 11405

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Md. Saiful Islam

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, Bangladesh Army University of Engineering & Technology, Qadirabad, Natore 643, Bangladesh
Interests: biodegradable polymer composites; nanocomposites; biocomposites; green composites; natural fibers; hybrid composites; biomaterials; biofuels
Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman Sobuz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Building Engineering and Construction Management, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Khulna 9203, Bangladesh
Interests: concrete sustainability and fiber-reinforced composite concrete; recycling of low-cost lightweight aggregate concrete; sustainable concrete production from waste materials; life-cycle and sustainability assessment of composites concrete; construction hazard assessment and waste optimization in reducing environmental impact; green building technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global environmental awareness and concern have sparked the creation of sustainable composites that are resource-efficient and made from renewable sources. There has recently been a great deal of interest in creating materials that can replace synthetic materials, whose products typically cause environmental damage. As a result, there has been a growth in demand for biodegradable polymers or green composites made of natural fibers in many industrial sectors in recent years. Biopolymers and natural fibers are sustainable materials which are easily available in Nature and have the advantages low cost, lightweight, renewability, biodegradability, and high specific properties. Thus, green composites are highly desirable, next-generation sustainable materials that are biodegradable and environmentally beneficial. These new composites’ sustainability has increased their use in a variety of manufacturing industries, such as automotive interior linings (roof, rear wall, side panel lining), furniture, construction and buildings, packaging, and shipping pallets, among others. In contrast to traditional composites, green composite materials promote sustainability by including a variety of natural fibers and biopolymers, resins, and oils. However, the hydrophilic character of natural fibers has an impact on the interfacial interaction between the fibers and the polymer matrix. Therefore, one method to improve the interaction between the fibers and polymer matrix is to appropriately chemically modify the natural fibers. Some drawbacks of biodegradable materials include low gas- and water-barrier properties, poor toughness, low glass transition temperature and hydrophilic nature, which limit their use in commercial applications. This is avoided by combining biopolymers with a variety of natural fibers to enhance the material’s thermal, water barrier, mechanical, antibacterial, and degradability qualities. Additionally, adding natural fibers lowers the price of biopolymer products while also assisting in the creation of high-quality, competitively priced goods that are widely used in a variety of industries.

This Special Issue aims to present new concepts and approaches for the creation of environmentally benign and widely applicable sustainable composite materials. Additionally, we hope to receive unique and cutting-edge papers highlighting the most difficult aspects of sustainable composites, such as biodegradable composites, green composites, and nano-composites. Tailored green composite materials will be highlighted in this Special Issue for their unique uses in sustainable development. We also encourage authors to provide nano-technological approaches as they relate to the creation and use of sustainable composite materials.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Preparation and properties of sustainable composites;
  • Recent advances of green composites;
  • Physical, morphological and thermal properties of composites;
  • Natural-fiber-based polymer composites for sustainable development;
  • Novel composite fabrication technology;
  • Biodegradable polymer composites and their properties analysis;
  • Chemical modifications of natural-fiber-reinforced green composites;
  • Blending of polymers and biopolymers;
  • Sustainable composites for industrial applications;
  • Hybrid polymer composites;
  • Polymer-based concrete composites and their properties;
  • Nano-reinforcement polymer composites;
  • Recycling of polymers and composites;
  • Nanoparticles and nanocomposites;
  • Chitosan- and poly-lactic acid (PLA)-based composites;
  • Graphene-oxide-based composites;
  • Life-cycle and sustainability assessment of fiber-reinforced concrete composites;
  • Strength and ductility of flexural responses in RC structures;
  • Green building technology for sustainable construction practices;
  • Sustainable concrete production from waste materials;
  • Concrete sustainability and fiber-reinforced concrete composites;
  • Recycling of low-cost lightweight aggregate concrete;
  • Sustainable and eco-friendly high- and ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete;
  • Digital construction management for a sustainable approach;
  • Sustainable building design.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Md. Saiful Islam
Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman Sobuz
Guest Editors

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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • sustainability
  • biodegradable composite
  • green composites
  • natural fiber
  • biopolymer
  • nanocomposites
  • biocomposites
  • construction management
  • building sustainability
  • green building technology
  • fiber-reinforced concrete
  • recycled

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 7562 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Properties and Flexural Response of Palm Shell Aggregate Lightweight Reinforced Concrete Beam
by Md. Habibur Rahman Sobuz, Md. Saiful Islam, Abu Sayed Mohammad Akid, Shuvo Dip Datta, Turki S. Alahmari, Noor Md. Sadiqul Hasan, Md. Tareq Hossain Khondoker and Fahim Shahriyar Aditto
Sustainability 2023, 15(22), 15783; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152215783 - 09 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1305
Abstract
This work focuses on examining the mechanical characteristics and flexural response of reinforced concrete (RC) beams by incorporating oil palm shell (OPS) lightweight aggregate from oil palm shell waste. The OPS aggregates are replaced in various percentages, such as 0 to 50% of [...] Read more.
This work focuses on examining the mechanical characteristics and flexural response of reinforced concrete (RC) beams by incorporating oil palm shell (OPS) lightweight aggregate from oil palm shell waste. The OPS aggregates are replaced in various percentages, such as 0 to 50% of natural coarse aggregate (NCA). Mechanical properties of OPS concrete were conducted, and these properties were used to quantify the flexural performance of RC beams. Five RC beams with several gradations of OPS aggregates were cast and tested for this investigation. The first cracking, ultimate strength, load-deflection behavior, ductility index, and failure patterns of OPS aggregate beams were investigated as the corresponding behaviors to the NCA concrete beam. The fresh properties analysis demonstrated lessening the slump test by varied concentrations of OPS concrete. Furthermore, compressive strength was reduced by 44.73%, 50.83%, 53.33%, and 57.22% compared to 10%, 15%, 20%, and 50% OPC substitution at 28 days. Increasing OPS content in concrete mixes decreased splitting tensile strength, comparable to the compressive strength test. Modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity experiments exhibited a similar trend toward reduction over the whole range of OPS concentrations (0–50%) in concrete. It was revealed that the flexural capacity of beams tends to decrease the strength with the increased proportion of OPS aggregate. Moreover, crack patterns and failure modes of beams are also emphasized in this paper for the variation of OPS replacement in the NCA. The OPS aggregate RC beam’s test results have great potential to be implemented in low-cost civil infrastructures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Composites and the Environment)
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26 pages, 2313 KiB  
Article
Measuring the Benefits and Barriers of the Implementation of BIM in Sustainable Practice in the Construction Industry of Saudi Arabia
by Abdullah Alghuried
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14323; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914323 - 28 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1603
Abstract
The construction industry of Saudi Arabia has witnessed notable innovation in sustainable practices in the form of building information modeling (BIM). Previously, a few studies dealt with either the benefits and barriers of BIM or sustainability. However, there is a limitation in these [...] Read more.
The construction industry of Saudi Arabia has witnessed notable innovation in sustainable practices in the form of building information modeling (BIM). Previously, a few studies dealt with either the benefits and barriers of BIM or sustainability. However, there is a limitation in these studies in terms of finding out the benefits and barriers of BIM in sustainable construction projects, especially in the context of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the determinants that impact the adoption of BIM in the construction industry of Saudi Arabia. A thorough examination of the existing literature was conducted in order to identify the various factors that contribute to the benefits and barriers of BIM. The research employed a questionnaire survey of 152 building engineering professionals from Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire’s results emphasize the key factors that are essential for the implementation of sustainable BIM. Initially, barriers and benefits were prioritized according to the relative importance index (RII). In addition, the study utilized statistical methods to identify the top five barriers that were deemed most significant. The Cronbach alpha test confirmed the presence of a statistically significant level of consistency in the responses provided by stakeholders. Moreover, the Spearman correlation test demonstrated that there was no statistically significant variance among the groups in their responses. The results indicated that among the 28 benefit factors, “improving design efficiency (RII = 0.788)”, “encouraging the use of energy-efficient clean technology (RII = 0.786)”, and “promoting green building design, construction, and management” were the top three benefits from BIM implementation in sustainable construction projects. On the other hand, “recurring demand for increased resources, together with high costs (RII = 0.720)”, “absence of a well-defined method for exchanging operational management data (RII = 0.713)”, and “lack of skilled personnel (RII = 0.708)” were the top five barriers to the incorporation of BIMs in the sustainable construction industry of Saudi Arabia. This study can provide valuable guidance for policymakers in developing countries who seek to successfully complete sustainable construction projects by encouraging factors that drive BIM implementation and enhancing project performance through the utilization of the benefits of BIM. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Composites and the Environment)
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17 pages, 1629 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Transport Infrastructure Sustainability Performance: An Investigation of the Transportation Projects in Saudi Arabia
by Moahd Alghuson
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14174; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914174 - 25 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1349
Abstract
In the Saudi Arabian construction projects, the transport infrastructure sustainability assessment has become a priority in recent years. The purpose of this research is to assess the sustainability performance of transport infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia. It specifically seeks to assess the effects [...] Read more.
In the Saudi Arabian construction projects, the transport infrastructure sustainability assessment has become a priority in recent years. The purpose of this research is to assess the sustainability performance of transport infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia. It specifically seeks to assess the effects of these initiatives on the environment, society, and economy, while highlighting their advantages and disadvantages as well as potential areas for development. A key objective of this evaluation is to provide thoughtful analysis and suggestions for improving Saudi Arabia’s transportation infrastructure development. The study was conducted using a Likert-scale questionnaire survey among 197 professionals in Saudi Arabia. The Cronbach’s alpha test was conducted to assess the validity of the survey. Moreover, statistical analysis using SPSS software 25 was used along with the Spearman correlation test to evaluate the respondent behavior of the survey. The investigation serves as a foundation for devising strategies and policies to promote sustainable transportation practices in Saudi Arabia. The study’s insights can guide effective planning and regulations that prioritize sustainability, environmental preservation, and public support. By focusing on these outcomes, transportation networks can be improved, environmental impacts reduced, construction methods enhanced, and safety ensured for workers and the public. A durable, effective, and environmentally conscious transportation infrastructure for Saudi Arabia’s present and future generations could be achieved by embracing sustainable transportation infrastructure and giving priority to the determined results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Composites and the Environment)
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15 pages, 5334 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of Polyvinylidene Fluoride Fibers (PVDF) in the Diffusion and Adsorption Processes of Atrazine in a Sandy Soil
by Gabriella Melo de Deus Vieira, Moisés Antônio da Costa Lemos, André Luís Brasil Cavalcante and Michéle Dal Toé Casagrande
Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11729; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511729 - 29 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 604
Abstract
Sustainable solutions are increasingly being sought in the containment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, and the use of fibers is promising. In this context, polyvinylidene fluoride fibers (PVDF) have potential applications in various fields due to their mechanical and hydraulic properties, [...] Read more.
Sustainable solutions are increasingly being sought in the containment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, and the use of fibers is promising. In this context, polyvinylidene fluoride fibers (PVDF) have potential applications in various fields due to their mechanical and hydraulic properties, highlighting the sorption capacity due to their hydrophobic nature and large surface area. This study aimed to evaluate the sorption capacity, adsorption, and diffusion of atrazine by PVDF fibers with a concentration of 555.63 ppm in diffusion cells containing sandy soil and a composite of the fibers in blanket format at different contents (2% and 4%) relative to the dry mass of the soil. The diffusion and determination coefficients for each cell were calculated using Wolfram Mathematica software by means of a 3D model (Space × Time × cw/c0). The absorption results showed a mass gain, with and without prior drying of the fibers, of 70% and 60%, respectively, while the adapted adsorption tests showed retained amounts of atrazine of 0%, 11.4%, and 21.8%, respectively, for the samples without fiber, with 1.5 g of fiber, and with 4 g of fiber. And finally, the diffusion coefficients resulted in 6.25 × 10−13 m2/s, 6.03 × 10−13 m2/s, and 3.64 × 10−13 m2/s, respectively, for the sample without fibers, with 1.5% fiber, and with 4% fiber. This suggests that the use of PVDF fibers may be a viable solution for the containment of contaminated soil and groundwater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Composites and the Environment)
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Review

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28 pages, 3660 KiB  
Review
Benefits and Barriers of Implementing Building Information Modeling Techniques for Sustainable Practices in the Construction Industry—A Comprehensive Review
by Shuvo Dip Datta, Bassam A. Tayeh, Ibrahim Y. Hakeem and Yazan I. Abu Aisheh
Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12466; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612466 - 16 Aug 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3694
Abstract
The benefits and barriers of implementing building information modeling (BIM) and sustainability have all been the subject of numerous studies that have been performed both separately and in pairs. Despite this, there are presently no studies that include both of these ideas. This [...] Read more.
The benefits and barriers of implementing building information modeling (BIM) and sustainability have all been the subject of numerous studies that have been performed both separately and in pairs. Despite this, there are presently no studies that include both of these ideas. This paper aims to integrate various technologies, methodologies, and concepts to close this gap specific to the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sectors by outlining how concepts could coexist and support one another. To that goal, a thorough literature study was conducted to determine how recently academics had investigated the synergies between these fields. Results point to synergies, mostly the benefits and barriers of BIM in the sustainable construction sector. After the literature review, 46 identified factors associated with benefits and 21 factors associated with barriers were obtained. Among the factors, “Promoting carbon emission reduction” and “Enhancing material wastage reduction” are the top environmental benefits of implementing BIM in sustainable construction projects. The popular economic benefits were “Improving design efficiency”, “Reducing the overall project costs”, and “Promoting productivity” and the most important social benefit was “Enhancing project safety and health performance”. On the other hand, the lack of experts was the major barrier to BIM implementation in sustainable construction projects. Thus, the findings assist the BIM and sustainability integration’s benefits and barriers for a better and sustainable construction industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Composites and the Environment)
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18 pages, 2928 KiB  
Review
Sustainable Composites: A Review with Critical Questions to Guide Future Initiatives
by Martin A. Hubbe
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11088; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411088 - 16 Jul 2023
Viewed by 2127
Abstract
Composites, which have become very common in mass-produced items, have the potential to outperform similar materials made from any one of their individual components. This tutorial review article considers published studies that shine a light on what is required for such structures to [...] Read more.
Composites, which have become very common in mass-produced items, have the potential to outperform similar materials made from any one of their individual components. This tutorial review article considers published studies that shine a light on what is required for such structures to earn the name “sustainable”. The focus is on a series of questions that deal with such issues as the carbon footprint, other life-cycle impacts, durability, recyclability without major loss of value, reusability of major parts, and the practical likelihood of various end-of-life options. To achieve the needed broader impacts of limited research dollars, it is important that researchers choose their research topics carefully. Among a great many possible options for preparing truly eco-friendly composite materials, it will be important to focus attention on the much smaller subset of technologies that have a high probability of commercial success and large-scale implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Composites and the Environment)
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