Fibers, natural biodegradability

For use on all fibers, natural and synthetic. Good wetting. Stable to resins and finishing chemicals. Biodegradable. 

Biodegradable composite materials are materials obtained from nature or by synthetic methods, whose chemical bonds can be cleaved by bacteria or other microorganisms present in the biosphere. Composites of biodegradable polyester can be classified as composites made of polyester reinforced by carbon and glass fibers, natural fibers, and degradable polymers. 

Another strong aspect of vegetable fiber application in the industry is their ecological character with possibility of carbon dioxide reduction from the atmosphere during the fibrous plants cultivation processes. Use of bast fibers ensures biodegradability of the end product, if natural polymer, e.g., PLA is applied as a matrix. 

Keywords Agro-residues, banana bunch fibers, biocomposites, biodegradable, corn husk fibers, natural fibers, okra bast fibers, renewable... 

A decade ago, it was believed that the most common polymer composites, comprising about 30% glass fibers, would replace the nanocomposites having as reinforcement only 2 to 5 wt% nano-sized minerals. Unfortunately, this expectation turned out to be false [5]. For this reason, researchers started to look for alternative ways to replace classical glass fibers with natural, biodegradable materials, mostly with fibrous structures. The potential of this approach is demonstrated in [6],... 

A fully biodegradable composite consisting of both biodegradable fibers and soy-based resin was developed in 1999 [22]. Luo and Netravali called fully biodegradable and sustainable composites made from natural fibers and biodegradable resins, truly green composites. In recent years, green composites have been fabricated... 

Shibata, S., Cao, Y, and Fukumoto, 1. (2005) Press forming of short natural fiber-reinforced biodegradable resin Effects of fiber volume and length on flexural properties, Polym Test., 24,1005-1011. 

Rayon is unique among the mass produced man-made fibers because it is the only one to use a natural polymer (cellulose) directly. Polyesters, nylons, polyolefins, and acryflcs all come indirectly from vegetation they come from the polymerization of monomers obtained from reserves of fossil fuels, which in turn were formed by the incomplete biodegradation of vegetation that grew millions of years ago. The extraction of these nonrenewable reserves and the resulting return to the atmosphere of the carbon dioxide from which they were made is one of the most important environmental issues of current times. CeUulosic fibers therefore have much to recommend them provided that the processes used to make them have minimal environmental impact. 

With the renewed interest in environmentally friendly products, ceUulose esters are being re-evaluated as a natural source of biodegradable thermoplastics. CeUulose acetates are potentiaUy biodegradable (152). Films prepared from a ceUulose acetate with a DS of 2.5 were shown to require only a 10—12 day incubation period for extensive degradation in an in vitro enrichment assay. Similarly, films prepared from a ceUulose acetate with a DS of 1.7 saw 70% degradation in 27 days in a wastewater treatment facUity, whereas films prepared from a ceUulose acetate with a DS of 2.5 required approximately 10 weeks for similar degradation to occur. The results of this work demonstrate that ceUulose acetate fibers and films are potentiaUy environmentally nonpersistant. 

Special mention must be made of poly(lactic acid), a biodegradable/bio-resorbable polyester, obtained from renewable resources through fermentation of com starch sugar. This polymer can compete with conventional thermoplastics such as PET for conventional textile fibers or engineering plastics applications. Hie first Dow-Cargill PLA manufacturing facility is scheduled to produce up to 140,000 tons of Nature Works PLA per year beginning in 200245 at an estimated price close to that of other thermoplastic resins U.S. l/kg.46 Other plants are planned to be built in the near future.45... 

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