Soy protein-based green composites

Soy protein-based green composites are not only applied as an environmental friendly material in the fields of adhesives (Kumar et al. 2002), plastics (Kumar et al. 2011), and textile fibers (Kobayashi et al. 2014), but also as biodegradable membranes (Mamthi et al. 2014). Furthermore, the nutritional and health benefits of soy protein draw attention to the application in the field of biomedical materials (Silva et al. 2014), such as tissue engineering scaffolds (Chien and Shah 2012),... 

Nakamura, R, Netravali, A.N., Morgan, A.B., Nyden, M.R., Gilman, J.W., 2013. Effect of halloysite nanotubes on mechanical properties and flammability of soy protein based green composites. Fire and Materials 37, 75—90. 

Nanocellulose-based biocomposites merge two types of composites biocomposites and nanocomposites. If the biopol5mier matrix is filled with plant-derived fillers such as wood fibers, cellulose, and soy proteins, biocomposites ("green composites") are formed. And if the filler is nanoscale, then nanocomposites are produced. In case of nanocellulose-based biocomposites, nanofillers of natural origin are mixed with biodegradable pol mier matrices. Therefore, in this part of the chapter both biocomposites and nanocomposites will be discussed. Moreover, examples of nanocellulose-based biocomposites applications will be presented. Much emphasis will be p ut on biomedical application of this type of composites as they seem to become a significant part of the future biomedical technology. 

The following sections provide brief information regarding the plant-based fibers and describe some of the research efforts in developing green composites using plant-based fibers and soy protein-based resins. 

Soy Protein- and Starch-Based Green Composites/Nanocomposites Preparation, Properties, and Applications... 

This chapter focuses on soy protein and starch-based green composites and discusses the effects of biodegradable resin modifications and fiber treatment on mechanical and chemical properties. In addition, biodegradation of green composites has been briefly described. 

Huang X, Netravali A. 2007. Characterization of Flax Fiber Reinforced Soy Protein Resin Based Green Composites Modified with Nano-Clay Particles. Composites Science and Technology... 

Lodha, R, Fundamental approaches to improving performance of soy protein isolate based green plastics and composites, PhD Thesis, Cornell University, 2004. Lai, H.M., Padua, G.W. and Wei, L.S., Cereal Chem., 74, 49-59, 1995. 

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