Experimental Analysis of the Behavior of Straw Biocomposite Exposed to High Temperature

In view of the climate emergency and the need for energy transition, the use of materials with low environmental impact based on plant co-products or from recycling is strongly encouraged. Biobased materials have been developed in recent years and have shown interesting performances, particularly for the thermal insulation of buildings. Nevertheless, their use is still hampered by the lack of rules for their use and control of their behaviour in normal or accidental conditions of use such as excess water or fire. In this work, the behaviour of biocomposites based on cereal straw exposed to high temperatures was studied. The objective is to evaluate the effect of this temperature increase on the mechanical strength of the material and its thermal properties using different heating scenarios. The biocomposites considered for this study were developed as part of the PEPITE project funded by the “Region Centre Val de Loire”. They are materials composed of two different binders: lime, and plaster, straw aggregates and additives (air entraining agent, casein protein and biopolymer). In order to simulate fire, two temperatures were chosen for the study 200°C and 210°C, using four different heating rates to study their impact on the behaviour of dry and wet conditions of biocomposites. The purpose of this tests is to examine whether the material retains its insulating properties and its buildability. The results showed that the use of additives had negative effects on the behaviour of the materials with respect to temperature increase. Their use accelerates the degradation and burning of biocomposites faster than for samples without additives. Plaster based composites show a better behavior to high temperature than lime-based composites. Nevertheless, lime composites have a higher strength than plasters. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of plaster is lower than that of lime. It should be noted that the heating rate has a significant impact on the behaviour of the material, the slower the rate, the more the material is degraded.

Biobased Innovation as a Fashion and Textile Design Must: A European Perspective

Fashion industry investments drive the choice for textile solutions characterized by radical experimentation and a firm commitment to sustainability. In the last five years, textile innovations have been strongly related to biobased textile solutions evolving to become effectively feasible and strategic. The produced qualitative knowledge implementations consider new production patterns, innovative technical and digital know-how, and new consumption scenarios. The directions the industry is tracing may provide new opportunities for future textile development in the circular biobased economy. This paper presents a map of current European practices. It discusses the possible passage through a holistic paradigm that goes beyond the boundaries of the old productive systems to accompany the sector towards a new sustainable and transversal state. It also presents three selected best practices that return the actual context in which the phenomenon occurs. A model is presented to demonstrate how these circular processes of biobased materials production enable more process innovations which are developed through implementing the process itself: companies’ search for rethinking and implementing the traditional practices or designing new ones (as determined by the doctoral research of one of the authors).

Natural Polymers Used in Edible Food Packaging—History, Function and Application Trends as a Sustainable Alternative to Synthetic Plastic

In this review, a historical perspective, functional and application trends of natural polymers used to the development of edible food packaging were presented and discussed. Polysaccharides and proteins, i.e., alginate; carrageenan; chitosan; starch; pea protein, were considered. These natural polymers are important materials obtained from renewable plant, algae and animal sources, as well as from agroindustrial residues. Historically, some of them have been widely used by ancient populations for food packaging until these were replaced by petroleum-based plastic materials after World War II. Nowadays, biobased materials for food packaging have attracted attention. Their use was boosted especially because of the environmental pollution caused by inappropriate disposal of plastic packaging. Biobased materials are welcome to the design of food packaging because they possess many advantages, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility and low toxicity. Depending on the formulation, certain biopolymer-based packaging may present good barrier properties, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities Thus, polysaccharides and proteins can be combined to form diverse composite films with improved mechanical and biological behaviors, making them suitable for packaging of different food products.

Natural Polymers-Based Materials: A Contribution to a Greener Future

Natural polymers have emerged as promising candidates for the sustainable development of materials in areas ranging from food packaging and biomedicine to energy storage and electronics. In tandem, there is a growing interest in the design of advanced materials devised from naturally abundant and renewable feedstocks, in alignment with the principles of Green Chemistry and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This review aims to highlight some examples of the research efforts conducted at the Research Team BioPol4fun, Innovation in BioPolymer-based Functional Materials and Bioactive Compounds, from the Portuguese Associate Laboratory CICECO–Aveiro Institute of Materials at the University of Aveiro, regarding the exploitation of natural polymers (and derivatives thereof) for the development of distinct sustainable biobased materials. In particular, focus will be given to the use of polysaccharides (cellulose, chitosan, pullulan, hyaluronic acid, fucoidan, alginate, and agar) and proteins (lysozyme and gelatin) for the assembly of composites, coatings, films, membranes, patches, nanosystems, and microneedles using environmentally friendly strategies, and to address their main domains of application.

Recent Advances on the Development of Protein-Based Adhesives for Wood Composite Materials—A Review

The industrial market depends intensely on wood-based composites for buildings, furniture, and construction, involving significant developments in wood glues since 80% of wood-based products use adhesives. Although biobased glues have been used for many years, notably proteins, they were replaced by synthetic ones at the beginning of the 20th century, mainly due to their better moisture resistance. Currently, most wood adhesives are based on petroleum-derived products, especially formaldehyde resins commonly used in the particleboard industry due to their high adhesive performance. However, formaldehyde has been subjected to strong regulation, and projections aim for further restrictions within wood-based panels from the European market, due to its harmful emissions. From this perspective, concerns about environmental footprint and the toxicity of these formulations have prompted researchers to re-investigate the utilization of biobased materials to formulate safer alternatives. In this regard, proteins have sparked a new and growing interest in the potential development of industrial adhesives for wood due to their advantages, such as lower toxicity, renewable sourcing, and reduced environmental footprint. This work presents the recent developments in the use of proteins to formulate new wood adhesives. Herein, it includes the historical development of wood adhesives, adhesion mechanism, and the current hotspots and recent progress of potential proteinaceous feedstock resources for adhesive preparation.

Hygrothermal performance of hemp lime concrete embedded with phase change materials for buildings

The use of biobased materials in building construction allows the reduction of fossil resource use and energy consumption. Among biobased materials, hemp lime concrete has been investigated in many studies highlighting its capacity to regulate interior relative humidity and its high insulation capacity. In order to design high-performance biobased concretes, a new hemp lime concrete combining the hygric regulation capacity of hemp lime concrete with the thermal regulation performance of phase change material was developed. This article focuses on the thermal and hygric performance of the new hemp lime concretes incorporating micro-capsulated phase change material (PCM) (named HL-PCM). Three hemp lime concretes that differ from formulation were developed and investigated. The thermal properties, moisture buffer values and its impact on interior relative humidity variation have been presented. Thanks to experimental works and numerical simulations, the results obtained showed that the thermal conductivity remain low, the heat capacity and thermal inertia increase considerably for hemp concrete with PCM, while the moisture buffering capacity remains excellent. Finally, numerical results showed that the used of hemp lime concrete (with and without PCM) reduce indoor relative humidity variation and improve indoor hygrothermal comfort.