1. Upcycling Sunflower Stems as Natural Fibers for Biocomposite Applications.
- Author
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Mathias, Jean-Denis, Alzina, Arnaud, Grédiac, Michel, Michaud, Philippe, Roux, Philippe, De Baynast, Hélène, Delattre, Cédric, Dumoulin, Nicolas, Faure, Thierry, Larrey-Lassalle, Pyrène, Mati-Baouche, Narimane, Pennec, Fabienne, Shengnan Sun, Tessier-Doyen, Nicolas, Toussaint, Evelyne, and Wei Wei
- Subjects
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NATURAL fibers , *COMPOSITE materials , *SUNFLOWERS , *PLANT stems , *SOCIOECONOMICS , *SUSTAINABILITY - Abstract
One of the big global, environmental, and socioeconomic challenges of today is to make a transition from fossil fuels to biomass as a sustainable supply of renewable raw materials for industry. Growing public awareness of the negative environmental effects of petrochemical-based products adds to the need for alternative production chains, especially in materials science. One option lies in the value-added upcycling of agricultural byproducts, which are increasingly being used for biocomposite materials in transport and building sector applications. Here, sunflower by-product (obtained by grinding the stems) is considered as a source of natural fibers for engineered biocomposite material. Recent results are shown for the main mechanical properties of sunflower-based biocomposites and the socioeconomic impact of their use. This paper demonstrates that sunflower stem makes a good candidate feedstock for material applications. This is due not only to its physical and chemical properties, but also to its socioeconomic and environmental rationales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015
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