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In this era of green and sustainable manufacturing, natural fibre-reinforced polymer composites (NFPC) have been widely accepted as the potential alternatives for polymer matrix composites (PMC) or any other non-biodegradable composites. Despite the increasing need to replace plastic bottles, bags, disposable plastic plates and trays, seedling pots used in our day to day life, not many studies have been made in this direction. The current work aims at developing a hundred percent biodegradable composite by reinforcing waste Kibisu silk fibre into wheat gluten as a possible replacement of plastic disposables. The developed composites are made up of different mass fractions of Kibisu silk fibre reinforced into plasticised wheat gluten. The prepared composites have been characterised to obtain the best combination. The developed composites were found to have adequate tensile property, mass degradation at a considerably high temperature and most importantly, the outstanding rate of biodegradation under normal atmospheric conditions. The soil quality test before and after degradation also showed no significant changes in the quality of the soil. FTIR studies revealed improved interaction between wheat gluten, glycerol and Kibisu fibres upon addition of natural lemon extract as crosslinker. Overall results indicate that the developed biocomposites have the potential to substitute harmful plastic disposables like plastic seedling pots and plates, disposable hospital tray, dustbin, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocomposite scaffolds consist of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and wool keratin were obtained by an electrospinning process. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/wool keratin fibers had relatively rougher surfaces and smaller diameters. Thermogravimetric analysis showed higher thermal stabilities of the developed biocomposites compared to neat poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid). Mechanical tests showed that when the wool keratin content increased from 0% to 0.5% w/v, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/0.5% wool keratin scaffolds increased with maxima of 6.59 MPa and 104.44%, respectively, which was an increase of 8.2% and 570% over the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold. The biological response of bone mesenchymal stem cells to the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/1.5% wool keratin biocomposites was superior when compared to pure poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold in terms of improved cell attachment and higher proliferation. These observations suggest that the addition of wool keratin to a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) matrix can improve several properties of the electrospun poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) fibers, and the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/wool keratin biocomposites could make excellent materials for tissue engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over recent years, enthusiasm towards the manufacturing of biopolymers has attracted considerable attention due to the rising concern about depleting resources and worsening pollution. Among the biopolymers available in the world, polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the highest biopolymers produced globally and thus, making it suitable for product commercialisation. Therefore, the effectiveness of natural fibre reinforced PLA composite as an alternative material to substitute the non-renewable petroleum-based materials has been examined by researchers. The type of fibre used in fibre/matrix adhesion is very important because it influences the biocomposites' mechanical properties. Besides that, an outline of the present circumstance of natural fibre-reinforced PLA 3D printing, as well as its functions in 4D printing for applications of stimuli-responsive polymers were also discussed. This research paper aims to present the development and conducted studies on PLA-based natural fibre bio-composites over the last decade. This work reviews recent PLA-derived bio-composite research related to PLA synthesis and biodegradation, its properties, processes, challenges and prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]