Environmental and resource aspects of sustainable biocomposites

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Abstract

This review critically discusses the environmental and resource implications for the design of sustainable biocomposites. Sustainable biocomposites should satisfy several requirements: (i) renewable and/or recycled resources should be utilized for their manufacture; (ii) the synthetic, modification, and processing operations should be benign and energy effective; (iii) no hazardous environmental or toxicological effects should arise during any stage of their life cycle; and (iv) their waste management options should be implemented. The future integration of biorefineries and green chemistry will guarantee the availability of a wide range of raw materials for their preparation. The emission of volatile organic compounds and the release of nanoparticles should be evaluated from a toxicological and environmental point of view. Finally, the susceptibility of sustainable biocomposites towards degradation, including abiotic effects (water absorption, thermo- and photo-oxidation) and biofilm formation and biodegradation, must be considered, to guarantee their structural and functional stability during service life, and to ensure their biodegradability and assimilation during composting. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Vilaplana, F., Strömberg, E., & Karlsson, S. (2010). Environmental and resource aspects of sustainable biocomposites. In Polymer Degradation and Stability (Vol. 95, pp. 2147–2161). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2010.07.016

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