Green Composites from Natural Resources

Waste biomasses are a special class of biopolymer-based materials found in nature, such as natural fibers, rice husk, and saw dust. Biopolymers are high-molecular-weight polymers of monosaccharide, repeated units joined through glycoside bonds. Though polymer research in general has become prevalent, studies pertinent to waste-biomass-based materials from renewable resources are limited as compared to synthetic polymers. Waste-biomass-based materials are of great importance as their feedstocks are renewable and they can be composted or recycled as well as being edible. These materials can also be more energy efficient compared to processing plastic. This book provides an overview of the developments made in the area of waste-biomass-based materials, including various kinds of cellulosic biofibers such as grewia optiva fibers, hibiscus sabdariffa fibers, saccaharum cilliare fibers, pine needles, and sisal fibers; flax fibers, coconut fibers, and baggase fibers; and rice husk, saw dust, wood flour, and straw; as well as their processing methods and potential applications in bio-based green composites. The book also discusses some critical issues and suggestions for future works.

Vijay Kumar Thakur received his B.Sc, B.Ed, and M.Sc from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India and his Ph.D from National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur, India. He worked for Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taiwan and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore before joining Washington State University, Pullman, USA as staff scientist. Member of the World Academic Publishing Conference Series: Engineering and Technology Frontier steering committee and the editorial board of several international journals on natural/synthetic polymers, composites, energy storage materials, and nanomaterials, he has coauthored five books, 20 book chapters, and one US patent, and published more than 100 research papers.