Abstract
Multiple environmental concerns such as garbage generation, accumulation in disposal systems and recyclability are powerful drivers for the use of many biodegradable materials. Due to the new uses and requests of plastic users, the consumption of biopolymers is increasing day by day. Polylactic Acid (PLA) being one of the most promising biopolymers and researched extensively, it is emerging as a substitute for petroleum-based polymers. Similarly, owing to both environmental and economic benefits, as well as to their technical features, natural fibers are arising as likely replacements to synthetic fibers to reinforce composites for numerous products. This work reviews the current state of the art of PLA compounds reinforced with two of the high strength natural fibers for this application: flax and jute. Flax fibers are the most valuable bast-type fibers and jute is a widely available plant at an economic price across the entire Asian continent. The physical and chemical treatments of the fibers and the production processing of the green composites are exposed before reporting the main achievements of these materials for structural applications. Detailed information is summarized to understand the advances throughout the last decade and to settle the basis of the next generation of flax/jute reinforced PLA composites (200 Maximum).
Highlights
Composite materials have received much attention due to their versatile properties, which allow many applications in a huge number of fields
Flax and jute have the combination of high cellulose value and low microfibril angle that gathers the attention to study about these fibers as reinforcements in Polylactic Acid (PLA) matrix
Many techniques to improve the performance of natural composites are constantly evolving, this type of composites still exhibits lower structural capacity compared to synthetic fiber composites
Summary
Composite materials have received much attention due to their versatile properties, which allow many applications in a huge number of fields. Composite materials are made up of two or more materials with considerably different physical and chemical properties. The major benefits of the composite materials, when compared with conventional bulk materials, are their stiffness and strength relative to their typically low weight. These materials find applications in various industries like aerospace, automotive, sports, furniture, medical and packaging industries [1]. The strict regulations from the government authorities limit the use of traditional composite materials. These are usually made of glass, carbon or aramid fibers reinforced with epoxy, unsaturated polyester resins and polyurethanes. There has been a constant interest in the development of green composites
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