Preparation and Characterization of Novel Poly(Lactic Acid) Composites Reinforced with "Latxa" Sheep Wool Fibers: The Effect of Peroxide Surface Treatments and Fiber Content.

"Latxa" sheep wool is rough, and it is not used in the textile industry because the fiber diameter is high compared with other wool fibers. Nowadays, this wool is considered as disposal and, with the aim to give it value, new uses must be explored. In the current work, the "Latxa" sheep wool fiber was evaluated as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) polymer reinforcement.

End-of-life fishing gear in Spain: Quantity and recyclability.

European Commission has approached the challenge of End-Of-Life (EOL) fishing gear and Abandoned, Lost, or otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) by focusing on circular economy. Current directives highlight the need to provide a proper management to EOL fishing gears, fostering their separate collection, transport, and treatment from a circular perspective. They also request Member States to set collection and treatment targets.

Morphological Analysis of Several Bamboo Species with Potential Structural Applications.

Bamboo constitutes a family of plants that are very promising and interesting as renewable materials for both large and small structure construction. To be used as an alternative to traditional materials; the understanding of its morphology and mechanical behavior is of crucial importance. As the distribution of fibers and vascular bundles differs for each type of bamboo; several bamboo types have been characterized: Phyllostachys aurea (PA), Arundinaria amabilis (AA) and (DS).

Improving the Efficiency for the Production of Bis-(2-Hydroxyethyl) Terephtalate (BHET) from the Glycolysis Reaction of Poly(Ethylene Terephtalate) (PET) in a Pressure Reactor.

The depolymerization process of PET by glycolysis into BHET monomer is optimized in terms of reaction temperature and time, by carrying out the process under pressure to be faster for reducing the energy required. Almost pure BHET has been obtained by working in a pressure reactor at 3 bar both at 220 and 180 °C after short reaction times, while for longer ones a mixture of oligomers and dimers is obtained. Depending on the potential application required, the obtention of different reaction products is controlled by adjusting reaction temperature and time.

Cellulose and Graphene Based Polyurethane Nanocomposites for FDM 3D Printing: Filament Properties and Printability.

3D printing has exponentially grown in popularity due to the personalization of each printed part it offers, making it extremely beneficial for the very demanding biomedical industry. This technique has been extensively developed and optimized and the advances that now reside in the development of new materials suitable for 3D printing, which may open the door to new applications. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is the most commonly used 3D printing technique.

Microplastics in the Bay of Biscay: An overview.

Microplastics (MPs) are an environmental problem of growing concern, and several studies have defined the Bay of Biscay (BoB) as a marine litter accumulation area. To address the abundance of MPs in this region, a critical overview is presented compiling the research performed to date on the different water bodies, sediments and biota. The comparative assessment highlights high spatial and temporal variability in MP distribution.

Water Uptake Behavior and Young Modulus Prediction of Composites Based on Treated Sisal Fibers and Poly(Lactic Acid).

The main aim of this work was to study the effect of sisal fiber surface treatments on water uptake behavior of composites based on untreated and treated fibers. For this purpose, sisal fibers were treated with different chemical treatments. All surface treatments delayed the water absorption of fibers only for a short time of period.

Functional properties and in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial effectiveness of pigskin gelatin films incorporated with hydrolysable chestnut tannin.

The impact of the incorporation of 10% w/w of hydrolyzable chestnut tannin into pigskin gelatin (G) films plasticized with glycerol (Gly) on the physicochemical properties as well as the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial effectiveness against food-borne pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Streptococcus aureus was investigated. A higher tendency to both redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) coloration characterized gelatin films incorporated with chestnut tannin. The reduced lightness (L) and transparency of gelatin-chestnut tannin films plasticized with 30% w/w Gly might be associated with certain degree of phase separation which provoked the migration of the plasticizer to the film surface.