Using Plantain Rachis Fibers and Mopa-Mopa Resin to Develop a Fully Biobased Composite Material.

A completely biobased composite material was developed using a matrix of natural resin extracted from the Mora plant, commonly known as Mopa-Mopa or "Barniz de Pasto", reinforced with fibers extracted from plantain rachis agricultural residues. A solvent process, involving grinding, distillation, filtration, and drying stages, was implemented to extract the resin from the plant bud. To obtain the resin from the plant bud, the vegetable material was ground and then dissolved in a water-alcohol blend, followed by distillation, filtration, and grinding until the powdered resin was ready for use in the preparation of the biocomposite.

Study of the Degradation of a TPS/PCL/Fique Biocomposite Material in Soil, Compost, and Water.

The degradability of the biocomposite produced from a binary mixture of thermoplastic banana starch (TPS) and polycaprolactone (PCL) reinforced with fique fibers (Fs) was evaluated in three different environments (soil, compost, water). An experimental design with two factors (soil and compost) and three levels (5, 10, and 20 cm) was used, with additional tests for a third aqueous environment (water from the lake of the Universidad del Valle) at a depth of 20 cm. The biocomposite was prepared from the implementation of a twin-screw extrusion process of the binary mixture TPS/PCL and fique fibers (54, 36, and 10% composition, respectively), followed by hot compression molding, and after that, generating ASTM D638 type V specimens using a stainless-steel die.