This book covers the production, management and changing patterns of global wood and fibre resources, with emphasis on the inter-disciplinary character of wood and related plant materials in terms of their resource value.

This book covers the production, management and changing patterns of global wood and fiber resources, with emphasis on the inter-disciplinary character of wood and related plant materials in terms of their resource value.

Based on the proceedings of the 10th international Cellucon Conference held in Turku/Abo, Finland, this book offers a comprehensive overview of research undertaken in all aspects of cellulosic pulps, fibes and materials including the production and processing of pulp and paper fibre.

This new Handbook provides engineers and scientists with the information and practical guidance needed to successfully design and manufacture products using biopolymers and biodegradable plastics. Biopolymers and biodegradable plastics are a hot issue across the plastics industry, and for many of the industry sectors that use plastic: from packaging to medical devices and from the construction industry to the automotive sector. This book brings together in one place a number of key biopolymer and biodegradable plastics topics-in chapters previously published as well as updated and new chapters-for a broad audience of engineers of and scientists, especially those designing with biopolymers and biodegradable plastics or evaluating the options for switching from traditional plastics to biopolymers. Topics covered include preparation, fabrication, applications and recycling (including biodegradability and compostability). Applications in key areas such as films, coatings, controlled release, and tissue engineering are discussed.

Completely revised and expanded to reflect the latest advancements in the field, Polysaccharides: Structural Diversity and Functional Versatility, Second Edition outlines fundamental concepts in the structure, function, chemistry, and stability of polysaccharides and reveals new analytical techniques and applications currently impacting the cosmeti

The book offers a comprehensive overview of research undertaken in all aspects of environmentally compatible polymers.

Natural fiber composites have experienced a renaissance over the last two decades as a response to societal demands for developing eco-friendly, biodegradable and recyclable materials. They are now being extensively used in everyday products as well as in automotive, packaging, sports and the construction industries. These fibers require surface treatments in order to improve their properties and interfacial bonding with polymer matrices, and to reduce their hydrophilic character. These methods can be grouped into three major categories: chemical, physical and biological. Chemical methods use chemical reagents to reduce fibers’ hydrophilic tendency and thus improve compatibility with the matrix. They also expose more reactive groups on the fibre surface to facilitate efficient coupling with the matrix. Physical methods change structural and surface properties of the fiber and thereby influence the interfacial bonding with matrices, without extensively changing the chemical composition of the fibers. They are cleaner and simpler than the chemical methods. Biological methods use biological agents like fungi, enzymes and bacteria to modify the fiber surface properties. These methods are not toxic like chemical methods and are not energy-intensive like physical methods. Surface Treatment Methods of Natural Fibers and their Effects on Biocomposites presents an overview and recent developments of these methods. All the major methods are reviewed, explaining the science and methodology behind each method. The effects of these methods on various properties of fibers and the biocomposites made from these fibers are analyzed in detail. The book will be an essential reference for academic researchers, materials scientists and engineers, postgraduate students and industrial researchers and development scientists and engineers working on natural fibers and biocomposites. Extensive coverage of all the surface modification methods (chemical, physical, biological) of natural fibers and its effect on properties of produced composites The chemical mechanisms which are utilized in surface treatments are discussed in detail and how these affect the interfacial properties and characteristics Systematic and comprehensive review on surface modifications of natural fibres, and explains how the effect of the surface treatment can be characterized and measured, as well as the effect on properties