Development and characterization of bio composites made up of sustainable materials for secondary load bearing structural applications

Abstract

The concept of material sustainability encompasses economic, environmental, and social factors, and the use of sustainable resources plays a vital role in reducing poverty and reviving low-carbon and green economies. Farmers leave the Pigeon Pea Stalks after harvesting the pulses, making newlinethem a source of lignocellulosic material. Agriculture residue such as PSF can contribute to material sustainability by acting as reinforcement or filler in polymers to develop composites. These materials possess numerous advantages such as biodegradability, reusability, low greenhouse gas emissions, higher specific properties, cost-effectiveness, and non-toxicity compared to synthetic materials. A handful of attempts have been documented using many agricultural residues as reinforcement in various polymers. Based on a literature review, it appears that PSF material has not been investigated in-depth as reinforcement in PLA and epoxy matrices to develop completely and partially degradable composites which lead the authors to investigate its potential as a source of reinforcement. This study focuses on the development and characterization of two types of composites. newline newline