Lightweight Materials from Biopolymers and Biofibers

For the first time, this book presents state-of-the-art research and technologies on the utilization of materials from biobased resources and weight reduction of industrial products, the two interest-arousing aspects in material industries nowadays. Dependence on petroleum-derived products and urgent need in reduction of energy consumption propelled the development of light-weight products from renewable biobased materials, including carbohydrates, proteins, bio-derived synthetic polymers.
Fibrous materials in micro- and nano- scales and their production have been summarized in this book. Due to their high mechanical properties comparing to films and particles, fibers are the most widely utilized forms of a variety of materials and have been employed as reinforcements in concrete, plastics and other materials for industrial applications. Proper utilization of fibers will effectively reduce the weights while preserving or even enhancing the mechanical properties of industrial products. This book introduces various fiber production approaches, including direct extraction of cellulosic fibers and regeneration of protein fibers from biobased resources, polymerization and fiber spinning of bio-derived monomers, and direct synthesis fibers from microorganisms.