Biofibers

1. A. K. Mohantya, b, M. Misraa, b, G. Hinrichsen
Ian Melville

2. Overview
 History/ Common Uses
 Problem : Current Plastics Unsuitable
 Solution : BioFibers
 Economic Impact
 Drawbacks
 Future Projections

3. History / Common Uses
 Composite plastics started 1940s
 Urea, Melamine and Glass Fiber

4. Problems with Current Plastics
 Non-Biodegradable
 10,000,000 Tons of plastic disposed of
per year
 Dominating packaging industry

6. BioFibers
 Characteristic of Fiber depends on
location on plant:
 Leaf Origin
○ Pinapple Leaf, Henequen
 Seed Origin
○ Cotton
 Bast Origin
○ Flax, Hemp
 Fruit Origin
○ Coconut Husk

7. Bio Fibers
 Renewable BioFibers : 2E11 Tons/year
 Synthetic Fibers : 1.5E8 tons/year

8. BioFibers
 Natural Fibers vs Synthetic Fibers

9. Economic Impact

10. Economic Impact

11. Drawbacks
 Lower resistance to heat
 Variable market for biofiber components
 Traditional plastics already have
infrastructure built

12. Future Projections

13. Future Projections

14. Conclusion
 History/ Common Uses
 Problem : Current Plastics Unsuitable
 Solution : BioFibers
 Economic Impact
 Drawbacks
 Future Projections

15. References
 Mohanty, A. K., Misra, M. and Hinrichsen, G. (2000),
Biofibres, biodegradable polymers and biocomposites: An
overview. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 276-
277: 1–24. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1439-
2054(20000301)276:1<1::AID-MAME1>3.0.CO;2-W