MIT-World Peace University (MIT-WPU) is a top educational institute located in Pune, India. It is recognized within&nbsp;UGC under Government of Maharashtra Act No. XXXV 2017.&nbsp;

It is part of the MIT group of institutions (established in 1983) which covers 10+ campuses across India and has more than 50,000+ students enrolled across various disciplines at a given point of time. The institute houses 15 schools ranging from Engineering &amp; Technology, Design, Pharmacy, Commerce, Governance among others. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programs among different disciplines.&nbsp;

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MIT World Peace University

School of Polymer Engineering

In recent years, research has focused on developing polymers from agricultural waste, and jackfruit waste has been identified as a potential source. The utilization of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) waste for making value-added polymers is an innovative approach to reduce environmental pollution and create a sustainable environment. The edible part of jackfruit consists of only 40% of the whole fruit while other 60% goes to waste as non-edible part of the fruit. Jackfruit waste in mainly distributed into three parts which are seed, peel and latex respectively. Jackfruit waste is a significant source of cellulose and starch, which can be converted into various high-value products through different chemical and biochemical processes. The resulting value-added polymers have numerous applications in various fields, including packaging, textiles, and biomedical engineering. They exhibit good mechanical properties, thermal stability, and biodegradability, making them a promising alternative to conventional petroleum-based polymers. Considering the large volume of jackfruit production (&gt; 500,000 metric tons pa in six countries), this waste can become feedstock for making new polymeric materials. Circular economy practices along with environmental protection are the need of modern world. This review covers the characterization of different parts of jackfruit waste and its utilization in making lightweight polymer composites. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

World University root node

Engineering and Technology

Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

Review on conversion of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) waste for making value added polymers

Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

Separation of Heavy Metals from Metal Industry Effluent for Acid Recovery

Exploring the effective incorporation of natural fibers into polymer composites offers a sustainable approach to finding eco-friendly alternatives that do not harm the environment. Sheep wool–based polymer composites have emerged as a promising and sustainable alternative in the field of materials science. This review comprehensively examines the recent advancements and developments in the utilization of sheep wool as reinforcement in polymer composites. The abundant availability of sheep wool as a natural and renewable resource makes it an attractive option for enhancing the properties of synthetic polymers. The unique structural characteristics of wool fibers, such as their high aspect ratio, surface morphology, and chemical composition, contribute to the improved mechanical, thermal, and flame-retardant properties of the resulting composites. This review explores the various techniques employed for preparing sheep wool fibers, including mechanical treatments, chemical modifications, and functionalization approaches, to optimize their compatibility with polymer matrices. The interfacial interactions between wool fibers and polymer matrices are also discussed, along with the effects of various processing parameters on the overall performance of the composites. The introduction of sheep wool fiber reinforcement results in a significant uptick in tensile strength, showcasing enhancements of up to 25% compared to unmodified polymers. The inherent thermal stability of sheep wool fibers leads to an enhanced thermal resistance, as demonstrated by a 15 °C elevation in the onset degradation temperature. Moreover, sheep wool fiber reinforcement precipitates a remarkable 50% reduction in peak heat release rate, thereby spotlighting augmented flame-retardant attributes. Additionally, the integration of sheep wool fibers yields a notable reduction in water absorption by up to 30%, signifying improved resistance against moisture-related degradation. Moreover, this review highlights the potential applications of sheep wool–based polymer composites in diverse fields, including construction materials, automotive components, textiles, and packaging materials. Furthermore, the environmental benefits of utilizing sheep wool as a renewable resource and its role in waste reduction from the textile industry are emphasized. However, challenges and limitations associated with sheep wool–based polymer composites are addressed, paving the way for future research directions. Overall, this review presents a comprehensive assessment of the current state of knowledge regarding sheep wool–based polymer composites, providing valuable insights for researchers, engineers, and industries interested in sustainable materials development and environmentally friendly technologies. Sheep wool is an exciting biomass which has a potential to create sustainable and innovative materials. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Review on biomass sheep wool–based polymer composites

International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology

Acid-Modified ZnO Nanoparticles Embedded Polysulfone Membranes for Separation of Copper from Industrial Wastewater

Synthetic fibers were used as reinforcements for a long period of time due to their excellent properties and compatibility with natural rubbers. Tensile properties and manufacturability of natural fabrics- Jute and Bamboo are studied. Layer by layer type of composite was manufactured by compression moulding and the crosslinking of matrix and reinforcement was done by using chemlok 250 as adhesive. Properties obtained from the tests are given in this paper. Production was carried out in two stages, 1st stage was by using adhesive and the results were compared and based on these results 2nd stage of manufacturing was carried out without using adhesive and specimens of ASTM D412 standard die type A was obtained by water jet cutting. Tensile test was carried out on the basis of ASTM D412 standard. Results show that the strength of bamboo fabric as reinforcement increases the strength of material and can be used in many applications. Short fibers are always used as reinforcement in polymers for increasing their mechanical properties; one can also use the fabrics as reinforcement in different fields to increase the mechanical properties of the composites. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

School of Mechanical Engineering

Materials Today: Proceedings

Uniaxial tensile properties for bamboo and jute fabric reinforced natural rubber

Wood plastic composites (WPC) were made from polypropylene (PP), impact copolymer (ICP) and wood flour (WF) by varying the WF content from 10 to 40% with PP grafted maleic anhydride as a coupling agent. The effect of varying WF content was studied on rheological, thermal, mechanical properties and dynamic mechanical properties. Experimental small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) data was compared with the Einstein-Batchelor and empirical Krieger-Dougherty relations. Significant dependence of mechanical and rheological properties on WF content was observed. Young's modulus, flexural modulus and dynamic shear viscosity increased with WF content. Results of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed increase in storage modulus with WF content. Three millimeter thick compression molded composites sheets were thermoformed using axisymmetric molds with two draw depths. Sag observed visually during thermoforming decreased with increasing WF content. Components made from the composites showed close to uniform thickness distribution as compared to those from ICP. © 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

Journal of Polymer Engineering

Study of effect of wood-flour content on mechanical, thermal, rheological properties and thermoformability of wood-polypropylene composites

Waste cassava starch was soaked in water for 24 h and the solution was heated at 70 °C that was then plasticized by using different plasticizer such as glycerine, sorbitol, and polyethylene glycol separately (0%–40% with respect to starch). This was blended with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix in aqueous solution. Plasticizer content (Plc) was varied from 10% to 40% with respect to starch. The solutions were cast into films in a plastic dish and dried at 55 °C for 24 h. These were subsequently given short-time heat treatment (150 °C for 2 min). The films were characterized by XRD, FTIR and tested for mechanical properties and seal strength. The two prominent XRD peaks at 19.6° and 23° merge in one broad peak for high Plc percentage. The crystallinity (Ci) decreased with the increase of Plc percentage in the order PEG < sorbitol< glycerine. Increase in the content of PVA led to a shift of onset degradation temperature to higher value while an increase of Plc percentage it lowered slightly. The FTIR bands in the region of 1130–1020 cm−1 indicated crystal modification of starch after heating. The tensile strength decreased with the increase in Plc percentage but increased after heat treatment (even for Plc percentage of 30%–40%). The elongation increased considerably with Plc percentage but dropped after heat treatment. The seal strength increased with the increase of plasticizer content. There was optimum PVA concentration (66.6%) at which best seal strength was achieved. These results correlated well with the structural changes noted with respect to composition and annealing. The above study helps to develop ecofriendly packaging films and improvements in the seal strength of such films in presence of modified starch. © 2022 by Apple Academic Press, Inc.

Natural Polymers: Perspectives and Applications for a Green Approach

Effect of Thermal Treatment on Structure and Properties of Plasticized Starch– Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Blend Films

The use of conventional fiber (Glass/Carbon) reinforced polymer composites is not enough for many applications in modern world and hence hybrid polymer composites are required which can overcome the specific needs of various applications. In this study, farm-wastes are used to manufacture a hybrid composite which made it a cleaner material along with cost efficient one as well. Basalt reinforced sheep wool, paddy straw and bagasse based hybrid polymer composites with laminate structure were prepared using compression molding. Basalt fiber mats were kept on both sides of the mold and sheep wool content was varied in each composite sample. The composites then tested for their tensile, impact and thermal properties. The study on basalt-paddy straw-sheep wool and basalt-bagasse-sheep wool hybrid composites clearly brought out the effective use of waste material for producing value added product with improved properties. Varying of sheep wool also had optimum effect on these composites. Just 10% of sheep wool in these hybrid composites leads to more than 1.5 times improvement in tensile strength, 5 times increase in modulus, 3 times increase of elongation, and 2 times increase of charpy impact value at 20% sheep wool concentration. The thermal stability is also improved by 8–10 degrees as degradation temperature is increased. The sheep wool is more effective in basalt-paddy straw hybrid composite than the bagasse hybrid one. © 2022 The Authors

Cleaner Materials

Tensile, impact and thermal properties of farm-waste based hybrid basalt polymer composites

Thermoplastic PVC matrix was reinforced with waste fiber portion of Citrus Maxima (CM) fruit for making composites. The CM fibers were separated, dried at 50-60 °C for 24 h, coarse ground and sieved. PVC/CM fiber composite film with different fiber loading (10-70 wt%) were cast using solvent casting method. Sheets were cast in large petri dish using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as solvent and dried in an oven thoroughly at 50-60 °C. The evaluation of mechanical properties was done as per ASTM D882; stereo image of the fractured specimen and FTIR was used for the study of morphology and microstructure of the composite. Incorporation of fibers into PVC made the material stiff, leading to significant increase in Tensile Modulus, Breaking Strength and Yield Stress at higher filler loadings. Uniform distribution of the fibers in the microstructure of PVC matrix led to the formation of cross-ply structure and improved the mechanical properties. These results indicate that the fiber portion from CM can be effectively used as an eco-friendly reinforcing additive to form PVC composites.

School of Chemical Engineering

Studies on effective utilization of Citrus Maxima fibers based PVC composites

The use of composite adsorbent with nano particle additives having high surface area can lead to enhanced heat transfer, higher adsorption capacity and faster rate leading to better adsorber performance. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effectiveness of nanofluid as a cooling fluid of a composite adsorber by carrying out nanofluid characterization and to investigate adsorption-desorption characteristics of a composite adsorbent for ammonia as an adsorbate. An experimental set up with tube-in-tube type configuration was constructed to monitor the thermal characteristics (heat transfer from and to the adsorber) and ammonia adsorption/desorption rates. The composite of calcium chloride with activated carbon and expanded graphite nanoparticles was made having different concentrations of CaCl2 ranging from 40 % to 80 % in the composite and expanded natural graphite (ENG) content ranging from 0-3 % by weight. The desorption characteristics were studied at different temperatures from 70° C to 110° C. The cooling fluid with and without graphite nanofibers (GNF) was circulated in the inner tube at different flow rates from 5 LPH to 25 LPH. From the experimentation on adsorption-desorption characteristics, it was found that the total amount of ammonia adsorbed increased from 133 g for 50:50 composition of CaCl2:AC to 156 g for CaCl2:AC composition of 50:50 with the addition of 3 % ENG nanoparticles. Also the adsorption process time reduced from 22 minutes to 18 minutes. For 50 % CaCl2 in the composite the temperature at which the maximum desorption occurred was 70°C. So, desorption could occur at lower temperature, which is advantageous as it increases the number of options for heat sources to be used. When nanofluid was used as a cooling fluid of the composite adsorber, the total amount of ammonia adsorbed increased from 79.411 g for basefluid to 90.206 g for 0.4 % graphite nanofiber nanofluid for flow rate of 25 LPH. With the use of composite adsorbent of CaCl2:AC of 50:50 composition and addition of expanded natural graphite (ENG) by 3% and when 0.4 % graphite nanofiber nanofluid was used as a cooling fluid, the maximum ammonia was adsorbed up to the bed length of 600 mm only out of the total bed length of 1 m indicating the possibility of reduction in the size of an adsorber. © 2021 Author(s).