Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers 2000–2010.pdf

G Model JPPS-745; No. of Pages 45 ARTICLE IN PRESS Progress in Polymer Science xxx (2012) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Progress in Polymer Science j o u r na l h o me p a g e : w w w . e l s evi er.c o m/l ocate/ppoly sci Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers: 2000–2010 Omar Faruk a,d,∗ , Andrzej K. Bledzki a,c , Hans-Peter Fink b , Mohini Sain d a Institut für Werkstofftechnik, Kunststoff- und Recyclingtechnik, University of Kassel, Moenchebergstrasse 3, D-34109 Kassel, Germany b Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research, Geiselbergstrasse 69, D-14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany c West Pomeranian University of Technology, Institute of Material Science and Engineering, 19 Piastow Ave, 70310 Szczecin, Poland d Centrefor Biocomposites and Biomaterials Processing, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON M5S3B3, Canada a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Due to environment and sustainability issues, this century has witnessed remarkable Received 3 August 2011 achievements in green technology in the field of materials science through the devel- Received in revised form 19 April 2012 opment of biocomposites. The development of high-performance materials made from Accepted 25 April 2012 natural resources is increasing worldwide. The greatest challenge in working with natural Available online xxx fiber reinforced plastic composites is their large variation in properties and characteristics.