Biocomposite sheets were created by blending taro pulp with rice straw, pineapple fibre, guar gum, and corn starch. The optimal composition, comprising 90 % taro pulp and 10 % corn starch, demonstrated impressive mechanical properties, including a tensile strength of 61.42 MPa, bursting strength of 13.19 kg/cm2, a contact angle of 63.4 degrees, and water uptake of 82.33 %. To understand whether these qualities can be improved by coating with chitosan, silk fibroin, or combinations of both, coated samples were also studied. Chitosan coating displayed a tensile strength of 26.79 MPa, while fibroin coating further reduced it to 15.87 MPa. Notably, a 50:50 chitosanfibroin blend increased the contact angle to 117.8 degrees, reducing water uptake to 49.67 % and water vapor transmission rate to 4.73 %, compared to 46.15 % and 3.96 % for pure fibroin coating. Analysis revealed similar spectra among coatings, indicating analogous functional groups. XRD showed a crystalline cellulose I structure with crystallinity indices of 71.96-74.18 %. DSC displayed transitions near 190-240 degrees C, while TGA showed two- stage degradation with T5 at 130-180 degrees C, T10 at 244-264 degrees C, and T50 at 325-336 degrees C. SEM confirmed surface modifications induced by coatings. Combinations with higher fibroin content exhibited reduced water uptake and water vapor transmission rates compared to pure chitosan due to differences in chemical composition. While chitosan enhanced tensile strength, fibroin had a mitigating effect. Although not fully biodegradable, the coated sheets showed varying degrees of biodegradability under soil burial conditions for 60 days. These findings highlight the tunable properties of biocomposite sheets through composition and coatings, promising for packaging applications.

The interest in natural fibres in non - textile applications has increased as a result of the search for new renewable materials. Especially attractive for environmental safety demands are biodegradable and renewable fibres such as lignocellulose fibres and biopolymers such as PLA. The analysis of their biodegradation is often taken as a standard measure for environmentally friendly textile materials. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the biodegradation properties of Jute and PLA fibres by soil burial test. The fibres were exposed to the farmland soil for 11 days. The efficiency of the biodegradability was determined by comparison of mass loss, mechanical properties (finesses and tenacity) and morphological analysis by SEM microscope. With the purpose of a better understanding of biodegradation, the number of total fungi and bacteria in the soil is also determined.

Geotextiles are widely being used for different soil engineering applications such as filtration, separation, drainage, reinforcement and erosion control. Synthetic geotextiles are mainly produced from the petroleum-derived polymeric materials. The environmental awareness and concern towards sustainability necessitated the application of a more sustainable alternative with natural fibre-based geosynthetics. In this paper, the physical and mechanical properties of five different natural fibres, namely abaca, coir, jute, pineapple and sisal fibres, which could be a suitable candidate for geotextile applications have been analysed and compared. Out of the five different types of the fibres analysed in the present study, the highest average diameter, density and flexural rigidity were found to be for coir and the lowest were found to be for pineapple. It was observed that all the five types of the fibres have the potential for soil reinforcement applications. The unconfined compressive strength of the unreinforced clay was increased by 2, 3.3, 4. 4.1 and 5 times, when reinforced with abaca, coir, pineapple, sisal and jute fibres, respectively. However, jute fibres have low rigidity. The present study concluded that these natural fibres can perform effectively as a raw material for geotextiles. Pineapple fibre absorbs high amount of water and hence may degrade faster comparing to other natural fibres. The fibres which contain high proportion of cellulose possess high tensile strength. For coir fibres, due to the presence of high amount of lignin the life is comparatively high. Thus, blending of the fibres in suitable proportions can complement each other and can lead to the production of better geotextile materials in various applications. Considering the durability, strength and compatibility in blending and spinning, an attempt was made in the present study to develop woven geotextiles from 50% coir:50% sisal blended yarns which are found to be superior in functional characteristics.

The interest in earth construction is growing increasingly as society becomes more aware of the importance of sustainable building. A considerable number of investigations have been devoted to studying the mechanical properties of compressed earth blocks (CEBs). However, most of these studies were conducted in laboratory settings. Little focus has been directed at studying the performance of CEBs that use on-site soil and other local materials to construct small-scale housing at the same location. A total of 120 CEBs were manufactured on-site from four block mixes: coarse soil with and without Phragmites Australis (Phragmites) and fine soil with and without Phragmites. By comparing the results achieved with minimum strength requirements from different building codes, the dry compressive strengths of all four block mixes were deemed adequate for single-storey structures. The addition of Phragmites caused a slight increase in the compressive strength and a slight decrease in the flexural strength of the CEBs. A formula to estimate the flexural strength of the blocks given the compressive strength is proposed based on a database of test results from the literature and this investigation's results. CEBs can create a sustainable building solution, especially in remote areas and Indigenous communities with limited access to conventional building materials.