Tobacco is one of China's key economic crops, known for its wide distribution, high yield, and renewability. Tobacco stalk fibers (TSFs) share a similar chemical composition to wood fibers, making them a potential reinforcement for plant fiber composites. However, the waste tobacco stalk fibers raw material utilization rate is very low, and wasteful phenomenon is very serious. In this study, we prepared biodegradable TSF/PBAT composites using waste tobacco stalk fibers and polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) through melt blending and injection molding techniques. The effects of different modifiers on the performance of the composites were systematically investigated, with a particular focus on their influence on the degradation behavior. The results showed that the waste tobacco straw fiber can be used as a reinforcing fiber for PBAT. The addition of modifiers significantly improved the mechanical properties of the composites and effectively slowed down the degradation rate in the soil environment. Among the modifiers, the combined use of maleic anhydride (MA) and hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (OM) produced the best results, with the tensile strength and flexural strength of the composite reaching 17.3 MPa and 28.0 MPa, respectively-representing increases of 74.7% and 57.3% compared to the untreated composite. After 16 weeks of soil degradation, the mass loss rate of the MA/OM-modified composite decreased from 10.50 to 6.34%. This study provides a comprehensive exploration of the entire lifecycle of TSF-reinforced PBAT composites and offers important theoretical support for the resource utilization and value-added application of waste tobacco stalks in the field of green composite materials.

This study presents a novel approach to address the current issue of plastic waste in the biosphere, which poses ecological hazards and threatens living beings. Herein, a set of biodegradable composites has been developed through the melt blending of polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) and rice husk (RH), aiming to discover effective surface modification techniques for enhancing mechanical properties while maintaining biodegradability above 90%. This research studied the diverse surface treatment methodologies applied to raw RH, including alkaline, acetylation, and silane treatments. The novelty of this study lies in its focus on evaluating how these treatments distinctly influence the mechanical properties and biodegradability of RH. Additionally, it seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms driving these performance changes. To further improve the compatibility between hydrophobic PBAT and hydrophilic RH, a compatibilizer such as maleic anhydride (MAH) was added. A range of analytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), contact angle measurement, and soil burial test, was employed to investigate the biodegradability of the composites. The results indicate that the PBAT/Silane RH/MAH composite exhibited exceptional mechanical properties, with a tensile strength of 22.49 MPa, a strain at break of 41.83%, and Young's modulus of 187.60 MPa. Furthermore, the composites developed exhibited 90% mass loss during a six-month soil burial test, confirming their remarkable biodegradability. The findings present an innovative and practical solution for utilizing RH waste in a wide range of applications, particularly in the production of molded products such as straws.

Fogged surfaces, such as bathroom mirrors, quickly become a nuisance in everyday life, but are particularly problematic in safety-relevant and medical areas. Present approaches are often based on hydrophilic coatings, which can prevent fogging, but are not very durable. Surface-attached polymer networks that can be quickly and easily prepared from thin films of prepolymers by photochemical activation using brief irradiation with ambient light are presented. This novel photoreactive copolymer contains ionic, hydrophilic repeating units and hydrophilic nitro-substituted phenyl diazo ester moieties. The diazo groups in the prepolymer films form carbenes after excitation, which then bind to adjacent chains and to the substrate by C,H insertion cross-linking (CHic). The resulting surfaces exhibit excellent anti-fogging properties as they allow water to condense into a uniform thin film. The substrates remain highly transparent, even after frequent washing. In addition, the polymers can also be easily applied to previously damaged coatings by soiling in order to fully restore the anti-fog properties. Due to the solubility of the prepolymers in water, the easy cross-linking in sunlight, the durability of the coating, and the possibility of damage repair, the polymers are suitable for easy-use scenarios by non-professionals, which offers great potential for such an approach.

Inspired by the geometric structure of the bamboo culm sheath and the surface topology of the dung beetle, a bionic blade for a paddy field impeller was developed to enhance soil cultivation efficiency in rice plantations. The blade surface was modified by using laser-texturing with a macro-scale design to reduce soil resistance. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations revealed a 47.10% increase in fluid velocity and a 46.87% reduction in drag force compared to conventional curved blades. In soil bin tests, the bionic blade demonstrated a 10.26% reduction in driving torque and an 11.32% increase in rotational speed due to decreased soil cutting resistance. Further investigation of the rotor's 190 mm and 210 mm sinkage depths highlighted the design's effectiveness. The improved performance is attributed to reduced blade contact area and lower soil resistance in wet conditions. Surface treatments, including gas carburizing, case hardening, tempering, and epoxy cathodic electrodeposition coating, significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of the bionic blade, improving hardness, tensile strength, and corrosion resistance. This integration of bionic design and surface engineering offers a significant performance improvement for paddy field impellers, contributing to advancements in agricultural machinery for rice cultivation.

In response to escalating environmental concerns, this study explored the use of sisal fiber as a sustainable alternative to traditional cement or synthetic fibers for soft soil stabilization. An optimal selection test was conducted to determine the optimal sisal fiber characteristics and their impact on the mechanical performance of cemented soil. The findings indicated that incorporating sisal fibers into cemented soil inhibits crack propagation, thereby enhancing its strength and ductility. A significant improvement was achieved by incorporating optimal fiber parameters (content = 0.4 %, length = 11 mm) into the cemented-soil, the compressive strength reached 4.4 MPa (by 29.4 %). In addition, to further improve the work performance of sisal fibercemented soil (SFCS), alkaline and acetylation treatments were applied, respectively, to prevent volume instability and degradation of sisal fiber. The study also evaluated the effects of these modification methods on the physical properties of sisal fiber and the strength of sisal fibercemented soil (SFCS). The results showed that a 6 % NaOH treatment was determined to be the most effective modification method, reducing the moisture affinity of sisal fiber, improving fiber-matrix bonding, and consequently enhancing the mechanical properties of SFCS (by 18.7 %). However, it should be noted that an excessively high concentration may adversely affect fiber properties, negatively impacting the strength of SFCS (by up to 11.59 %).