In the life cycle of a material, there will be either chemical or physical change due to varying environmental factors such as biological activity, light, heat, moisture, and chemical conditions. This process leads to polymer property change as pertains to functional deterioration because of the physical, biological, and chemical reactions that result in chemical transformations and bond scission and thus can be regarded as polymer degradation. Due to the present demand for sustainable polymers, bio-based polymers have been identified as a solution. There is therefore a need to compare the sustainability impacts of bio-based polymers, to maximize their use in functional use stage and still withhold the bio-degradation capability. This study focuses are poly (lactic acid) (PLA), Poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), and polyamides (PA) as biopolymers of interest due to their potential in technological applications, stability, and biodegradability. For preparing bio-based value-added products, an appropriate selection of the fabrication or functional modification process is a very important factor for particular industrial or biomedical applications. The literature review indicates that in vivo is preferred to in vitro because it suits an overall study of the experiment’s effects on a living subject. This study will explore these features in detail. In particular, the review will cover processing and biodegradation pathways for each of the biopolymers. In addition, thermal degredation and photodegradation are covered, and future trends and conclusions are drawn.

There is a rising demand for replacement, regeneration of tissues and organ repairs for patients who suffer from diseased/damaged bones or tissues such as hip pains. The hip replacement treatment relies on the implant, which may not always meet the requirements due to mechanical and biocompatibility issues which in turn may aggravate the pain. To surpass these limitations, researchers are investigating the use of scaffolds as another approach for implants. Three-dimensional (3D) printing offers significant potential as an efficient fabrication technique on personalized organs as it is capable of biomimicking the intricate designs found in nature. In this review, the determining factors for hip replacement and the different fabrication techniques such as direct 3D printing, Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA) for hip replacement. The study also covers surface modifications of 3D printed implants and provides an overview on 3D tissue regeneration. To appreciate the current conventional hip replacement practices, the conventional metallic and ceramic materials are covered, highlighting their rationale as the material of choice. Next, the challenges, ethics and trends in the implants’ 3D printing are covered and conclusions drawn. The outlook and challenges are also presented here. The knowledge from this review indicates that 3D printing has enormous potential for providing a pathway for a sustainable hip replacement.

There is a current need for tissue and organ repairs, replacement, and regeneration for patients who suffer from diseased or damaged tissues or organs. This situation is continuously on the rise and the supply of this form of therapy does not meet the patients demand mostly due to lack of donors and biocompatibility issues which causes immune system rejection of the implants. To succeed through these limitations, researchers are currently investigating the use of scaffolds as another approach for implants. The conventional scaffold fabrication technique is limited due to the precision of pore design. The 3D printing technology on the other side can produce an extracellular matrix with a higher degree of complexity and matching details such as pore size and geometry suitably based on certain factors including tissue engineering, hip biomechanism, material suitability, ethical standards, future, and challenges. This paper in particular focuses on materials challenges and opportunities addressing various issues at various levels to the materials-process-property relationship. It is comprehensive as it starts with hip biomechanism in gait and stress distribution to give the reader a clear perspective of the magnitude of challenges for hip implants and details to consider when designing the materials. This is followed by 3D printing for orthopaedic applications and 3D hip tissue regeneration. The hip replacement materials including polymers, composites, and metals are explored and correlated to conventional hip replacement materials. The work is concluded with some concluding remarks on opportunities, challenges, and future trends. The goal is to have scaffolds that have the capability of having a biomimicking design similar to the extracellular matrix with the advantage being the provision of structural supports for cell attachment, growth, and differentiation with the main goal of producing an operational organ or tissue. The knowledge derived from this review offers huge potential for providing a pathway for sustainable healing.

Thermoplastic composite pipes (TCP) in comparison to other pipes have proven beneficial features due to its flexibility which includes being fit for purpose, lightweight and no corrosion. However, during the manufacturing of TCP which involves the consolidation process, certain defects may be induced in it because of certain parameters, and this can affect the performance of the pipe in the long run as the induced defects might lead to in-service defects. Current techniques used in the industry are facing challenges with on-the-spot detection in a continuous manufacturing system. In TCP manufacturing process, the pipe is regularly monitored. When a defect is noticed, the whole process stops, and the appropriate action is taken. However, shutting down the process is costly; hence it is vital to decrease the downtime during manufacturing to the barest minimum. The solutions include optimizing the process for reduction in the manufacturing defects amount and thoroughly understanding the effect of parameters which causes certain defect types in the pipe. This review covers the current state-of-the-art and challenges associated with characterizing the identified manufacturing induced defects in TCP. It discusses and describes all effective consolidation monitoring strategies for early detection of these defects during manufacturing through the application of suitable sensing technology that is compatible with the TCP. It can be deduced that there is a correlation between manufacturing process to the performance of the final part and selection of characterization technique as well as optimizing process parameters.

Thermoplastic composite pipes (TCP) consist of three distinct layers—liner, reinforcement, and coating—offering superior advantages over traditional industrial pipes, including flexibility, lightweight construction, and corrosion resistance. This study systematically characterises the thermal properties of TCP layers and their compositions using a multi-method approach. Thermal analysis was conducted through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for isothermal and non-isothermal crystallisation, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for thermal stability, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for material identification. FTIR confirmed polyethylene as the primary component of TCP, with compositional variations across the layers. TGA results indicated that thermal degradation begins at approximately 200 °C, with complete decomposition at 500 °C. DSC analysis revealed a double melting peak, prompting further investigation into its mechanisms. On-isothermal crystallisation kinetics, analysed at cooling rates of 10 °C/min and 50 °C/min, revealed an anisotropic crystalline growth pattern. Although nucleation occurs uniformly, the subsequent three-dimensional crystalline growth is governed more by the degree of supercooling than by the crystallography of the glass fibres. This underscores the importance of precisely controlling the cooling rate during manufacturing to optimise the anisotropic properties of the reinforced layer. This study also demonstrates the value of FTIR, TGA, and DSC techniques in characterising the thermo-physical behaviour of TCP, offering critical insights into thermal expansion, shrinkage phenomena, and overall material stability. Given the limited body of research on this specific TCP formulation, the findings presented here lay a foundation for both quality enhancement and process optimisation. Moreover, the paper offers a distinctive perspective on the dynamic behaviour, thermal expansion, and long-term performance of TCP in demanding oil and gas environments.