Each year, more than 330 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide. The main consumers of plastics are the packaging (40%), building (20%) and automotive (8%) industries, as well as for the manufacture of household appliances. The vast majority of industrial plastics are not biodegradable and, therefore, create environmental problems due to the increase in the amount of solid waste. Studies have been conducted to produce biodegradable materials such as bioplastics to overcome this environmental problem. Bioplastics are defined as materials that are bio-based, biodegradable, or both; they can provide excellent biodegradability and can be used to help alleviate environmental problems. Therefore, this article presents an overview of the introduction of bioplastic materials and classifications, and a comprehensive review of their drawbacks and areas of importance, including basic and applied research, as well as biopolymer mixtures and biocomposites developed in the last decade. At the same time, this article provides insights into the development of bioplastics research to meet the needs of many industries, especially in the packaging industry in Malaysia. This review paper also focuses generally on bioplastic packaging applications such as food and beverage, healthcare, cosmetics, etc.

The aim of the present study has been to evaluate the effect of hybridization of montmorillonite (MMT) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on the thermal and viscoelastic properties of shape memory epoxy polymer (SMEP) nanocomposites. In this study, ultra-sonication was utilized to disperse 1%, 3%, and 5% MMT in combination with 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% MWCNT into the epoxy system. The fabricated SMEP hybrid nanocomposites were characterized via differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. The storage modulus (E’), loss modulus (E”), tan δ, decomposition temperature, and decomposition rate, varied upon the addition of the fillers. Tan δ indicated a reduction of glass transition temperature (T_g) for all the hybrid SMEP nanocomposites. 3% MMT/1% MWCNT displayed best overall performance compared to other hybrid filler concentrations and indicated a better mechanical property compared to neat SMEP. These findings open a way to develop novel high-performance composites for various potential applications, such as morphing structures and actuators, as well as biomedical devices.

The Savonius wind turbine is a vertical-axis wind turbine invented in 1930s consisting of a cylindrical drum with semi-circular blades attached to the drum. It is popular for its simple design, low costs, and self-starting ability, making it feasible for rural areas. As a rotating device, the blade is considered an important component of the Savonius turbine because it captures energy from omni-directional wind flow and converts it into mechanical/electrical energy. Blade corrosion can cause a surface degradation which affects blade's aerodynamic and structural performance. The relation between surface roughness and turbine performance has been addressed in various studies, however, most of these studies focussed on horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT). This study analysed the performance of a static Savonius turbine using three-dimensional (3D) computer simulation at different blade angle positions through one-way fluid-structure-interaction (FSI) in terms of static coefficients, von Mises stresses and deformation with different surface roughness at different wind velocity. The simulation reveals that the position with highest static torque coefficient is when the turbine is resting at 15^o with respect to the flow direction. The flow velocity increases the performance however, surface roughness deteriorates the flow and decreases the static coefficient. The simulation herein predicts no structural failure and different materials exhibit different maximum stress and deformation showing the importance of material selection in turbine blade development. The findings from this study helps finding a suitable material for the development of Savonius turbine from a material point of view to minimize turbine downtime and potentially save cost

Savonius turbine is an alternative wind turbine design that has the ability for self-starting from static condition at different blade angle. There are concerns in the structural behavior of the materials used for the Savonius turbine blades under aerodynamic loads. This study aims to optimize the structural and material properties of Savonius wind turbine blades by conducting a comparative analysis of maximum stress and deformation across different materials. This research involves creating detailed numerical models of the turbine blades using Finite Element Analysis to simulate the mechanical behavior under operational loads. Wood, Aluminum, and Steel are investigated to examine its effect of structural performance in the static conditions. In addition to solid isotropic materials, anisotropic materials such as Carbon Fiber and Glass Fiber composites are investigated. Ansys Composite Prepost is used to access the mechanical properties of composites. Initial analysis shows that the deformation is highly dependent on the Young's modulus of each material. Due to the dependency of composite on the fiber properties, a multi-objective optimization is defined to optimize these parameters on a five-layer composite structure to minimize stress, deformation, and weight. It was found that Carbon-Fiber composites exhibit better performance compared to other materials with improvement up to 22% in maximum deformation. These findings highlight the potential for substantial improvements in blade efficiency and durability through careful material selection and optimization. These findings can be utilized for a preliminary design of Savonius wind turbines and other renewable energy sector, where optimizing wind turbine performance is crucial for sustainable energy production to find optimum composite configuration without compromising its aerodynamic performance.