The meat processing industry produces a huge quantity of by-products, approximately 150 million tonnes per year. The live weight of the animals is distinguished as edible, inedible, and discardable by-products, with the discardable parts equating to 66%, 52%, and 80% of the overall live weight of cattle, lamb, and pigs, respectively. Only a small percentage of those by-products are nowadays exploited for the production of high added value products such as animal feed, glue, fertilizers, etc., whereas the main management method is direct disposal to landfills. As such, the current disposal methodologies of these by-products are problematic, contributing to environmental contamination, soil degradation, air pollution, and possible health problems. Nevertheless, these by-products are rich in collagen, keratin, and minerals, being thus promising sources of high-value materials such as bioenergy, biochemical and other biomaterials that could be exploited in various industrial applications. In this paper, the possible utilization of slaughterhouse by-products for the production of various high added value materials is discussed. In this context, the various processes presented provide solutions to more sustainable management of the slaughterhouse industry, contributing to the reduction of environmental degradation via soil and water pollution, the avoidance of space depletion due to landfills, and the development of a green economy.

Consumers expect high-performance functionality from sportswear. To meet athletic and leisure-time activity requirements, further research needs to be carried out. Sportswear layers and their specific thermal qualities, as well as the set and air layer between materials, are all important factors in sports clothing. This research aims to examine the thermal properties of sports fabrics, and how they are affected by structure parameters and maintained with different layers. Three inner and four outer layers of fabric were used to make 12 sets of sportswear in this study. Before the combination of outer and inner layers, thermal properties were measured for each individual layer. Finally, the thermal resistance, thermal conductivity, thermal absorptivity, peak heat flow density ratio, stationary heat flow density, and water vapor permeability of bi-layered sportswear were evaluated and analyzed. The findings show that sportswear made from a 60% cotton/30% polyester/10% elastane inner layer and a 100% polyester outer layer had the maximum thermal resistance of 61.16 (×10³ K·m² W⁻¹). This performance was followed by the sample made from a 90% polyester/10% elastane inner layer and a 100% polyester outer layer, and the sample composed of a 100% elastane inner layer and a 100% polyester outer layer, which achieved a thermal resistance value of 60.41 and 59.41 (×10³ K·m² W⁻¹), respectively. These results can be explained by the fact that thicker textiles have a higher thermal resistance. This high-thermal-resistance sportswear fabric is appropriate for the winter season. Sportswear with a 90% polyester/10% elastane inner layer had worse water vapor resistance than sportswear with a 60% cotton/30% polyester/10% elastane and a 100% elastane layer. Therefore, these sports clothes have a higher breathability and can provide the wearers with very good comfort. According to the findings, water vapor permeability of bi-layered sportswear is influenced by geometric characteristics and material properties.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of fiber loading on mechanical and water absorption characteristics of composites made from sisal fiber and polypropylene matrix targeted for use in bathroom wall tile applications. The amount of fiber content in the composites was varied from 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% to 50% by weight. The composites were manufactured by melt-mixing method. The effects of fiber loading on various composite characteristics were investigated using tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, compressive strength, and water absorption. With the increase of fiber content, properties, such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, and compressive strength increases up to optimum level, whilst decrement in these properties were observed after the optimal level. The maximum tensile strength of 52.69 MPa, tensile modulus of 1.1 GPa, flexural strength of 127.8 MPa, flexural modulus of 6.22 GPa, impact strength of 10.195 KJ/m² and compressive strength 137.7 MPa were obtained. Water absorption rate increased with increase in the fiber weight proportion due to the hydrophilic character of the sisal fiber. From the result of this study, it can be concluded that the optimal mechanical and water absorption properties were achieved at 30% fiber content.

Sawdust is a natural composite obtained from natural resources such as shrubs and trees and in a large amount from the wood industry as a waste. This study aimed to evaluate the mechanical and water absorption properties of alkaline-treated wood sawdust-reinforced polypropylene composite. The composites were manufactured by the melt-mixing method followed by compression molding with amounts of wood sawdust ranging from 10, 20, 30, and 40 to 50 wt. % by volume. The produced composites were characterized for their mechanical and water absorption characteristics. The results indicated that increasing the amount of wood sawdust content up to 40% improves the tensile, flexural, impact, and compressive strength of the composites but after the wood sawdust contents reach 40%, the mechanical properties of the composite were decreased. Water absorption rate has increased with an increase in the wood sawdust proportion; this is due to the presence of –OH groups on the surface of wood particles. From the result of this study, it can be also concluded that the optimal mechanical and water absorption properties were attained at 40% wood sawdust content. Therefore, sawdust can be used as filler and reinforcement in the PP matrix, which will reduce cost and give environmental benefits.

Composite materials have played an important role throughout human history, from housing early civilizations to enabling future innovations. This study explores the development of composite materials from recycled polypropylene and cotton fabric waste targeted for different applications. The composites were manufactured by the melt‐mixing method. The effects of cotton fabric waste content on various composite characteristics were investigated using tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, compressive strength, and water absorption. The study showed that with an increase in cotton fabric waste content, properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, and compressive strength increase up to the optimum level, while a decrease in these properties is observed after the optimal level. The maximum tensile strength of 57.84 MPa, tensile modulus of 1.31 GPa, flexural strength of 55.32 MPa, flexural modulus of 2.7 GPa, impact strength of 33.06 kJ/m², and compressive strength of 53.68 MPa were obtained. The water absorption rate increased with an increase in the cotton fabric waste weight proportion. From the result of this study, it can be concluded that the optimal mechanical and water absorption properties were achieved at 30% cotton fabric waste content. Therefore, creating composites from recovered polypropylene and cotton fabric waste can have both environmental and financial benefits.

Extensive use of polymers in daily life has led to increased related waste, giving rise to environmental problems. In the modern day, environmental and ecological concerns have made plastic recycling a significant issue. The majority of the world's solid trash is made up of plastic garbage, which is composed of different polymer chains. A particularly appealing method of getting rid of unwanted plastic is mechanical recycling, though there are other ways to recycle plastic as well. The recycled plastics can also be reinforced with either natural or synthetic textile fibres to manufacture composite materials. This research aims to evaluate the physical and mechanical characteristics of sisal fibre and wood sawdust-reinforced recycled polyethylene terephthalate [RPET] composites. The amount of sisal fibre content in the composites varied from 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% to 30% by weight. Whereas the wood sawdust was used at 5% for each sample of composite. The composites were manufactured by the melt-mixing method. The effects of fibre loading on various composite characteristics were investigated using tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, compressive strength, density, and water absorption. The results show that a maximum tensile strength of 84.96 MPa, a tensile modulus of 1.77 GPa, a flexural strength of 230.8 MPa, a flexural modulus of 11.24 GPa, an impact strength of 18.96 KJ/m2, and a compressive strength of 194.8 MPa were obtained. The water absorption of the composite increased with the increase in fibre weight proportion, and the density of composites decreased with increasing sisal fibre weight. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that a better combination of results has been found for sisal fibre (25%), wood dust (5%), and RPET (70%). Therefore, sawdust and sisal fibre can be used as filler and reinforcement in the RPET matrix, which will reduce cost and provide environmental benefits.