Here, we present a detailed review of recent research and achievements in the field of combining two extremely important polysaccharides; namely, cellulose and chitosan. The most important properties of the two polysaccharides are outlined, giving rise to the interest in their combination. We present various structures and forms of composite materials that have been developed recently. Thus, aerogels, hydrogels, films, foams, membranes, fibres, and nanofibres are discussed, alongside the main techniques for their fabrication, such as coextrusion, co-casting, electrospinning, coating, and adsorption. It is shown that the combination of bacterial cellulose with chitosan has recently gained increasing attention. This is particularly attractive, because both are representative of a biopolymer that is biodegradable and friendly to humans and the environment. The rising standard of living and growing environmental awareness are the driving forces for the development of these materials. In this review, we have shown that the field of combining these two extraordinary polysaccharides is an inexhaustible source of ideas and opportunities for the development of advanced functional materials.

The growth of poultry meat production is increasing industrial waste quantities every year. Feathers represent a huge part of the waste, and international directives and restrictions prevent landfilling of such biodegradable materials with high burning values. Furthermore, with their unique properties, poultry waste feathers are already a reliable resource for many byproducts, such as keratin extraction, fibres, hydrogel production, etc., all trying to achieve a high-added value. However, mass reduction of waste feathers into useful applications, such as development of alternative building materials, is also an important aspect. To take advantage of feathers’ thermal insulation capabilities, sound damping, and biodegradability, we worked towards mixing waste feathers with wood residues (wood shavings, dust, and mixed residues) for production of composite fibreboards, comparable to the market’s medium density fibreboards. The emphasis was to evaluate waste poultry feathers as the component of natural insulation composites, along with mixed waste wood residues, to improve their mechanical properties. Various composite fibreboards with different shares of wood and feathers were produced and tested for mechanical, thermal, and acoustic properties, and biodegradability, with comparison to typical particle boards on the market. The addition of waste feather fibres into the fibreboards’ structure improved thermal insulation properties, and the biodegradability of fibreboards, but decreased their bending strength. The sound transition acoustic loss results of the presented combination fibreboards with added feathers improved at mid and high frequencies. Finally, production costs are estimated based on small scale laboratory experiments of feather processing (cleaning and drying), with the assumption of cost reduction in cases of large industrial application.

In the case of conventional application of textiles, efficient and permanent fixation of chitosan is of major importance. Cotton fibers were differently pre-treated (alkali treatment, bleaching, demineralization) and then oxidized using differing procedures containing KIO₄ solutions in order to discover which preparation procedure for cotton fibers is, from the viewpoint of mechanical and sorption properties, the most convenient for later treatments with chitosan. The results showed that all the oxidation procedures, even under very mild conditions, have a significant influence on the worsening of mechanical properties. The treatment of oxidized cotton with chitosan had no influence on breaking force and elongation, but increased Young's initial modulus of fibers. Chitosan adsorption also increased the moisture absorption of the fibers. Contact angles with water, however, depend on the average molecular weight of the chitosan used. Chitosan with lower molecular weight increased the hydrophilicity of the treated fibers, but chitosan with higher molecular weight, decreased it.

Galactoglucomannans (GGMs) are water-soluble polysaccharides released and accumulated in process waters in the production of thermomechanical pulp. The general trend in the forestry industry is moving towards bio-refineries, for example utilizing these hemicelluloses as bioactive substances. At present, there is no industrial use of wood-derived mannans. In this study, GGMs extracted from thermomechanical pulp, as well as further carboxymethyl-ated galactoglucomannans (CM-GGMs), were sulfated to increase their antithrombotic properties. The products were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and capillary electrophoresis. The carbohydrate composition and sulfur amounts were determined. The products’ total charges were determined by polyelectrolyte titrations and their antithrombotic effect was measured based on the activated partial thromboplastin time. The results showed a significant increase in the antithrombotic effect of the sulfated galactoglucomannans from spruce wood and thus a potential new use for wood-derived mannans.