Zorana Kovacevic

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• Professor (Assistant) at University of Zagreb

Enhanced demand for the development of sustainable materials has generated significant research interest in products containing biomass-derived fibers, such as the fibers extracted from the energy crop Sida hermaphrodita (SH). Green chemicals and green methods, such as microwave treatment, have been used for the isolation of fibers from biomass was...

Virginia mallow or Sida hermaphrodita (L.) Rusby (SH) is a perennial plant from the Malvaceae family (mallows) that is used for medicinal purposes, reducing soil erosion, cleaning soil, and most recently for energy production. The potential of sustainable lignocellulosic agro-waste is immense as it represents Earth’s most abundant organic compound....

This research follows the principles of circular economy through the zero waste concept and cascade approach performed in two steps. Our paper focuses on the first step and explores the characteristics of developed biocomposite materials made from a biodegradable poly(lactic acid) polymer (PLA) reinforced with natural fibers isolated from the secon...

Straw, the primary agricultural waste, constitutes approximately 20% of the total biomass in the EU. Only a small fraction of the material is applied in various products, e.g., animal bedding, mulch, building, and composite materials, while a significantly larger portion is often burned in the field. This practice, while prohibited for several reas...

The potential for sustainable lignocellulosic agro-waste is immense, owing to the fact that it represents the most abundant organic compound on Earth. It is a valuable and desirable source for material production across numerous industries due to its abundance, renewability, and biodegradability. This paper explores the world of barley fibers, whic...

Textile materials from polyester fibres are sensitive to washing, especially at higher temperatures, due to their thermoplastic properties, hydrophobic nature and sensitivity to the alkaline medium. The issue of microplastic fibres’ (MFs’) release from polyester textiles is a topic that attracts the attention of researchers from different scientifi...

In this study, the natural dye was extracted from Spartium junceum L. (SJL) flowers and applied on cellulose (cotton) and protein (wool) fabric. Fabrics were pre-mordant with alum prior to the dyeing process. Considering the global requirements on zero waste and green policy, the dyeing process was intended to be as much as possible environmentally...

This paper summarizes the results obtained in the course of the development of a specific group of biocomposites with high functionality of flame retardancy, which are environmentally acceptable at the same time. Conventional biocomposites have to be altered through different modifications, to be able to respond to the stringent standards and envir...

Spanish Broom (Spartium junceum L.) is a Mediterranean plant of various usage possibilities. Its fibres were known since ancient time but in some point of last century, more accurately in 1950s, their production was abandoned due to the negative economic effect. Another drawback was large time consumption, especially during the old tradition method...

Properties of lignocellulosic Spartium junceum L. (SJL) fibres were investigated in order to use them as reinforcement in composite material production. The fibres were obtained by microwave maceration process and additionally modified with NaOH, nanoclay and citric acid with the aim to improve their mechanical, thermal and other physical-chemical...

Different chemical pre-treatment of Spartium junceum L. fibres using alkali (NaOH), nanoclay (MMT) and Citric acid (CA) with the aim of producing biodegradable composite material are discussed. As environmental requirements in processing technologies have been higher in recent years, the Polylactic acid (PLA) is used in this research as a matrix, d...

Biocomposites were prepared by reinforcing polylactic acid (PLA) with randomly oriented, short Spartium junceum L. fibres. Prior to the composite production, the fibres were treated with montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) in order to increase biocomposites resistance to the fire. Characterizations of the biocomposites in the presence and absence of MMT...

After a long break, Spanish broom gained interest as a natural, sustainable and renewable fibre for textile and technical applications. This paper describes the characterization of Spanish broom fibres (Spartium junceum L.) in comparison to the flax fibres (Linum usitatissimum). Spanish broom fibres were obtained by two different methods of macerat...

This paper describes the findings of the spanish broom as an almost forgotten textile raw material. The history of the use of the spanish broom since antiquity to the present time is presented. The results of field research conducted in our coastal areas are discussed. Different methods of maceration, or methods of obtaining fibers were tested and...