Non‐food application of camelina meal: Development of sustainable and green biodegradable paper‐camelina composite sheets and fibers

Abstract Recycled newspaper‐reinforced sustainable and biodegradable composite sheets and fibers were fabricated with camelina meal, a by‐product of camelina oil extraction‐based resin. To prepare uniform composite sheets and fibers, the camelina meal was ground and sieved to remove large particles and some impurities and converted into resin by dissolving it in water and precuring at 75°C water bath. Sieving process improved protein contents by 4.7% and reduced fat contents by 4.2%. Recycled newspaper was used as a reinforcing agent to improve tensile properties and increase water resistance of the camelina meal‐based biodegradable composite sheets and fibers. Increasing newspaper content increased fracture stress, Young's modulus, and water resistance property. However, the uniform sheet could not be formed when recycled newspaper content was above 30% (wt/wt camelina). Scanning electron microscope photomicrographs of fracture surfaces showed that at higher newspaper content longer fibers protruded out from the camelina resin. POLYM. COMPOS., 33:1969–1976, 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers