Prolonged exposure to hot weather and direct sunlight can lead to heat exhaustion and skin irritation, which reduces the productivity of outdoor workers and increases health risks. This study has developed a polylactic acid/boron nitride nanosheet composite fabric by electrospinning. Being selectively modified for hydrophilicity, the fabric has combined passive radiative cooling, thermal conductivity and directional sweat wicking to improve thermal comfort in outdoor environments. Compared to conventional cotton fabrics, the composite fibric exhibits excellent solar reflectance (96%) and infrared heat emissivity (93%), along with high thermal conductivity (0.38 W·m^-1 K^-1). In outdoor experiments, the composite fabric lowers skin temperature by 2.0 °C under direct sunlight during the day and by 3.8 °C at night relative to bare skin. The composite fabric features a directional perspiration function and an impressive sweat evaporation rate of 1.67 g·h⁻¹, which can efficiently transport sweat and heat to the fiber membrane surface to keep the skin dry and cool. This work should advance human thermal management strategies for high-temperature outdoor environments.

The electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) serves as an effective approach to convert CO₂ into high-value chemicals and facilitate carbon cycling. Among various products, ethylene (C₂H₄), a crucial industrial feedstock, demonstrates substantial market demand and economic significance. Copper (Cu)-based catalysts exhibit remarkable advantages in CO₂RR to C₂H₄ conversion due to their unique electronic structure and optimal *CO adsorption capacity.

Concurrently, the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) design featuring an electrolyte-free cathode effectively addresses mass transfer limitations, minimizes ohmic losses, and enhances interfacial efficiency, thereby significantly boosting current density and product selectivity. The integration of Cu-based catalysts with MEA technology thus emerges as a highly promising solution for industrial-scale CO₂RR to C₂H₄ production.

Italian scientists melt-blend lignin scorched in a gliding-arc tornado into polypropylene, doubling toughness and keeping 98 % of strength after two re-extrusions without any chemical compatibilizer.

Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, researchers show that a 30-second argon-plasma whirl cuts hydroxyl groups on lignin by one third, spawns phenoxy radicals and forges stronger bonds with polypropylene, yielding recyclable, high-performance green composites.

Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, a China-led team cultivated the cellulose-secreting bacterium Taonella mepensis inside thin silicone tubes, producing hollow hydrogel cylinders of extraordinary purity. After a 30 % strain twist and overnight drying, the resulting fibers reached 1.06 GPa tensile strength—higher than any previously reported bacterial-cellulose thread—while remaining light enough to lift 342,000 times their own mass. Exposure to water vapor triggers a rapid untwisting motion that peaks at 884 revolutions per minute per metre, a speed unmatched by existing biopolymer actuators. No synthetic additives are required; the response emerges from reversible hydrogen-bond rearrangement between nanofibrils. Stored fibers retain 86 % of their rotational speed after eight months, and prototypes already function as remote rain sensors, on–off switches and self-opening curtains. The work, supported by China’s National Key R&D Program, points toward low-carbon, biodegradable hardware for soft robotics and environmental monitoring.

The latest issue of Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts (2025, 10, 295-309) surveys four millennia of cellulose sutures and concludes that newly engineered nanocellulose and oxidized regenerated cellulose fibers lose more than half their tensile strength in only seven days—fast enough to qualify as absorbable under ISO standards. The Chinese–Iranian team behind the survey demonstrates wet-spun cellulose nanofibril (CNF) threads reaching 1 877 MPa when blended with chitosan, while interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation (IPC) embeds antibiotics or growth factors directly into the filament core. In vivo rodent data reveal smaller inflammatory footprints and 1.7-fold higher collagen deposition than silk or Vicryl controls, suggesting the plant-based threads could soon move from bench to bedside.

Reporting in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, researchers outline a closed-loop concept: a glutaraldehyde-cross-linked chitosan/carboxymethyl-cellulose sponge first adsorbs Cr³⁺, Al³⁺ and Zr⁴⁺ from simulated tannery liquor at pH 4, obeying Langmuir kinetics. Instead of conventional acid desorption, the metal-laden gel is simply swollen, sheared and added to the re-tanning bath where its wide-molecular-weight fragments and coordinated metals raise shrinkage temperature by up to 8 °C and increase tear strength 40 %. The tactic eliminates a disposal step while cutting virgin chrome demand.

Writing in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, a Chinese–industry team describe an industrial-scale route for spirally winding 0.3 mm bamboo veneers into 8–12 mm drinking straws. Steam-softened, flattened Moso bamboo is ultrasound-cleaned to remove colourants and starch, eliminating mould risk, then bonded with food-grade water-borne polyurethane. The resulting straws deliver compression (≈17 MPa) and bending (≈14 MPa) strengths that match premium paper straws yet absorb 60 % less liquid; 1 500-consumer blind tests ranked them first over paper and PLA. Life-cycle screening indicates 70 % lower CO₂ footprint than polypropylene.

Published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, a new review synthesizes two decades of global research on turning agricultural leftovers into dissolving pulp for viscose, lyocell, and other regenerated cellulose textiles. Soybean straw, wheat straw, rice straw, sorghum stalks, and sugarcane bagasse—currently burned or left to rot—emerge as technically viable feedstocks that match the purity and reactivity of conventional wood pulp while slashing land-use pressure and greenhouse-gas emissions. The authors urge industry to pilot region-specific biorefineries and to complete full life-cycle assessments before scaling.

In a remarkable leap forward for green chemistry, researchers at the School of Life and Environmental Science, Shaoxing University, China, have developed an innovative method to efficiently adsorb and reduce Au(III) ions to gold particles using cost-effective chitosan-functionalized cellulose nanofibers. This groundbreaking study, titled "Efficient Adsorption and Reduction of Au(III) to Gold Particles Using Cost-Effective Chitosan Functionalized Cellulose Nanofiber," offers a sustainable and eco-friendly solution for gold recovery, led by Prof. Baowei Hu.