Aims and Scope

Natural fibers are a renewable resource, par excellence—they have been renewed by nature and human ingenuity for millennia. They are also carbon neutral: they absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide they produce. During processing, they generate mainly organic wastes and leave residues that can be used to generate electricity or make ecological housing material. And, at the end of their life cycle, they are 100% biodegradable.

Natural fibers have widely enlarged their range of applications due to the intensive scientific and technical research undertaken by several institutes all over the world, turning these amazing materials into an alternative feasible choice for many situations in civil engineering, medicine, sports, architecture, and design, among others.

Now it is time to discuss all these new advances and the potential developments by bringing together companies, universities, research and technological centers, and entrepreneurs.

In this way, the 1st International Conference on Natural Fibers – Sustainable Materials for Advanced Applications, ICNF 2013 (http://www.icnf2013.com/), to be held in Guimarães, Portugal, intends to be the meeting point for all those interested in these fantastic materials called natural fibers. The conference covers the following topics, which include but are not limited to:

• Animal and plant based natural fibers
• Fibers produced based on natural resources
• Innovative and functional natural fibers
• Nanodimensional natural fibers (e.g., nanocellulose)
• Properties and characterization of natural fibers
• New, efficient, and cost-effective processes for natural fiber extraction and processing
• Natural fiber modification techniques
• Textile processing of natural fibers (spinning, weaving, coloration, finishing, etc.)
• Advanced fibrous structures based on natural fibers
• Natural fiber based polymeric and cementitious composites
• Green composites
• Applications of natural fibers in high-end sectors (civil engineering, medicine, transportation systems, sports, etc.)
• Innovative applications of natural fibers
• Product design with natural fibers
• Modeling and prediction of properties and behavior

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/cpis/ms/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/cpis/ms/icnf13/ according to the following timetable: