Exploring the Role of Advanced Composites and Biocomposites in Agricultural Machinery and Equipment: Insights Into Design, Performance, and Sustainability

Abstract

The agricultural sector faces growing pressure to enhance productivity and sustainability, prompting innovation in machinery design. Traditional materials such as steel still dominate but are a cause of increased weight, soil compaction, increased fuel consumption, and corrosion. Composite materials-and, more specifically, fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs)-offer appealing alternatives due to their high specific strength and stiffness, corrosion resistance, and design flexibility. Meanwhile, increasing environmental awareness has triggered interest in biocomposites, which contain natural fibers (e.g., flax, hemp, straw) and/or bio-based resins (e.g., PLA, biopolyesters), aligned with circular economy principles. This review offers a comprehensive overview of synthetic composites and biocomposites for agricultural machinery and equipment (AME). It briefly presents their fundamental constituents-fibers, matrices, and fillers-and recapitulates relevant mechanical and environmental properties. Key manufacturing processes such as hand lay-up, compression molding, resin transfer molding (RTM), pultrusion, and injection molding are discussed in terms of their applicability, benefits, and limits for the manufacture of AME. Current applications in tractors, sprayers, harvesters, and planters are covered in the article, with advantages such as lightweighting, corrosion resistance, flexibility and sustainability. Challenges are also reviewed, including the cost, repairability of damage, and end-of-life (EoL) issues for composites and the moisture sensitivity, performance variation, and standardization for biocomposites. Finally, principal research needs are outlined, including material development, long-term performance testing, sustainable and scalable production, recycling, and the development of industry-specific standards. This synthesis is a practical guide for researchers, engineers, and manufacturers who want to introduce innovative material solutions for more efficient, longer lasting, and more sustainable agricultural machinery.