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Polymers and their composites have played an important role in industrial development. Polymer composites are becoming much stronger and more competitive than other materials as a result of ongoing research and development. This was made possible by newly developed techniques that could alter the physical and chemical properties of constituents. One of them is the self‐reinforcement technique, which allows for the fabrication of high‐strength thermoplastic polymer composites with reserved degradability, which is not possible with glass fiber/carbon fiber reinforcement. A self‐reinforced polymer composite is made of a single polymeric material, which serves as both the matrix and the reinforcement. This review article discusses the use of self‐reinforcement in various polymers and its impact on mechanical, thermal, and fire properties. Furthermore, the effects of process parameters (such as temperature and time, an), reinforcement structure, and mechanical property variation on the structure of self‐reinforced composites are reviewed and presented in detail. In addition, the effect of foreign filler addition (such as flame retardants, inorganic particles, natural fibers, etc.) on self‐reinforced composites is highlighted. In the end, the need for future research and its scope is presented.

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In this study, hybrid composites of municipal solid waste (MSW)/banana fiber reinforced urea formaldehyde were prepared in different filler ratio. Mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, and impact strengths were investigated as a function of total volume fraction (Vf) of filler (MSW and banana fiber), relative volume fraction of MSW and banana fiber and its chemical modification. The mechanical properties were found to be high at 40% Vf of filler which indicates effective stress transfer between fiber and matrix. Then, composites with different volume ratios of MSW and banana fiber (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100) are prepared by keeping total Vf of filler as 40%. It is observed that addition of banana fiber imparts better mechanical and thermal stability properties to composites. Also, banana fiber addition increased the water absorption properties of composites. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 211–221, 2015

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