GFRP biocomposites produced with a novel high-performance bio-based unsaturated polyester resin

•More sustainable and less petroleum-dependent fibre-polymer composites.•GFRP manufactured with high-performance bio-based unsaturated polyester resin.•Mechanical properties meet or exceed those of conventional GFRP counterpart.•Thermomechanical properties suitable for outdoor structural applications. This paper presents the manufacturing and the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of a bio-based glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite, produced by vacuum infusion, using an in-house high-performance bio-based unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) with more than 50 wt% of its content derived from renewable raw materials. Specimens were successfully produced, and their mechanical and thermomechanical properties was compared to an equivalent GFRP composite produced with conventional petroleum-based UPR and the same fibre architecture. The bio-based GFRP composite presented 538 MPa, 210 MPa, and 52 MPa of tensile, compressive, and shear strengths; 20 GPa, 24 GPa, and 2.5 GPa of tensile, compressive, and shear moduli; and 3.0%, 0.8%, and 14.8% of tensile, compressive, and shear strain at failure, meeting or exceeding the mechanical properties of the conventional counterpart. Furthermore, the bio-based GFRP composite presented a Tg of 64 °C (defined from onset of the storage modulus decay), enabling its outdoors use.