The reuse of natural fibers, in order to manufacture a new product, is already becoming popular due to the generation of a series of advantages in social areas. Sugarcane bagasse is a set of tangled fibers of cellulose, produced in large quantities due to increased acreage and industrialization of sugarcane resulting from public and private investments in production aimed for the alcohol industry. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of producing sheet timber manufacture from the sugarcane bagasse, analyzing mechanical strength properties. A form of metal sheet for the molding of 12 specimens based on sugarcane bagasse and industrialized resin was made. Soon after molding, specimens were submitted to a three-point bending test, with the aid of a press. The analysis of the results allowed to conclude that the tensile strength and the modulus of elasticity did not obtain the minimum values recommended by the standard. The tensile strength must be improved to allow panels to be useful for ordinary strength applications.
The production of sludge from the sewage treatment plants is increasing as a result of population increase and public policies to improve the sanitation sector. This sludge presents a potential risk to health and the environment representing major challenge for sanitation companies regarding treatment and final disposal of this material. The solution is in the circular-economy concept: this sludge presents favorable characteristics to be used as rawmaterial in the ceramic industry. This study seeks to quantify the environmental impacts related to the atmospheric emissions caused and to the consumption of resources when 10% of clay is replaced by sewage sludge in the production of bricks. Life cycle assessment tools were used to establish a comparison between the common scenario of the brick production using ceramic mass only from clay and the scenario with the incorporation of 10% of sewage sludge. The results revealed that the incorporation of the sewage sludge has multiple benefits, regarding the decrease of the environmental impacts in all the categories studied: 15% in the energy savings, 15% in the terrestrial acidification and the formation of fine particles, 10% in scarcity of mineral resources and 8-10% in formation of photochemical ozone.
The use of SCC in Europe began in the 1990s and was mainly promoted by the precast industry. Precast companies generally prefer high early-strength concrete mixtures to accelerate their production rate, reducing the demoulding time. From a materials science point of view, self-compacting and high early-strength concrete mixes may be challenging because they present contradicting mixture design requirements. For example, a low water/binder ratio (w/b) is key to achieving high early strength. However, it may impact the self-compacting ability, which is very sensitive to Vw/Vp. As such, the mixture design can be complex. The design of the experimental approach is a powerful tool for designing, predicting, and optimising advanced cement-based materials when several constituent materials are employed and multi-performance requirements are targeted. The current work aimed at fitting models to mathematically describe the flow ability, viscosity, and mechanical strength properties of high-performance self-compacting cement-based mortars based on a central composite design. The statistical fitted models revealed that Vs/Vm exhibited the strongest (negative) effect on the slump-flow diameter and T-funnel time. Vw/Vp showed the most significant effect on mechanical strength. Models were then used for mortar optimisation. The proposed optimal mixture represents the best compromise between self-compacting ability—a flow diameter of 250 mm and funnel time equal to 10 s—and compressive strength higher than 50 MPa at 24 h without any special curing treatment.
Treatment processes used in most sewage treatment stations generate as by-product a material named sludge. The amount of sludge grows proportionally with the increase in effluent collection and treatment services, which in turn must accompany population growth. The disposition of waste generated in an environmentally correct and economically viable way is one of the biggest challenges faced by companies that operate sanitation services. The ceramic industry presents a great potential for the use of this waste. The goal of this work was to evaluate the effect of the incorporation of the sewage sludge in the ceramic mass for the manufacture of solid bricks. The water absorption was lower for bricks with 10% sludge, but it increased for bricks with 15% sludge, resulting in products that presented water absorption slightly beyond of the limit of the standard NBR 15270. However, the results are promising because they show that additions of 10% or 15% sludge increased the compressive strength markedly.
The growth of civil construction and agroindustry, resulting from population growth, caused an increase in the demand for non-renewable resources and for the exploitation of natural resources. Consequently, it caused a greater generation of waste, causing the current scenario to require alternatives for the reuse of these materials. Particleboard panels, for example, used in civil construction, can add value to waste or materials of low acceptance, such as thinning wood, mechanical wood processing waste or agro-industrial waste. Thus, this study proposed to analyse the life cycle of the sugarcane bagasse, considering the stages of extraction of materials and energy resources until their final disposal. This study aimed to compare impacts generated by the production of particleboards panels produced with wood from plantations (pine) and with the sugarcane bagasse. As a result, a better environmental performance was obtained from the panel composed of sugarcane bagasse, as it generated lower environmental impacts in all impact categories studied. The benefits range from the reduction in waste disposed of in landfills, which increase its useful life, the lower demand for reforestation, with steps that generate atmospheric emissions and degrade the soil.
The worldwide use of the axial compressive strength test makes it fundamental to identify the concrete class. However, this test presents dispersion of results which, consequently, reduces the reliability of the test. The surface of the tops of the specimens influences the values of strength measured, since the lack of flatness impairs the uniform application of the load. Different types of procedures can be used to ensure the flatness of the surfaces. Besides, there are different approaches for data analysis, namely to detect outliers. Thus, this research aimed to study and evaluate, the influence of sulfur capping, capping with confined neoprene sheet and noncapping of the test specimens, and the influence of the approach to detect outliers in order to understand the interference in the results. The sulfur cap presented the lowest dispersion values and the cap with confined neoprene sheet obtained the highest strength. In addition, the results showed that the lack of regularization of the tops of the specimens increased dispersion as it causes an important decrease of the resistance in the concrete.
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