The plastic components from waste mobile phones were sorted and characterized using visual, spectroscopic and thermal methods. The sustainable strength of the recovered plastics was investigated by comparing their mechanical and thermal properties with commercially used reference materials. The results revealed that the recovered polymers have significant potential to be reused. However, some properties, such as impact strength and tensile modulus, are significantly low compared to virgin materials and need further improvement. The samples were also tested for brominated flame retardants (BFRs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique, and the results indicated the absence of BFR in recovered plastics; hence, these can be processed without any risk of BFR toxicity.
Pervaporation process is a membrane based separation process. Polymer membranes were widely used for separating liquid mixtures using pervaporation process. In this study, composite membranes were prepared by mixing natural graphite (NG) and silicone rubber (QM) using two roll mill. Synthesized composite membrane was used for the separation process. The composite membrane reveals the impressive separation performance of methanol-toluene mixtures with preferential selectivity towards methanol. 10 phr (parts per hundred) natural graphite filled membrane obtained best flux and 15 phr membrane showed better selectivity. Optimal separation performance with the permeation flux of 386% and separation factor 1.5 times compared to QM control membrane is obtained. The study confirmed that increasing toluene feed concentration improved the selectivity of membranes.
Concrete is the preferred construction material for a wide range of buildings, bridges and any other civil engineering structures. It is the second most widely consumed substance on earth after water. Aggregates are considered as one of the main constituents of concrete since they occupy 70-80% of the volume of concrete. In many countries, there is a scarcity of natural aggregates. To reduce dependence on natural aggregates as the main source of aggregate in concrete, artificially manufactured aggregates generated from industrial wastes provide an alternative for the construction industry. Copper slag is one such industrial waste that can be implemented as an alternative for natural aggregate. Copper slag is an excellent by-product or waste material that retains its original properties. Due to its chemical composition which includes high iron, silica and aluminum oxide content, it can be used as a partial replacement for sand in concrete mixes. This paper emphasizes on COPPER SLAG CONCRETE which is a new evolution in the field of concrete design. Copper slag upon using as a partial replacement for river sand as fine aggregate can avoid the voids in the concrete and may increase the durability and strength of structure. In this study M30 grade concrete mixes of 30%, 40% and 50% replacement of river sand with copper slag are tested for compressive, split tensile and flexural strengths for the ages of 1, 3, 7, 28, 56 and 91 days of curing.
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