The recovery of plastic waste and agricultural residues has led us to develop composites based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) filled with cocoa shell powder. These shells have been previously treated with the organosolv process to improve the fiber-matrix interaction. The objective of this work is to develop wall covering materials to replace tiles which require a lot of energy and from PET. The composites were made by the method of melt mixing followed by compression molding. The mechanical, physico-chemical properties and stability to environmental conditions were evaluated. The results showed that the incorporation of 20–30% of powder in the matrix made of PET gave rise to a composite material with good properties for application in construction, as a wall covering replacing the tile. The study showed that the optimum powder weight ratio for optimum composite properties was achieved at a powder weight ratio of 30%. The maximum tensile strength of 60.3 MPa, bending strength of 19.5 MPa, impact strength of 10.3 MPa and water absorption of 1.34% were obtained. Compared with ceramic tile, this water absorption test value is within the range and shows that this composite tile is suitable for use as a bathroom tile.
This work presents the thermal, physical and chemical characterization of Coffee canephora, from littoral region of Cameroon, for their use as reinforcement for polymeric materials. The infrared of coffee hulls shows the presence of a large peak intensity at 3299 cm −1 that can be attributed to O-H stretching group of alcohol (cellulose content in coffee pulp). The intensity 2926 cm −1 can be attributed to C-H stretching group of alkanes or the vibration of methoxy group of lignin. Thermo gravimetric analysis shows that around 440˚C, the biomass has been completely consumed; the temperature profiles show a peak at 86˚C that could correspond to the loss of water as evaporation at a percentage of 8%; the peak at 321˚C is accompanied by a water loss of 64.50%; this temperature is assimilated to the degradation of hemicelluloses; the temperature range from 321˚C to 401˚C is accompanied by a loss of mass of 22.80%, which would be due to the degradation of cellulose. SEM images of the surface of raw coffee hulls, coffee hulls treated with caustic soda respectively clearly reveal gaps between the fibers. The results showed that the incorporation of coffee hulls fiber in LLDPE matrix might result in composites with suitable property application for various industrial fields; especially those that were mechanical features are crucial, such as the replacement of engineering plastics.
This paper reports the production of ceramics using CRT (cathode ray tube) glass and red mud by varying the amount of waste glass and firing from 700-950 °C. The raw materials were characterized using chemical composition, IR (infra-red spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), DSC-TGA (differential scanning calorimetry-thermo gravimetric analyses) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy) analysis. The ceramic specimen was produced by mixing a constant quantity of red mud and 0%-40% of waste glass, then firing from 700-950 °C. The linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, bulk density, weight loss on ignition, flexural strength and chemical resistance test were used to evaluate the produced ceramics. Raw materials had good fluxing properties which were improved with firing. All the specimens produced had water absorption values below the maximum value of 20% specified by the norm for roofing tiles while specimens with 30%-40% CRT glass and fired at 850 °C, and specimens with 20%-40% CRT glass and fired at 950 °C had water absorption values below 10%, which is the norm for ceramic tiles. For specimens 0%-40% CRT glass fired at 950 °C, specimens 5%-40% CRT glass fired at 850 °C, specimens 10%-40% CRT glass fired at 750 °C and specimen with 20% CRT glass fired at 700 °C, water absorption values were all lower than 17% which is ASTM C62 specifications for bricks. The norm of flexural strength for floor tiles > 25 MPa but all values were less than 25 MPa. The ceramic shows a maximum loss of 0.10% in HNO 3 against 0.06% for NaOH. The two waste materials can effectively be used to produce ceramic materials with good properties.
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