Recycling the Cork Powder in a PVC-Based Composite Material: Combined Effect on Physico-Mechanical and Thermal Properties

Abstract

A large amount of cork powder (CP) produced by cork industry ended up in landfills, they are the result of the crushing of natural floor (bark) cork oak, hence the need to recycle these wastes to prevent environmental problems. To this end, the work is to combine the powdered cork recovered with a thermoplastic material to provide a cork based composite (CPC) having physico-mechanical characteristics and thermal very interesting. Several formulations of composite materials based on PVC (as matrix), cork powder (as a charge) and a PVC-g-MA coupling agent, have been the subject of experimental study to evaluate the physical-mechanical and thermal properties. To investigate the combined effect of cork powder and PVC-g-MA on composite properties, the samples were manufactured by varying the content of PC (30 %, 40 % and 50 %) with two PVC-g-MA concentrations. Improving the stability of PVC which is accentuated in the presence of the coupling agent. In addition, it was found that the incorporation of the coupling agent has enabled the elimination of the adverse effect of cork powder, improving the tensile strength. The composite obtained in this study yielded some promising properties, even if building strategies to achieve greater strength and rigidity could beings needed for specific applications.

Cork biomass biocomposites

“…While the mechanical strength was lower compared with both commercial materials (i.e., MDF and HDF), it was also observed that the addition of cork improved the flexural modulus, impact resistance, and hardness on the developed CPC [8]. In a recent work, cork biomass was combined with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in different concentrations as a recycling strategy [54]. It was found that the incorporation of coupling agent based on maleic anhydride (PVC-g-MA) enabled the elimination of the adverse effect of cork biomass, improving the tensile strength.…”