Role of Compatibilization in Recycling Rubber Waste by Blending with Plastics

2005 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Mangaraj

Abstract Blending ground rubber with thermoplastic and thermoset polymers is a very cost effective and efficient method for recycling rubber waste. However it is important for vulcanized rubber particles and the thermoplastic matrix to adhere to each other to form co-continuous type morphology to provide necessary strength properties. The paper discusses the principles underlying compatibilization and discusses the three types, namely mechanical, non-reactive and reactive compatibilization. Past work in compatibilizing ground rubber from tire waste (GRT) with thermoplastics has been reviewed and the use of compatibilized GRT/ plastic products in the preparation of a variety of value-added products, including thermoplastic elastomers has been discussed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-367
Author(s):  
Masoud Shafie ◽  
Hamid Zarea-Hosseinabadi

This study was performed to use date palm rachis, as a low value bio-waste, in the manufacture of a high value added eco-friendly structural composite lumber. Taguchi design of experiments was applied to analyse the effect of raw material and product parameters on the mechanical properties of laminated strand lumber from date palm rachis. The results indicate that the composite exhibits similar or superior strength properties compared to solid lumber and engineered products from wood or other lignocellulosic material for building sector. Taguchi design of experiments was assessed as a powerful and cost effective technique to obtain optimal levels for maximizing the mechanical properties of the environmentally-friendly composite. Maximum values for the mechanical properties of date palm rachis-based LSL were obtained from a combination of 20 mm product thickness, 10 % resin content, 4mm strand thickness, and 850 kg/m3 product density. Product thickness with an 81.3 % contribution and strand thickness with an 80 % contribution have the highest effects on the flatwise stiffness and compression strength perpendicular to grain, respectively.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1103
Author(s):  
Sara Sarraj ◽  
Małgorzata Szymiczek ◽  
Tomasz Machoczek ◽  
Maciej Mrówka

Eco-friendly composites are proposed to substitute commonly available polymers. Currently, wood–plastic composites and natural fiber-reinforced composites are gaining growing recognition in the industry, being mostly on the thermoplastic matrix. However, little data are available about the possibility of producing biocomposites on a silicone matrix. This study focused on assessing selected organic fillers’ impact (ground coffee waste (GCW), walnut shell (WS), brewers’ spent grains (BSG), pistachio shell (PS), and chestnut (CH)) on the physicochemical and mechanical properties of silicone-based materials. Density, hardness, rebound resilience, and static tensile strength of the obtained composites were tested, as well as the effect of accelerated aging under artificial seawater conditions. The results revealed changes in the material’s properties (minimal density changes, hardness variation, overall decreasing resilience, and decreased tensile strength properties). The aging test revealed certain bioactivities of the obtained composites. The degree of material degradation was assessed on the basis of the strength characteristics and visual observation. The investigation carried out indicated the impact of the filler’s type, chemical composition, and grain size on the obtained materials’ properties and shed light on the possibility of acquiring ecological silicone-based materials.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 899
Author(s):  
Djordje Mitrovic ◽  
Miguel Crespo Chacón ◽  
Aida Mérida García ◽  
Jorge García Morillo ◽  
Juan Antonio Rodríguez Diaz ◽  
...  

Studies have shown micro-hydropower (MHP) opportunities for energy recovery and CO2 reductions in the water sector. This paper conducts a large-scale assessment of this potential using a dataset amassed across six EU countries (Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Spain, and Portugal) for the drinking water, irrigation, and wastewater sectors. Extrapolating the collected data, the total annual MHP potential was estimated between 482.3 and 821.6 GWh, depending on the assumptions, divided among Ireland (15.5–32.2 GWh), Scotland (17.8–139.7 GWh), Northern Ireland (5.9–8.2 GWh), Wales (10.2–8.1 GWh), Spain (375.3–539.9 GWh), and Portugal (57.6–93.5 GWh) and distributed across the drinking water (43–67%), irrigation (51–30%), and wastewater (6–3%) sectors. The findings demonstrated reductions in energy consumption in water networks between 1.7 and 13.0%. Forty-five percent of the energy estimated from the analysed sites was associated with just 3% of their number, having a power output capacity >15 kW. This demonstrated that a significant proportion of energy could be exploited at a small number of sites, with a valuable contribution to net energy efficiency gains and CO2 emission reductions. This also demonstrates cost-effective, value-added, multi-country benefits to policy makers, establishing the case to incentivise MHP in water networks to help achieve the desired CO2 emissions reductions targets.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo M. Figueroa-Torres ◽  
Jon K. Pittman ◽  
Constantinos Theodoropoulos

Abstract Background The production of microalgal biofuels, despite their sustainable and renowned potential, is not yet cost-effective compared to current conventional fuel technologies. However, the biorefinery concept increases the prospects of microalgal biomass as an economically viable feedstock suitable for the co-production of multiple biofuels along with value-added chemicals. To integrate biofuels production within the framework of a microalgae biorefinery, it is not only necessary to exploit multi-product platforms, but also to identify optimal microalgal cultivation strategies maximising the microalgal metabolites from which biofuels are obtained: starch and lipids. Whilst nutrient limitation is widely known for increasing starch and lipid formation, this cultivation strategy can greatly reduce microalgal growth. This work presents an optimisation framework combining predictive modelling and experimental methodologies to effectively simulate and predict microalgal growth dynamics and identify optimal cultivation strategies. Results Microalgal cultivation strategies for maximised starch and lipid formation were successfully established by developing a multi-parametric kinetic model suitable for the prediction of mixotrophic microalgal growth dynamics co-limited by nitrogen and phosphorus. The model’s high predictive capacity was experimentally validated against various datasets obtained from laboratory-scale cultures of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii CCAP 11/32C subject to different initial nutrient regimes. The identified model-based optimal cultivation strategies were further validated experimentally and yielded significant increases in starch (+ 270%) and lipid (+ 74%) production against a non-optimised strategy. Conclusions The optimised microalgal cultivation scenarios for maximised starch and lipids, as identified by the kinetic model presented here, highlight the benefits of exploiting modelling frameworks as optimisation tools that facilitate the development and commercialisation of microalgae-to-fuel technologies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antimo Graziano ◽  
Shaffiq Jaffer ◽  
Mohini Sain

Blends of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) have always been the subject of intense reasearch for encouraging polymer waste recycling while producing new materials for specific applications in a sustainable way. However, being thermodynamically immiscible, these polyolefins form a binary system usually exhibiting lower performances compared with those of the homopolymers. Many studies have been carried out to better understand the PE/PP blend compatibilization for developing a high-performance and cost-effective product. Both nonreactive and reactive compatibilization promote the brittle to ductile transition for a PE/PP blend. However, the final product usually does not meet the requirements for high demanding commercial applications. Therefore, further PE/PP modification with a reinforcing filler, being either synthetic or natural, proved to be a good method for manufacturing high-performance reinforcend polymer blend composites, with superior and tailored properties. This review summarizes the recent progress in compatibilization techniques applied for enhancing the interfacial adhesion between PE and PP. Moreover, future perspectives on better understanding the influence of themodynamics on PE/PP synergy are discussed to introduce more effective compatibilization strategies, which will allow this blend to be used for innovative industrial applications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (9) ◽  
pp. 740-744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Williams-Voorbeijtel ◽  
Francisco Sanchez ◽  
Christine G Roth

AimsElimination of non-value added testing without compromising high-quality clinical care is an important mandate for laboratories in a value-based reimbursement system. The goal of this study was to determine the optimal combination of flow cytometric markers for a screening approach that balances efficiency and accuracy.MethodsAn audit over 9 months of flow cytometric testing was performed, including rereview of all dot plots from positive cases.ResultsOf the 807 cases in which leukaemia/lymphoma testing was performed, 23 were non-diagnostic and 189 represented bronchoalveolar lavage specimens. Of the remaining 595 cases, 137 (23%) were positive for an abnormal haematolymphoid population. Review of the positive cases identified minimum requirements for a screening tube as well as analysis strategies to overcome the diagnostic pitfalls noted. It is estimated that 38% fewer antibodies would be used in a screening approach, representing an opportunity for significant cost savings.ConclusionsWe provide a framework for developing an evidence-based screening combination for cost-effective characterisation of haematolymphoid malignancies, promoting adoption of ‘just-in-time’ testing systems that tailor the evaluation to the diagnostic need.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
Ashok Kumar Pandey ◽  

Bamboo shoots being low in fat, high in dietary fiber and rich in mineral contents have been consumed traditionally by the people world over. Besides nutrients it also contains some anti-nutrients e.g. cyanogens. Due to seasonal availability of bamboo shoots, processing for reducing anti-nutrients in raw shoots while keeping nutrients intact and enhancement of shelf life of the value added products assume great significance for its utilization. This paper focuses on post harvest processing and value addition of bamboo shoots for its utilization as food products. Juvenile bamboo shoots of Bambusa bambos, B. tulda, Dendrocalamus asper and D. strictus were collected and processed, by boiling in brine solution, to remove the anti-nutrients (cyanogen). A simple, efficient and cost effective processing method for bamboo shoots was developed. This method significantly reduces the amount of cyanogens and retains considerable amount of nutrients and thus may be utilized for processing of bamboo shoots. Different value added edible products viz. chunks or bari (by adding pulses), pickle, sauce and papad (by adding potato) were prepared. All products were good in taste and texture. Nutritional analysis was done to determine the shelf life of the products. The nutrient content of processed products (chunks, sauce, pickle and papad) showed a gradual decrease and need to be consumed within 6 months from the date of making. However, in case of papad the carbohydrate content did not decrease much but the taste was not acceptable after 8 months. Whereas, in case of pickles, even nutrient content decreased but the product was acceptable even after two years after preparation as it was good in taste and texture. Thus, processing and value addition practices can be considered as key to the future of sustainable management of bamboo resources because they not only provide quality edible products but also enable harvesters/collectors to get better income opportunities.


Fuel ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 122575
Author(s):  
R. Reshmy ◽  
Eapen Philip ◽  
Aravind Madhavan ◽  
Ayon Tarfdar ◽  
Raveendran Sindhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1281-1287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Górski ◽  
Wiesław Kuczko ◽  
Radosław Wichniarek ◽  
Adam Hamrol

Purpose This paper aims to study strength properties and accuracy of a new type of composites, in which matrix is manufactured additively, whereas infill is a polyurethane resin. The process of manufacturing these composites is invented and patented by authors. Design/methodology/approach The authors developed a method of manufacturing composites, which was then used to build samples for tensile and bending tests (according to ISO 572 and ISO 178 standards), as well as measurements of accuracy. Findings It was found that the method of composite manufacturing designed by the authors allows obtaining both stronger and cheaper parts in comparison with the traditional acrylonitrile butadiene styrene FDM parts. Research limitations/implications The research was limited to static tests only, and no dynamic tests were performed on the manufactured samples. The accuracy analysis is only a basic one. Practical implications Developed method allows to shorten the FDM process with simultaneous decrease of costs (in professional processes) and increase of strength of obtained products. Originality/value Application of composite materials presented in the paper will significantly expand possibilities of using FDM method to manufacture functional, strong parts able to carry higher loads. Application of different combinations of thermoplastic matrix materials with different resin infills will allow to control properties of obtained composites. The solution is currently subject of a patent.


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