Knowledge Agora



Scientific Article details

Title Recovery of Cork Manufacturing Waste within Mortar and Polyurethane: Feasibility of Use and Physical, Mechanical, Thermal Insulating Properties of the Final Green Composite Construction Materials
ID_Doc 10288
Authors Malchiodi, B; Marchetti, R; Barbieri, L; Pozzi, P
Title Recovery of Cork Manufacturing Waste within Mortar and Polyurethane: Feasibility of Use and Physical, Mechanical, Thermal Insulating Properties of the Final Green Composite Construction Materials
Year 2022
Published Applied Sciences-Basel, 12, 8
DOI 10.3390/app12083844
Abstract The valorization of industrial waste is a hot topic toward circular economy and sustainability. Several wastes have been proposed as resources for different production processes; however, others are still disposed to landfill or waste-to-energy plants. For the first time, this work suggests a sustainable alternative to managing cork waste from bottle caps manufacturing; this is generated by a local company at about 220,000 m(3)/year. The powder waste has a 0.063-1 mm particle size and is mainly composed of cork, polyurethane adhesive, and paraffin. Its valorization is proposed as filler in construction materials such as lime-based mortar (1-4 wt%) and polyurethane (5-15 wt%). Thermal, spectroscopic, and physical characterizations are performed on the cork waste, and mainly result in a low apparent density (340 kg/m(3)) and high-water absorption (177%). Cork properties allow consideration of extra water in the mortar mix and improve lightness without significantly affecting compressive, bending strength, and thermal insulation. Cork waste in polyurethanes promotes a color change, slightly increases the density (up to 12.5%), and still results in producing a thermally insulating material (<0.06 W/mK). Considering the promising results, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using the manufacturing waste from cork bottle caps to produce green construction materials, thus upgrading it from waste to secondary raw material.
Author Keywords waste; recycling; cork; cork bottle caps; mortars; polyurethane; sustainability; green construction materials; thermal insulation; mechanical properties
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
EID WOS:000786274800001
WoS Category Chemistry, Multidisciplinary; Engineering, Multidisciplinary; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary; Physics, Applied
Research Area Chemistry; Engineering; Materials Science; Physics
PDF https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/8/3844/pdf?version=1649670509
Similar atricles
Scroll