| Title |
A sugar-beet waste based thermoplastic agro-composite as substitute for raw materials |
| ID_Doc |
13146 |
| Authors |
Suffo, M; de la Mata, M; Molina, SI |
| Title |
A sugar-beet waste based thermoplastic agro-composite as substitute for raw materials |
| Year |
2020 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120382 |
| Abstract |
The creation of plastic composites allows tuning the polymer properties in order to reach the desired performance for many different applications. Within this context, agricultural wastes and biopolymers offer suitable alternatives to be used as additive or reinforcement agents of polymer matrices. There is a wide variety of biocomposites or agro-composites containing natural fibers or solid residues of agricultural products as an additive, but there are not reported studies on agro-composites formed by the combination of synthetic petroleum plastics, and solid wastes from sugar beet working as a reinforcement of the polymer matrix. This work presents a new agro-composite synthesized by combining linear low-density polyethylene, one of the most used and versatile thermoplastic materials, and "Carbocal (R)", an organic-inorganic residue from the sugar beet processing industry. The synthesis of the composite is direct and does not require the use of grafting, adhesion polymers or coupling agents. The tests carried out showed the improved mechanical performance of the composite compared with the neat polymer, proving the reinforcement role played by the waste within the polymer matrix. Therefore, this new agrocomposite has potential applications replacing some highly demanded synthetic petroleum plastics. Additionally, the composite can be processed by extrusion and injection, according to its thermomechanical properties. Indeed, the composite was successfully injected with packaging purposes. The use of this new agro-composite contributes to recycle agricultural wastes otherwise hardly recovered and valorized, reducing the CO2 footprint and favoring the use of high quality secondary-raw materials, well aligned with the circular economy. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| Author Keywords |
Sugar-beet agro-composite (SBA); Biocomposite"; Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs); LLDPE/PE; Carbocal |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) |
| EID |
WOS:000522383500041 |
| WoS Category |
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology; Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences |
| Research Area |
Science & Technology - Other Topics; Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
| PDF |
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