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Waste-Based Polymer Composites
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Waste-Based Polymer Composites

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2022) | Viewed by 10137

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Aleksander Hejna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Polymer Technology, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Interests: polymer composites; reactive processing; lignocellulose fillers; filler modification; recycling; waste management; polyurethane foams
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the most crucial trends in the current research on the development of polymer composites is associated with the application of waste raw materials or those generated by other industries as by-products. Such an approach takes into account the economic and ecological issues, focusing on the reduction in composites’ costs or environmental impacts. This can be realized by the application of low-cost, waste or recycled raw materials, both polymers and fillers. First of all, the recycled and waste materials are significantly cheaper than the virgin raw materials. In case of polymers, the price of recyclates is often over 50% lower. Considering the potential candidates for fillers, they are often wastes or by-products from different industries, without industrial applications, so they are subjected to landfilling. Therefore, their cost can be often negligible. Except for the economic factors, such an approach should be considered as ecologically beneficial. The application of waste or recycled materials may often provide their utilization methods and should be considered a step towards the currently often emphasized circular economy. 

Because of the richness of potential innovations and future developments, the editors are pleased to launch this Special Issue and invite researchers to contribute their original research papers and reviews on the structure, performance, and applications of waste-based polymer composites. 

Topics include:

  • Recycled polymer materials as matrices for composites;
  • Waste-based fillers for polymer composites;
  • Structure–property relationships of polymer composites;
  • Novel applications of waste-based polymer composites;
  • Biodegradable and sustainable waste-based polymer composites;
  • Life cycle assessment of waste-based polymer composites.

Dr. Aleksander Hejna
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • polymer composites
  • waste
  • recycling
  • by-products
  • circular economy

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 33304 KiB  
Article
Mater-Bi/Brewers’ Spent Grain Biocomposites—Novel Approach to Plant-Based Waste Filler Treatment by Highly Efficient Thermomechanical and Chemical Methods
by Aleksander Hejna, Mateusz Barczewski, Paulina Kosmela, Olga Mysiukiewicz, Paweł Sulima, Jerzy Andrzej Przyborowski and Daria Kowalkowska-Zedler
Materials 2022, 15(20), 7099; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15207099 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1633
Abstract
Thermoplastic starch (TPS) is a homogenous material prepared from native starch and water or other plasticizers subjected to mixing at a temperature exceeding starch gelatinization temperature. It shows major drawbacks like high moisture sensitivity, poor mechanical properties, and thermal stability. To overcome these [...] Read more.
Thermoplastic starch (TPS) is a homogenous material prepared from native starch and water or other plasticizers subjected to mixing at a temperature exceeding starch gelatinization temperature. It shows major drawbacks like high moisture sensitivity, poor mechanical properties, and thermal stability. To overcome these drawbacks without significant cost increase, TPS could be blended with bio-based or biodegradable polymers and filled with plant-based fillers, beneficially waste-based, like brewers’ spent grain (BSG), the main brewing by-product. Filler modifications are often required to enhance the compatibility of such composites. Herein, we investigated the impact of BSG thermomechanical and chemical treatments on the structure, physical, thermal, and rheological performance of Mater-Bi-based composites. Thermomechanical modifications enhanced matrix thermal stability under oxidative conditions delaying degradation onset by 33 °C. Moreover, BSG enhanced the crystallization of the polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) fraction of Mater-Bi, potentially improving mechanical properties and shortening processing time. BSG chemical treatment with isophorone diisocyanate improved the processing properties of the composites, expressed by a 33% rise in melt flow index. Depending on the waste filler’s selected treatment, processing, and rheological performance, thermal stability or interfacial adhesion of composites could be enhanced. Moreover, the appearance of the final materials could be adjusted by filler selection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste-Based Polymer Composites)
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16 pages, 3453 KiB  
Communication
Evaluation of the Oil-Rich Waste Fillers’ Influence on the Tribological Properties of Polylactide-Based Composites
by Olga Mysiukiewicz, Joanna Sulej-Chojnacka, Mateusz Kotkowiak, Tomasz Wiśniewski, Adam Piasecki and Mateusz Barczewski
Materials 2022, 15(3), 1237; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15031237 - 07 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1377
Abstract
In recent years, natural-based polymeric composites have gained the attention of researchers and the industry due to their low environmental impact and good applicational properties. A promising example of these materials is polylactide-based composites filled with linseed cake. Even though they can be [...] Read more.
In recent years, natural-based polymeric composites have gained the attention of researchers and the industry due to their low environmental impact and good applicational properties. A promising example of these materials is polylactide-based composites filled with linseed cake. Even though they can be characterized by reduced brittleness and enhanced crystallization rate, their applicational potential cannot be fully evaluated without knowing their tribological properties. This paper is aimed to analyze the influence of the oil contained by the filler on the mechanical and frictional properties of polylactide-based composites. Specimens of unfilled polylactide and its composites containing 10 wt % of linseed cake with different oil content were prepared by injection molding. Their microhardness was measured by the Vickers method. The softening temperature was determined by the Vicat method. The scratch resistance of the samples was tested with the loading of 10, 20 and 40 N. The coefficient of friction was evaluated by the pin-on-plate method, using CoCrMo alloy as the counter surface. It was found that the oil content in the filler does not directly influence the mechanical and tribological properties, but the composite samples present comparable hardness and lower coefficient of friction than the unfilled polymer, so they can be a good eco-friendly alternative to the unfilled polylactide when the frictional properties are an important factor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste-Based Polymer Composites)
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19 pages, 3950 KiB  
Article
Vacuum-Based Impregnation of Liquid Glass into Sunflower Press Cake Particles and Their Use in Bio-Based Rigid Polyurethane Foam
by Agnė Kairytė, Sylwia Członka, Renata Boris and Sigitas Vėjelis
Materials 2021, 14(18), 5351; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14185351 - 16 Sep 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1537
Abstract
The study analyses rigid polyurethane (PUR) foam modified with 10–30 wt.% sunflower press cake (SFP) and liquid glass-impregnated sunflower press cake (LG-SFP) particles and their impact on performance characteristics of PUR foams—foaming behaviour, rheology, thermal conductivity, compressive strength parallel and perpendicular to the [...] Read more.
The study analyses rigid polyurethane (PUR) foam modified with 10–30 wt.% sunflower press cake (SFP) and liquid glass-impregnated sunflower press cake (LG-SFP) particles and their impact on performance characteristics of PUR foams—foaming behaviour, rheology, thermal conductivity, compressive strength parallel and perpendicular to the foaming directions, tensile strength, dimensional stability, short-term water absorption by partial immersion, and thermal stability. Even though the dynamic viscosity and apparent density were increased for SFP and LG-SFP formulations, thermal conductivity values improved by 17% and 10%, respectively, when 30 wt.% of particles were incorporated. The addition of SFP and LG-SFP particles resulted in the formation of more structurally and dimensionally stable PUR foams with a smaller average cell size and a greater content of closed cells. At 30 wt.% of SFP and LG-SFP particles, compressive strength increased by 114% and 46% in the perpendicular direction, respectively, and by 71% and 67% in the parallel direction, respectively, while tensile strength showed an 89% and 85% higher performance at 30 wt.% SFP and LG-SFP particles loading. Furthermore, short-term water absorption for all SFP and LG-SFP modified PUR foam formulations was almost two times lower compared to the control foam. SFP particles reduced the thermal stability of modified PUR foams, but LG-SFP particles shifted the thermal decomposition temperatures towards higher ones. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste-Based Polymer Composites)
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18 pages, 7922 KiB  
Article
SBR Vulcanizates Filled with Modified Ground Tire Rubber
by Katarzyna Klajn, Tomasz Gozdek, Dariusz M. Bieliński, Mariusz Siciński, Magdalena Zarzecka-Napierała and Zbigniew Pędzich
Materials 2021, 14(14), 3991; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14143991 - 16 Jul 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1726
Abstract
Ground tire rubber (GTR) is used to decrease the cost of vulcanizates. However, insufficient interactions between GTR particles and rubber matrices make mechanical properties of vulcanizates containing GTR deteriorate. This paper compares original methods of GTR modification. The effects of surface activation of [...] Read more.
Ground tire rubber (GTR) is used to decrease the cost of vulcanizates. However, insufficient interactions between GTR particles and rubber matrices make mechanical properties of vulcanizates containing GTR deteriorate. This paper compares original methods of GTR modification. The effects of surface activation of GTR by sulfuric acid (A), its modification by (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxy silane (M), or the hybrid treatment—combining both approaches (H), were analyzed in terms of surface energy, specific surface area and morphology of GTR particles. Vulcanizates containing virgin GTR were compared to the rubber filled with the modified GTR particles keeping the same amount of CB in the rubber mix, according to their crosslink density, mechanical and tribological properties. Contrary to the virgin GTR, the addition of modified GTR increases the stiffness of the vulcanizates. The highest changes have been observed for the samples filled with ca. 12 phr of the GTR modified with silane and ca. 25 phr of the GTR subjected to the hybrid treatment, representing the highest crosslink density of rubber vulcanizates filled with GTR. Furthermore, the addition of modified GTR, especially in the case of the samples where 10 phr of rubber was replaced, results in the significant lowering of friction but higher abrasive wear. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste-Based Polymer Composites)
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20 pages, 4004 KiB  
Article
Ground Tire Rubber Filled Flexible Polyurethane Foam—Effect of Waste Rubber Treatment on Composite Performance
by Paulina Kosmela, Adam Olszewski, Łukasz Zedler, Paulina Burger, Adam Piasecki, Krzysztof Formela and Aleksander Hejna
Materials 2021, 14(14), 3807; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14143807 - 07 Jul 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2761
Abstract
The application range of flexible polyurethane (PU) foams is comprehensive because of their versatility and flexibility in adjusting structure and performance. In addition to the investigations associated with further broadening of their potential properties, researchers are looking for new raw materials, beneficially originated [...] Read more.
The application range of flexible polyurethane (PU) foams is comprehensive because of their versatility and flexibility in adjusting structure and performance. In addition to the investigations associated with further broadening of their potential properties, researchers are looking for new raw materials, beneficially originated from renewable resources or recycling. A great example of such a material is ground tire rubber (GTR)—the product of the material recycling of post-consumer car tires. To fully exploit the benefits of this material, it should be modified to enhance the interfacial interactions between PU and GTR. In the presented work, GTR particles were thermo-mechanically modified with the addition of fresh and waste rapeseed oil in the reactive extrusion process. The introduction of modified GTR particles into a flexible PU matrix caused a beneficial 17–28% decrease in average cell diameters. Such an effect caused an even 5% drop in thermal conductivity coefficient values, enhancing thermal insulation performance. The application of waste oil resulted in the superior mechanical performance of composites compared to the fresh one and thermo-mechanical modification without oils. The compressive and tensile performance of composites filled with waste oil-modified GTR was almost the same as for the unfilled foam. Moreover, the introduction of ground tire rubber particles enhanced the thermal stability of neat polyurethane foam. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste-Based Polymer Composites)
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