Abstract
Large amounts of wood waste are generated each year in the world. In an attempt to identify a good recovery option for those residues, wood waste from construction and demolition works were used as raw materials in gypsum plasters. However, wood is a biodegradable material which implies that the products or materials that contain it are susceptible to suffering an important deterioration, due to exposure in certain environments. For that reason, the aim of this work was to simulate the effects that, in the long term, the atmospheric exposure of wood waste–gypsum composites would have. To do that, the plasters were subjected to 5, 10, and 15 wetting–drying cycles in a climatic chamber. In this study, the density, flexural and compressive strength, and ultrasonic velocity of these composites were determined by the influence of the aging process on their mechanical properties. Furthermore, in order to detect changes on their internal structure, scanning electron microscopy tests (SEM) were used. The results showed that they were suitable to be used as indoor coverings of buildings. However, a treatment to reduce the moisture absorption of the wood waste must be studied if mixtures with high percentages of wood shavings (WS20) are used in wet rooms.
Highlights
Correct waste management is one of the main lines of work established by the EuropeanCommission within commitments of Horizon 2020 [1]
The results showed that sawdust had a true density of 1.2 g/cm3 and wood shavings had one of 1.5 g/cm3
After the inspection executed at the end of the first 5 and 10 cycles, no damage was detected in the samples
Summary
Correct waste management is one of the main lines of work established by the EuropeanCommission within commitments of Horizon 2020 [1]. The amount of wood waste varies significantly, depending on the typical structural/construction typology of the country or region under analysis It is especially significant in northern countries, such as Norway, where it means 10.12% of the total construction and demolition wastes (CDWs) generated. Mália et al found that, when only residential building demolition works wastes were analyzed, the percentage of wood waste increased significantly, reaching 37.9% of the total CDW generated in those type of buildings [3]. For all these reasons, and wood is a highly renewable and regenerative material, it is necessary to propose correct management of this waste
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