Abstract
ABSTRACT The manufacture of forest products with high physical and mechanical properties contribute to the development of the forest industry in obtaining more resistant products with potential in the construction sector. In this context, to contribute to the study of reconstituted panels this article discusses the manufacture of panels reinforced with recycled thermoplastics (WPC), which had as raw material sawdust of Pinus caribaea and as recycled thermoplastics polyethylene terephthalate, low-density polyethylene and polypropylene. The panels were obtained by extrusion and developed in four treatments with different proportions of raw material. Thickness swelling rates of the manufactured WPC were evaluated by immersing them in water at room temperature and monitoring thickness changes for several weeks. A swelling model developed by Saeed Kazemi Najafi was used to study the thickness swelling process of WPC. The WPC were characterized by thickness swelling, apparent density, static blending, longitudinal compression and tensile strength. The treatment with 50% sawdust and blend of all thermoplastics (T5) showed a tendency to reduce the thickness swelling because it absorbs 0.28% of water and maintains the balance of water absorption in 16.2% the apparent density was 1206 kgm-3. For the mechanical properties, the static blending, longitudinal compression and tensile strength are around 24.6, 142.4 and 32.8 MPa, respectively. These characteristics make a treatment the best response. Hence, is suggested this board be used for structural applications, such as interior or exterior walls, since the water absorption index is low and high mechanical properties allow being more resistant.
Highlights
Technological advances and market competitiveness make it necessary to seek improvements in the quality of industrialized products for civil construction
Were used three types of thermoplastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP), these were chosen unlike the others because they are the most used in social consumption and waste are more found
The analysis made to evaluate the moisture content of the wood allowed determining that raw after 24 h, these thermoplastics show a very low water absorption capacity that does not significantly affect the swelling, these conditions when they are passed to the plastic wood board influence the resistance to water absorption, and low percent of swelling of the board
Summary
Technological advances and market competitiveness make it necessary to seek improvements in the quality of industrialized products for civil construction. In the scenario of modernity and quality of materials, technology has created new products derived from wood, either in different forms or in combination with other materials, in search of environmental benefits, and better product performance (Horta et al, 2017) In this sense, wood plastic composite (WPC) corresponds to one of these technologies taking into account that it is a modern and ecologically viable product. Wood plastic composite (WPC) corresponds to one of these technologies taking into account that it is a modern and ecologically viable product This product involves two or more raw materials, originating from the wood mix, and recyclable materials such as thermoplastic waste and chemical additives to provide some desired characteristic. Among the components of plastic wood there is another internationally known as plastic lumber, which is nothing more than that wood plastic composite (WPC) made from recycled plastics, these materials compete with those of WPC (Keskisaari; Kärki, 2018)
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