ABSTRACT
Since the COVID-19 outbreak in late 2019, a surprisingly large amount of personal protective equipment, such as medical rubber gloves, have been frequently used, and this medical waste can cause very major environmental problems. A multidisciplinary collaborative approach is needed to combat the pandemic and lessen the environmental risks associated with the disposal of medical waste. This study developed an innovative approach by incorporating shredded rubber glove fibers (RGF) into aggregates to enhance the fatigue resistance of concrete. In this study, different volume contents (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%) of RGF were added to the aggregate for the first time. The effects of different RGF contents on the fatigue characteristics of concrete were examined through repeated loading tests and SEM analysis. The results show that the width and number of cracks produced by rubber glove fiber concrete (RGFC) after repeated loading are significantly reduced compared with normal concrete (NC). Following repeated loading, RGFC exhibited higher total, plastic, and elastic strain values than NC, demonstrating greater deformability and elasticity. However, the maximum total strain growth rate and the total strain growth range of the RGFC group were only 2.26 × 10−3/time and 14.0%, which were significantly smaller than the 3.8 × 10−3/time and 31.7% of the NC group, showing better stability, corresponding to enhance the fatigue resistance of concrete. The interfacial transition zone (ITZ) was abnormally smooth with a thin thickness and no visible gaps were discovered, based on the results of SEM test performed on the RGFC. The findings obtained in this study may provide new ideas for the resource utilization of medical waste. © 2023
ABSTRACT
The plastic industry is one of the biggest and essential industries, ranging from domestic to engineering products. Nowadays, plastic waste is one of the major issues human-faced worldwide. It is predicted to worsen due to the increment in online purchasing rising from the Covid-19 situations. On the other hand, the construction industry is the largest industry in different economies and the highest consumer of raw materials. Along with the growing demand for concrete aggregates, natural stone materials are overused and eventually deplete resources. Both severe problems can be mitigated by recycling these plastic wastes to serve as an alternative to aggregates in concrete. Despite accumulative efforts, the produced plastic waste aggregates (PWA) is still inferior in strengthening the concrete due to poor interaction between both particles. Therefore, steps to further improving their properties and compatibility with concrete through various approaches are crucial. This review briefly introduces the current situation of concrete industries and global plastic waste accumulation issues. The efforts in the utilization of plastic waste aggregates in concrete alongside their properties are also discussed. Lastly, the water-assisted melt compounding and advantages in the processing of thermoplastic composites are also presented to serve as the platform for a new processing approach to be utilized in PWA production. Therefore, a better insight into the potential of producing PWA with improved physical, mechanical properties corresponds to the enhancing concrete strength via water-assisted melt compounding is offered. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.