Desempeño Mecánico de Compuestos de Madera Plástica de Matriz Poliolefínica / Mechanical performance of polyolefinic wood plastic composites / Desempenho mecânicos de compostos de Madeira Plástica de Matriz Poliolefina

Resumen Los polímeros termoplásticos, pueden ser mezclados con diferentes tipos de cargas con el propósito de mejorar su rendimiento físico-mecánico, al mismo tiempo que permiten en muchos casos, generar soluciones a problemáticas ambientales como por ejemplo la disposición final de residuos de madera. Los compuestos de madera plástica son productos elaborados mediante la incorporación de fibras o partículas de madera en la matriz polimérica, donde la interacción entre los dos materiales (nula o con acople) es clave para lograr un adecuado desempeño del producto final. En esta revisión se establecen las matrices poliméricas y los tipos de maderas empleadas comúnmente en la elaboración de productos de madera plástica, al mismo tiempo que se definen los tratamientos previos que deben ser realizados tanto en la madera como en el polímero con el propósito de mejorar la compatibilidad de los dos materiales, y de esta manera mejorar propiedades como la absorción de agua, la resistencia a la descomposición, a la intemperie y el desempeño mecánico. En cuanto a las propiedades mecánicas, al adicionar un contenido de madera en el polímero se modifica la rigidez del material polimérico y la resistencia en tensión, flexión e impacto; sin embargo, se establece que es clave el uso de agentes funcionalizantes para que el efecto de la incorporación de la madera en polímero sea positivo. Finalmente se estudian las nuevas tendencias en el uso de diferentes tipos de residuos y matrices poliméricas para la elaboración de maderas plásticas.

Abstract Polymeric materials, especially thermoplastics, can be mixed with different types of fillers to improve their physical-mechanical performance, at the same time they allow, in many cases, to generate solutions to environmental problems such as the final disposal of wood waste. The plastic wood composites are products made by incorporating wood fibers in the polymer matrix, where the interaction between the two materials is key to achieve an adequate performance of the final product. This review establishes the polymer matrices and the types of wood commonly used in the production of plastic wood products, at the same time defining the previous treatments that must be carried out in the wood and in the polymer to improve the compatibility of the two materials, and in this way improve properties such as water absorption, resistance to decomposition, resistance to weathering and mechanical performance. Related to the mechanical properties, adding the wood fibers in the polymer modifies the rigidity of the polymeric material and the resistance in tension, bending and impact; however, it is established that the use of functionalizing agents is a fundamental key to improve the effect of wood incorporation into the polymer matrix. Finally, the new trends in the use of different types of waste and polymeric matrices to produce plastic wood are studied.

Resumo Os materiais poliméricos, principalmente os termoplásticos, podem ser misturados a diferentes tipos de cargas para melhorar seu desempenho físico-mecânico, ao mesmo tempo que, em muitos casos, permitem gerar soluções para problemas ambientais como a destinação final de resíduos. madeira. Os compósitos madeira-plástico são produtos obtidos pela incorporação de fibras de madeira à matriz polimérica, onde a interação entre os dois materiais é fundamental para um desempenho adequado do produto final. Nesta revisão, são estabelecidas as matrizes poliméricas e os tipos de madeira comumente utilizados na produção de produtos plásticos de madeira, ao mesmo tempo em que são definidos os tratamentos anteriores que devem ser realizados na madeira e no polímero para melhorar a compatibilidade dos dois materiais, e desta forma melhorar propriedades como absorção de água, resistência à decomposição, intempéries e desempenho mecânico. Em relação às propriedades mecânicas, ao adicionar as fibras de madeira ao polímero, a rigidez do material polimérico e a resistência à tração, flexão e impacto são modificadas; porém, está estabelecido que o uso de agentes funcionalizantes é fundamental para que o efeito da incorporação da madeira no polímero seja positivo. Por fim, são estudadas as novas tendências no uso de diferentes tipos de resíduos e matrizes poliméricas para a produção de madeira plástica.

Micromechanical Modeling for Tensile Properties of Wood Plastic Composites: Use of Pruned Waste from Pecan Orchards as Sustainable Material for Reinforcement of Thermoplastic Composite.

Wood plastic composites (WPCs) specimens containing high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and wood pruning waste were manufactured and evaluated for their mechanical properties. Pecan waste was used as an accessible and sustainable source in this study, and the effects of its particle size and concentration on WPC strengths were evaluated. Pecan waste was milled and sieved to various particle sizes, and testing samples were fabricated by mixing them in a twin-screw extruder and injection molding. A coupling agent was used to create a stable bond between the HDPE and wood. Both tensile modulus and strength were increased with an increasing pecan flour concentration up to about 60 weigh percent. A micromechanical model is proposed for predicting the mechanical properties of the wood flour/fiber reinforce composite. This model uses a correction factor of an elliptical of carried sizes and shapes. The preliminary results of the model have a high correlation with the experimental values of the composite in all mesh sizes.

Potential use of waste from tree pruning and recovered plastic to obtain a building material: Case study of Merida, Mexico.

This work presents a study on the use of wood and plastic wastes generated in abundance in Merida, Mexico, to help to reduce them in order to mitigate environmental deterioration. The use of these wastes is proposed to obtain a low-cost building material. So, the escalation process (i.e., extrusion) at the pilot level to obtain a prototype of a wood-plastic composite (WPC) corrugated sheet to evaluate the technical feasibility to make a low-cost product is reported. A corrugated sheet with recycled high-density polyethylene (R-HDPE) was produced. The R-HDPE was collected from Merida's Separation Plant. The wood came from the trimmings of different varieties of trees and shrubs that are periodically pruned. WPC sheets with virgin HDPE were prepared to assess its effect on the materials' mechanical performance. The wood/HDPE weight ratio was 40/60. The performance of the WPC sheets was compared with that of commercial products with similar characteristics, namely acrylic and polyester sheets reinforced with fibreglass, and black asphalt-saturated cardboard sheets. Thus, the effect of natural weathering on the maximum tensile tearing force and on the maximum flexural load of the different types of sheets was evaluated. Although the mechanical performance of the WPC sheets was lower than that of the acrylic and polyacrylic sheets, their performance was much better than that of the cheap black asphalt-saturated cardboard sheets. So, they are a good option to be used as low-cost temporary roofing.

Physical-mechanical properties of wood panel composites produced with Qualea sp. sawdust and recycled polypropylene.

Adhesive-free wood-plastic composite panels made with lignocellulosic wastes, and recycled plastics can be a sustainable option for generating useful "green" products. The present work assessed the physical-mechanical properties of adhesive-free panels produced with Qualea sp. sawdust and recycled polypropylene (PP). Discarded PP packaging was used. The packages were washed and ground with a laboratory knife mill until particle size of 10 to 14 mesh. Qualea sp. sawdust was sieved to select particle size of 14 to 30 mesh. Four experimental treatments were assessed by varying the percentages of PP and sawdust, as follows, 60 and 40%, 70 and 30%, 80 and 20%, and 90 and 10%, in an entirely randomized design with 3 panels per treatment, totaling 12 panels. The mats were hot-pressed at 180 °C during 20 min, the first 10 min under pressure of 1.0 MPa and the remaining 10 min at 42 MPa. Physical-mechanical properties of the panels were obtained as follows: density, moisture content, water absorption, thickness swelling, moduli of elasticity and rupture, and Rockwell hardness. In general, an increase of the percentage of PP provided higher dimensional stability to the panels, but there was no significant influence on mechanical strength.