Alghamdi Mohammed N
Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology, Yanbu Industrial College, Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah City 41912, Saudi Arabia.
Polymers (Basel). 2021 Aug 23;13(16):2836. doi: 10.3390/polym13162836.
Fly ash polymer composites are innovative high-performance materials that reduce the environmental worries and disposal complications of heavy industry produced fly ash. This study developed and characterized such composites of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrices and found that the use of small (50-90 µm) particles of fly ash could give rise to the tensile modulus (95%) and tensile strength (7%) of their reinforced composites when compared to neat HDPE materials. While these results themselves convey a strong message of how fly ash can be effectively utilized, this was not the key aim of the current study. The study was extended to examine the effect of fly ash particle size on the recyclability of relevant HDPE composites. The extrusion-based multiple recycling of composites gave slightly lower mechanical properties, primarily due to filler/matrix delamination when large fly ash particles were used. Compared to freshly made fly ash-filled HDPE composites, although using small (50-90 µm) fly ash particles reduced the tensile modulus and tensile strength of recycled composites, the values were still far above those from neat HDPE materials. This novel insight directs the effective utilization of fly ash and provides long-term sustainable and economical solutions for their practical applicability.
粉煤灰聚合物复合材料是一种创新的高性能材料，可减少重工业产生的粉煤灰对环境的担忧和处置难题。本研究开发并表征了这种以高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）为基体的复合材料，发现与纯HDPE材料相比，使用小粒径（50 - 90 µm）的粉煤灰颗粒可提高其增强复合材料的拉伸模量（约95%）和拉伸强度（约7%）。虽然这些结果本身有力地表明了粉煤灰如何能够得到有效利用，但这并非本研究的关键目标。该研究进一步扩展，以考察粉煤灰粒径对相关HDPE复合材料可回收性的影响。基于挤出的复合材料多次回收导致力学性能略有降低，主要原因是使用大粒径粉煤灰颗粒时填料/基体分层。与新制备的粉煤灰填充HDPE复合材料相比，尽管使用小粒径（50 - 90 µm）的粉煤灰颗粒会降低回收复合材料的拉伸模量和拉伸强度，但其数值仍远高于纯HDPE材料的数值。这一新颖的见解指导了粉煤灰的有效利用，并为其实际应用提供了长期可持续且经济的解决方案。
