Recuperação de poliestireno expandido por biossolvente visando a produção de material alternativo para uso na construção civil

Abstract

The extensive volume of solid waste has been plaguing the world exponentially in recent years and plastic materials have a large share in this context. Expanded polystyrene, a polymer, has 98% air and only 2% plastic, so the difficulty in transporting it is great, generating little or no profit for transporters, causing this waste to end up improperly discarded. This improper disposal of polystyrene can permeate soils, rivers and seas, causing environmental discomfort, the spread of diseases, among other humanitarian ills. Reuse and recycling emerge as a way out for better environmental and social management. Polystyrene is used from food packaging to civil construction in the execution of slabs. Added to this is the large amount of residual cooking oils generated daily after food preparation, also producing a large amount of waste that require proper disposal. Due to these reasons, this research aims to recover polystyrene with the use of d-limonene, an organic solvent, along with residual oils. In practice, d-limonene is used to solubilize the polystyrene, then the polymer is recovered with the addition of residual oils and sawdust, as an aggregate, to improve the resistance of the final material. The ratio of polystyrene to the amount of d-limonene, as well as the percentage of aggregate for improved resistance and better handling of the product were observed. Samples were made in order to characterize the material, among the tests carried out we can mention thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), density, moisture content and swelling. The recovery from this polymer has evolved into a new material that can be used in several segments, including civil construction, similar to agglomerated panels for effortless use of expressive loads. With the results obtained so far, it is possible to visualize an increase in the life cycle of recovered materials, confident to minimize the production of new materials through a new raw material extration. The values found are 699.07 kg/m³ for density, 12.08% for moisture content and 2.89% for swelling, showing a promising material for use in civil construction.