Affiliations 

  • 1 Advanced Engineering Materials and Composites Research Centre (AEMC), Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 Institute of Advanced Technology (ITMA), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 3 Laboratory of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Polymers (Basel), 2021 May 24;13(11).
PMID: 34073691 DOI: 10.3390/polym13111707

Abstract

Slow pyrolysis using a batch reactor at 450 °C was applied to the polypropylene (PP) powder derived from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) isolation gown waste to yield char briquettes, using sugar palm starch (SPS) and a manual hydraulic press. These studies are significant because of reductions in plastic waste from the preparation of barbecue coal due to environmental sustainability. The results presented here include the physical, morphological, thermal, combustion, and mechanical properties of char when reinforced with various percentages of SPS loadings (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%), which act as a matrix/binder to produce char/sugar palm starch (C/SPS) composites. The physical and morphological characteristics of C/SPS composites were determined using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). On the other hand, the thermal and combustion properties of the C/SPS briquettes were studied via thermogravimetric and bomb calorimeter analysis. The results show that the compressive strength of the briquettes increased as the SPS loading increased, whereas the higher heating values (HHV) reduced. The findings indicate that C-80/SPS-20 briquettes presented excellent combustion characteristics (1,761,430 J/g) with satisfactory mechanical strength (1.463 MPa) in the compression test. Thus, C-80/SPS-20 briquettes are the most suitable composites for domestic and commercial uses.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.