Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum Products
The annual production of plastic waste worldwide has doubled in just two decades, with approximately 390 million tonnes of plastic waste now being generated. In this context, the construction industry must move towards the development of new, more sustainable materials made under circular economy cr...
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/478 |
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| author | Manuel Álvarez Daniel Ferrández Alicia Zaragoza-Benzal Bryan Colorado-Pastor |
| author_facet | Manuel Álvarez Daniel Ferrández Alicia Zaragoza-Benzal Bryan Colorado-Pastor |
| author_sort | Manuel Álvarez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The annual production of plastic waste worldwide has doubled in just two decades, with approximately 390 million tonnes of plastic waste now being generated. In this context, the construction industry must move towards the development of new, more sustainable materials made under circular economy criteria. In this work, a physico-mechanical characterisation of gypsum composites with the incorporation of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) waste, replacing 2–4–6–8–10% by volume of the original raw material, has been conducted. The results show how the incorporation of these plastic wastes improves the water resistance of the gypsum material without additions, as well as producing a decrease in thermal conductivity and greater resistance to impact. On the other hand, it has been found that, as the percentage of recycled raw material added increases, the mechanical resistance to bending and compression decreases, leading to fracture due to a lack of cohesion between the matrix and the waste. Nevertheless, in all the cases studied, mechanical strengths higher than those established by the EN 13279-2 standard were obtained. Thus, the results confirm the viability of these secondary raw materials to be used in the development of new products for sustainable building, especially in the design of prefabricated panels for false ceilings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:00:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c6ced1e4db54afd83a83167071b32db |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:00:02Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c6ced1e4db54afd83a83167071b32db2024-01-29T13:41:46ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-01-0114247810.3390/app14020478Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum ProductsManuel Álvarez0Daniel Ferrández1Alicia Zaragoza-Benzal2Bryan Colorado-Pastor3Departamento de Tecnología de la Edificación, Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Juan de Herrera, 6, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Tecnología de la Edificación, Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Juan de Herrera, 6, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Tecnología de la Edificación, Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Juan de Herrera, 6, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartamento de Tecnología de la Edificación, Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Juan de Herrera, 6, 28040 Madrid, SpainThe annual production of plastic waste worldwide has doubled in just two decades, with approximately 390 million tonnes of plastic waste now being generated. In this context, the construction industry must move towards the development of new, more sustainable materials made under circular economy criteria. In this work, a physico-mechanical characterisation of gypsum composites with the incorporation of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) waste, replacing 2–4–6–8–10% by volume of the original raw material, has been conducted. The results show how the incorporation of these plastic wastes improves the water resistance of the gypsum material without additions, as well as producing a decrease in thermal conductivity and greater resistance to impact. On the other hand, it has been found that, as the percentage of recycled raw material added increases, the mechanical resistance to bending and compression decreases, leading to fracture due to a lack of cohesion between the matrix and the waste. Nevertheless, in all the cases studied, mechanical strengths higher than those established by the EN 13279-2 standard were obtained. Thus, the results confirm the viability of these secondary raw materials to be used in the development of new products for sustainable building, especially in the design of prefabricated panels for false ceilings.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/478high-density polyethylene (HDPE)circular economygypsum productssustainable buildingprefabrication |
| spellingShingle | Manuel Álvarez Daniel Ferrández Alicia Zaragoza-Benzal Bryan Colorado-Pastor Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum Products Applied Sciences high-density polyethylene (HDPE) circular economy gypsum products sustainable building prefabrication |
| title | Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum Products |
| title_full | Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum Products |
| title_fullStr | Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum Products |
| title_full_unstemmed | Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum Products |
| title_short | Initiative to Increase the Circularity of HDPE Waste in the Construction Industry: A Physico-Mechanical Characterization of New Sustainable Gypsum Products |
| title_sort | initiative to increase the circularity of hdpe waste in the construction industry a physico mechanical characterization of new sustainable gypsum products |
| topic | high-density polyethylene (HDPE) circular economy gypsum products sustainable building prefabrication |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/2/478 |
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