article · Case Studies in Construction Materials
Composite boards for interior house partitioning can be produced by blending sawdust with polypropylene plastic waste, bound together using cement and expanded polystyrene. During production, materials were compacted under a hydraulic press at a constant pressure of 0.2 megapascals while varying the ratios of sawdust to plastic and cement to polystyrene. Testing of the resulting boards showed densities between 490 and 630 kilograms per cubic metre, moisture contents from 6.04 to 9.09 percent, and water absorption rates from 30 to 80 percent across two-hour and 24-hour immersion tests. Maximum measured strengths reached 7.10 megapascals for flexural, 1.52 megapascals for tensile, and 3.72 megapascals for compressive strength. Although the boards satisfied most standards for partitioning walls according to the IS3087 benchmark, they fell short of the required flexural strength threshold.
Reusing agricultural residues and plastic waste provides an affordable, sustainable approach to building material production, especially in developing regions. Transforming discarded sawdust, polypropylene, and expanded polystyrene into composite panels reduces environmental waste and lessens reliance on virgin solid timber. Understanding the physical and mechanical boundaries of these recycled composites helps determine their viability for non-structural interior housing applications.
Targeted at low-cost interior house partitioning, these boards could be utilised by building material manufacturers and construction contractors seeking sustainable alternatives to solid timber. The technology sits at an applied laboratory stage, having been formulated and mechanically tested. Commercial deployment remains limited by performance, as further formulation refinement is required to elevate the flexural strength to meet the IS3087 building standard.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
The utilization of agricultural residues and industrial wastes such as plastics to complement the use of solid wood in the manufacturing of composite panels presents an effective and efficient way of waste management for sustainable utilization of resources, especially in developing countries. Thus, the present study aimed at developing a cheap, safe, and energy-efficient composite board for effective house partitioning from sawdust and polypropylene plastic using cement and expanded polystyrene (EPS). Composite boards were developed from the blend of sawdust and polypropylene plastic using cement and expanded polystyrene (EPS) as adhesives. The composite boards were made by varying the sawdust-polypropylene ratio as well as the cement-EPS ratio. A constant load of 0.2 MPa was used in compacting the materials in a prepared aluminum mold under a hydraulic press machine. Physico-mechanical properties of the composite board such as density, water absorption, moisture content, compressive strength, tensile strength and flexural strengths were evaluated. The density of the composite boards varied from 490 to 630 kg/m3. The moisture content ranged from 6.04 to 9.09% while the water absorption ranged from 30 to 80% after 2 and 24 h immersion. The highest flexural, tensile and compressive strength for the composite boards were 7.10, 1.52, and 3.72 MPa, respectively. The composite samples met all the requirements of a partitioning wall except for flexural strength based on IS3087 standard. Cement and EPS were found to be suitable as adhesive for the development of composite boards from sawdust and polypropylene.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cscm.2020.e00365
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
