Environmentally friendly natural waste materials for use in civil structures

Abstract

[Abstract]: By examining past work and conducting a review of available literature the best design and experimentation methodology of investigating environmentally friendly composites using natural waste products could be identified. As examples of these natural waste products, jute and CNSL were used to construct numerous samples of different texture, treatment process of cardanol content. Flexural, tensile and dynamic mechanical analyse was used to identify the mechanical properties of each sample. These results show quite a high susceptibility to stresses. Testing also shows that cardanol can be combined with phenol in the phenol-formaldehyde resin in ratios up to 40%, with minimal impact on mechanical properties. Another significant result of the testing conducted in this project is the proven benefit of treating jute fibre in NaCl solution. Jute and CNSL grow abundantly in some of the poorest region in the world. Coincidently, these areas also show some of the highest rates of deforestation. If jute reinforced composites are used to supplement or replace timber as a building material in these areas, they can be significantly improved by treating the fibres in seawater. Using seawater to treat jute fibres and supplementing petrochemically derived phenol-formaldehyde resins with CNSL has the potential to create one of the most sustainable fibre composites since mud-brick. The first principles that allowed us to research and develop composites for use in civil structures came from very basic technology in primitive societies. This research explored ways in which we can further the technology and couple it with sustainable thinking. Through research and experimentation this project investigated how waste materials can be utilised in creating environmentally friendly composites.