Sustainable Alternative Composites Using Waste Vegetable Oil Based Resins

Journal Article · Fri Nov 15 04:00:00 EST 2019 · Journal of Polymers and the Environment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/S10924-019-01534-8· OSTI ID:22959286

Fernandes, Felipe C.; Kirwan, Kerry; Wilson, Peter R.

Laminates were produced with epoxy resins from waste vegetable oil (WVO) intended for the manufacturing of environmentally-friendly alternatives for the composites industry. Post-use cooking oil appears a promising source of triglycerides for polymer manufacturing. Matrices cured with methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (MHHPA) were reinforced with glass and flax fibres, creating a library of composites that were compared to analogues from virgin oil and benchmarked against commercial diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). Glass fibre-reinforced composites presented Young’s moduli similar to the benchmark but reduced tensile strength. Chemical pre-treatment of the flax fibre (NaOH and stearic acid) countered the limited tensile performance observed for materials with untreated flax; improvements were evidenced by DMA and SEM. Moreover, WVO-based resins greatly improved impact properties and reduced density with no effect on thermal stability. Therefore, WVO-based composites appear as more sustainable alternatives in applications demanding toughness, stiffness and lightweight over strength.

• OSTI ID: 22959286
• Journal Information: Journal of Polymers and the Environment, Journal Name: Journal of Polymers and the Environment Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 27; ISSN 1566-2543
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ANHYDRIDES
BENCHMARKS
BIOLOGICAL WASTES
ETHERS
FIBERGLASS
FIBERS
GLASS
MECHANICAL TESTS
OCTADECANOIC ACID
REINFORCED MATERIALS
RESINS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SODIUM HYDROXIDES
TRIGLYCERIDES
VEGETABLE OILS
WASTE PROCESSING