Exploring the methods of synthesis,functionalization, and characterization of graphene and graphene oxide for supercapacitor applications

Graphene and graphene oxide, are attracting more attention over the last decades in the area of supercapacitor research and researchers concentrate on extensive exploration, owing to their dominating electrical conductivity, combined with mechanical properties. This review is a panoramic approach, giving insights into various aspects related to graphene and graphene oxide such as their properties, production methods, functionalities, and their applications in supercapacitors. The study ought to be beneficial to novice as well as to the domain experts. Various properties of both materials are explored and both synthesis methods are elaborated. Extra emphasis is given to bring out the role of graphene and graphene oxide in promoting the performance of supercapacitors. Synthesis methods are tabulated based on the evaluation metrics like specific capacitance and capacitance retention. Finally, the application of graphene and graphene oxide in supercapacitors are highlighted. Before concluding, perspectives along with challenges for further development are proposed and are expected to facilitate researchers in shedding light on further studies in this explorative area.     

Design and Characterization of a New Food Packaging Material by Recycling Blends Virgin and Recovered polyethylene terephthalate

This research is dealing with plastic wastes recycling environmental problem. The objective is the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) valorization from postconsumer bottles by the optimization of the most suitable virgin and recycled PET mixture to be used as food contact packaging. Mixtures of these materials were elaborated by extrusion and injection molding using different recycled PET rates. Rheological, mechanical, and thermal analyses were achieved, and then migration tests were investigated to assess the recycled PET compatibility for food contact packaging. The rheological analysis showed a PET degradation after the mechanical recycling, with PET viscosity decrease, compared to that of the virgin material. The blends properties showed that at low deformation, mechanical properties were significantly improved by adding recycled PET. Consequently, the new material was more rigid with a crystallinity degree improvement, increasing the materials resistance that enhanced their tenacity. However, at great deformations, the PET mixed materials were deteriorated through drastic ductility losses. The mixture 30/70 recycled/virgin PET seems to be the best blend. For all the studied mixtures, the overall migrations conformed the European Standard, allowing the use of the recycled PET for packaging as an issue in circular economy principles for a sustainable development. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60: 250–256, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Study of the mechanical,thermal, and thermodegradative properties of virgin PP with recycled and non-recycled HDPE

In order to show the significance of plastic recycling, a study of the properties of blends of PP with non-recycled and recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) is made. The results of the Young's modulus for polypropylene (PP)/non-recycled and recycled HDPE blends present a slight synergism, although no significant dependence of this property on the compound was observed. The values of elongation at break and impact strength reflect the incompatibility of the blends. In thermal studies of the blends, the values of fusion enthalpy are below the values of the components. The results of the thermodegradative studies show that activation energies (E_a) obtained are lower, in the case of the blends, than the E_a corresponding to pure polymers. In PP/recycled HDPE blends, activation energy, at 5% to 20% concentration, is maintained and falls abruptly with an increase in the concentration of the recycled material. Based upon the facts previously exposed, it is possible to recycle the recycled HDPE up to 20% concentration, in PP blends. The addition of the compatibilizer at 5% represents the optimal concentration for improving the final properties of the finished product.     

再生料对BOPP薄膜性能的影响研究

介绍了BOPP薄膜的生产流程和加工原理,根据用户需求的变化,在满足国标要求的前提下,添加不同比例再生料进行了生产,探索了再生料对BOPP薄膜物理性能的影响,主要对比了薄膜的雾度、光泽度和纵向拉伸强度的变化,为科学生产提供了依据。     

Powder sintering and gel casting methods in making glass foam using waste glass: A review on parameters,performance, and challenges

The application of insulation materials in buildings and energy storage facilities is gaining global attention to reduce energy consumption, heat loss, and CO₂ emissions. Given the high insulation performance, glass foam is gaining popularity replacing combustible, high energy-consuming, and costly conventional insulation materials. The industrial process of glass foam manufacturing is an energy-consuming and non-ecofriendly process which requires the annealing of glass around its melting temperature. Therefore, researchers have developed powder sintering and gel casting methods to sinter glass foam mix at a temperature slightly above its glass transition point. However, research findings on these two methods are scattered because of the different parameters being used by researchers. The properties and performances of glass foam depend on the processing parameters, especially on the materials design and sintering conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive review on the key parameters for material selection and sintering of glass foams and provide necessary guidelines for the best practice and a direction for future research. Moreover, this review covers the current strategies and challenges associated with the powder sintering and gel casting methods including their sustainability and environmental performance.     

废PET塑料纤维对再生混凝土基本性能的影响

为了提高再生混凝土(RAC)的力学性能,将废聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯(PET)塑料瓶剪成纤维条制成纤维再生混凝土(FRRAC)。通过纤维再生混凝土与再生混凝土的坍落度试验和强度试验,研究废PET塑料纤维长度、掺量对再生混凝土基本性能的影响,并进行强度影响因素的显著性分析和混凝土微观结构分析。结果表明：与不掺纤维的再生混凝土相比,纤维再生混凝土的流动性降低,且随废PET塑料纤维掺量、长度的增大而下降;掺PET纤维后,再生混凝土的抗压强度总体上有所提高,劈裂抗拉强度明显大幅提高。对于抗压强度,废PET塑料纤维的掺量影响显著;对于劈裂抗拉强度,纤维掺量、长度及二者交互作用均影响显著。掺PET纤维虽然会引入薄弱的界面过渡区,但适量时可使再生混凝土结构致密。     

Review of life cycle assessment on polyolefins and related materials

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a sustainability measurement tool that identifies the environmental impacts of a product. The uniqueness of the LCA lies in its methodology, which aggregates all environmental burdens throughout the product’s life cycle, providing many variables for optimisation of the product (or process). Having occupied a major market share, the environmental impacts associated with the manufacturing and disposal of polyolefins are quite high. The main theme of this paper is to review the reported LCA studies on polyethylenes and polypropylenes including recycled plastics, biobased materials, which are competing with polyolefins, and polyolefin composites. The widely claimed green product ‘recycled plastic’ is analysed in detail from an LCA perspective, and key points, which determine its sustainability, are discussed. The environmental impacts associated with the manufacturing of polyolefins and their bioalternatives are highlighted. The few published studies of polyolefin composites on different applications are also discussed.     

水选废旧塑料薄膜再生颗粒的增容改性研究

为改善水选废旧塑料薄膜再生颗粒基体树脂之间的相容性,提高其力学性能以制备管道专用聚烯烃颗粒,分别向再生颗粒中加入乙烯–丙烯共聚物(KT–1)、马来酸酐接枝聚丙烯(KT–2)、马来酸酐接枝乙烯–辛烯无规共聚物(KT–9)等3种增容剂,经双螺杆挤出机熔融共混制得再生塑料材料,分别研究了这3种增容剂对再生颗粒基体树脂相容性和材料性能的影响。结果表明,3种增容剂的加入对再生颗粒的相容性都有不同程度的改善且均提高了材料的热稳定性。KT–1对材料的力学性能几乎无影响,但在一定程度上提高了材料的结晶性能;KT–2的增容作用最好,当KT–2的质量分数为10%时,材料的结晶性能得到提高,与未加增容剂的材料相比,其拉伸强度提高了23%,冲击强度提高了53%,失重1%时的温度提高了25℃,综合性能最优;当KT–9质量分数为10%时,材料的韧性得到大幅提高,但其结晶度和拉伸强度均有所下降,即KT–9作为弹性体增韧的效果大于其作为增容剂增容的效果。     

聚己二酸丁二醇酯-共对苯二甲酸酯基可降解塑料改性研究进展

随着人们环保意识的提高,可生物降解塑料逐步取代部分不可降解塑料,将成为一个趋势。目前,聚己二酸丁二醇酯-共对苯二甲酸酯（PBAT）,作为最具商业潜力的可生物降解塑料,具有与低密度聚乙烯相当的延展性和柔韧性,被普遍认为是当代绿色材料制造中最有前途和最受欢迎的可持续材料之一。但PBAT在力学性能、热性能、阻隔性能及生产成本等方面存在不足,其应用范围受到限制。本文旨在系统性地简述近年来PBAT基复合材料的制备方法、回顾国内外研究人员在PBAT力学性能和阻隔性能等提升方面所做的工作、并详细介绍和讨论PBAT的降解原理和降解所带来的环境风险。开发低成本综合性能优异,兼顾良好降解性、抑菌性和耐久性能的PBAT基复合材料,应当予以重视和进一步研究。     

Durability of recycled aggregates concrete: a safe way to sustainable development

Fine and coarse recycled aggregates recovered from demolished masonry and concrete structures were utilized in the manufacture of new concrete mixtures. Three properties of these new concretes were analyzed: water absorption, total pores volume, and carbonation. The recycled concrete families were created by replacing parts of the natural aggregates forming families of concrete with 0%, 20%, 50%, and 100% of aggregates from recycled sources. The usual comparison between mixtures by comparison between behaviors of concrete families. This research shows that the mix design nomogram (MDN) is a new and useful tool that allows the researchers to compare properties and behaviors of different concretes. The results show that the family concrete with the highest pore volume and with the same compressive strength of 20, 30, and 40 MPa (2900, 4350, and 5800 psi) did not always correspond to the concrete family with the highest degree of carbonation. This experiment also showed that some compositional characteristics of concrete could have more influence on the durability that the traditional physical aspects.     

A review on the characterisation of natural fibres and their composites after alkali treatment and water absorption

Natural fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites are gaining increased attention among the researchers due to their low density, biodegradability, abundance, good mechanical properties, etc. Significant amount of research works can be found on the material characterisation of natural fibres like hemp, flax, sisal, kenaf, coir and jute and their composites based on the polymer matrices. Natural fibres are hydrophilic in nature and exhibit poor interfacial adhesion between fibre and matrix. Modification of the fibre surface by chemical methods, such as alkalisation, benzoylation and acetylation, has been used by researchers to improve the above-mentioned shortcomings. This review paper focuses on the effect of alkali treatment on the material properties of various natural fibres and their composites along with their water absorption behaviour.     

Characterization of monopolymer blend of virgin and recycled polyamide 6

It is a common industrial practice to blend virgin polymer with the same recycled polymer coming from plastic scraps that, in general, has not undergone relevant degradation. In this work, the characteristics of blends of virgin and recycled polyamide have been considered by changing the amount of recycled polymer and the presence of humidity and a stabilizer. Neither dry nor wet stabilized recycled polyamide samples show significant variations of the molecular weight, but the melt Newtonian viscosity of the blends are slightly different from that predicted by an additive rule, despite the same chemical nature of the two components. This holds true even more for the humid unstabilized sample, as its noticeably lower molecular weight implies values lower than those expected on a linearity basis. The situation is different for the mechanical properties; here the morphology reached in the solid state determines a more rigid and brittle material, compared to the pure components, with relevant deviations from linearity for all the recycled samples used to prepare the blends. A different crystallinity as a function of the composition can be invoked to explain this phenomenon. The blends containing dry and wet stabilized recycled polyamide show almost the same behavior, confirming the reduced degradation of these samples.     

Mechanical properties of composites from sawdust and recycled plastics

Mechanical properties of wood plastic composites (WPCs) manufactured from sawdust and virgin and/or recycled plastics, namely high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), were studied. Sawdust was prepared from beech industrial sawdust by screening to the desired particle size and was mixed with different virgin or recycled plastics at 50% by weight fiber loading. The mixed materials were then compression molded into panels. Flexural and tensile properties and impact strength of the manufactured WPCs were determined according to the relevant standard specifications. Although composites containing PP (virgin and recycled) exhibited higher stiffness and strength than those made from HDPE (virgin and recycled), they had lower unnotched impact strengths. Mechanical properties of specimens containing recycled plastics (HDPE and PP) were statistically similar and comparable to those of composites made from virgin plastics. This was considered as a possibility to expand the use of recycled plastics in the manufacture of WPCs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3641–3645, 2006     

A review of biodegradable polymers: uses,current developments in the synthesis and characterization of biodegradable polyesters,blends of biodegradable polymers and recent advances in biodegradation studies

This review considers the uses of biodegradable polymers in terms of their relevance within current plastic waste management of packaging materials, biomedical applications and other uses; research papers and patents are catalogued. The chemical synthesis of polyesters and the microbial production of poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s, including recent publications in these areas, are covered and methods of characterization and structural analysis are outlined. Current research into two- and three-component blends is reviewed as a method of reducing overall costs and modifying both properties and biodegradation rates of materials. Finally, there is a summary of degradation processes. Both abiotic and biotic reactions are discussed, together with the development of biodegradation test methods, particularly with respect to composting. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mechanical,thermal, and morphological properties of recycled polycarbonate/recycled poly(acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene) blend nanocomposites

The present work aims within the context of plastic recycling is to upgrade the properties of plastic waste particularly the two engineering plastics polycarbonate (PC) and poly (acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene) (ABS) from electrical and electronic equipment. Recycled polycarbonate (RPC) and recycled poly (acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene) (RABS) were obtained from E‐waste suppliers. RPC/RABS blends compatibilized with both maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene (MAP) and solid epoxy resin was prepared by microinjection molding. The effect of compatibilizer addition on the morphology and mechanical properties of RPC/RABS blends were analyzed. Further, to upgrade the mechanical and thermal properties two types of organically modified nanoclays closite 30B (C30B) and closite 15A (C15A) were incorporated into the optimized blend compositions. The effect of organoclay on the mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of the RPC/RABS blend nanocomposites was investigated. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

废旧聚丙烯编织袋回收料改性应用研究

废旧聚丙烯(PP)编织袋回收料分别与回收聚乙烯(PE)、回收橡胶粉、木粉共混,制备了增韧PP材料、热塑性弹性体和木塑复合材料,采用力学性能测试、SEM和DSC分析等手段对其性能和结构进行了表征。结果表明:随着回收聚乙烯(PE)含量的增加,回收PP/PE共混物的拉伸强度和冲击强度迅速提高;回收PP/橡胶粉共混物中加入聚丙烯接枝马来酸酐(PP-g-MAH)能起到增容的效果,随PP-g-MAH含量的增加,共混物的拉伸强度上升,永久变形减小;在回收PP/木粉复合材料中加入PP-g-MAH后,复合材料的冲击强度明显提高。     

Green composites of organic materials and recycled post‐consumer polyethylene

Addition of organic fillers to post‐consumer recycled plastics can give rise to several advantages. First of all, the cost of these fillers is usually very low, the organic fillers are biodegradable contributing to an improved environmental impact and, last but not least, some mechanical and thermomechanical properties can be enhanced. Organic fillers are not widely used in the plastic industry although their use is increasing. Bad dispersion into the polymer matrix at high‐level content and poor adhesion with the matrix are the more important obstacles to this approach. In this work various organic fillers have been used with a post‐consumer plastic material originating from films for greenhouses. The properties of these green composites have been compared with those of materials filled with a conventional inorganic filler. The organic fillers cause slightly worse processability, due to an increase of viscosity, an enhancement of the rigidity and of the thermomechanical resistance similar to that measured for the inorganic filler, while a reduction of the impact strength is observed. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

剑麻/含红土聚乙烯基复合材料制备与性能

针对废旧地膜资源化利用过程中出现的高成本和低性能问题,本文提出了废旧地膜免清洗和剑麻纤维边角料增强的废旧地膜资源化利用技术。采用挤出造粒和注塑成型工艺,制备了剑麻边角料填充含红土废旧聚乙烯复合材料,分析了红土和剑麻纤维边角料对废旧地膜的填充作用。结果表明,红土颗粒使废旧地膜注塑试样的拉伸模量、硬度和耐热温度分别提高了34.4%、41.3%、和33.1%。红土颗粒难以和塑料基体形成良好的界面粘结,导致含红土废旧地膜注塑试样的拉伸强度、弯曲性能和冲击强度轻微降低,表明红土颗粒不能对废旧地膜进行增韧增强,但可以提高模量和耐热温度。剑麻纤维边角料对含红土废旧地膜具有明显的增强增韧作用,随着剑麻纤维添加量的增加,剑麻纤维填充的含红土废旧地膜复合材料的力学性能增加。剑麻纤维填充量超过一定值后,会在复合材料中引入气孔,同时会降低剑麻纤维的分散程度,出现剑麻聚集体,导致复合材料的力学性能降低。     

Comparative study of maleated polypropylene as a coupling agent for recycled low‐density polyethylene/wood flour composites

The effects of the type of coupling agent and virgin polypropylene (PP) content on the mechanical properties and water absorption behavior of recycled low‐density polyethylene/wood flour (WF) composites were investigated. The fractured surfaces of these recycled wood/plastic composites (rWPCs) were examined to gain insight into the distribution and dispersion of WF within the polymer matrix. The results indicate that the use of 100% recycled polymer led to inferior mechanical properties and to a greater degree of moisture absorption and swelling when compared to recycled polymer–virgin PP wood/plastic composites. This could have been related to the poor melt strength and inferior processability of the recycled polymer. The extent of improvement of the mechanical properties depended not only on the virgin PP content in the matrix but also on the presence of maleic anhydride (MA) modified PP as the coupling agent. Higher concentrations of MA group were beneficial; this improvement was attributed to increased chemical bonding (ester linkages) between hydroxyl moieties in WF and anhydride moieties in the coupling agent. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

塑料回收利用与再生塑料在建材中的应用

介绍了塑料废弃物的回收再利用现状,对目前废弃塑料的回收再利用技术进行了分析与总结.对再生塑料在建筑材料中的发展和应用前景进行了探讨,并对再生塑料改性混凝土提出了一些研究与应用过程中有待解决的问题和建议.