RESUMO A incorporação de resíduos e a redução do teor de agregados minerais em formulações de concreto são ações que contribuem para a preservação ambiental. O objetivo desse estudo é desenvolver e avaliar as propriedades e a porosidade de concretos formulados com resíduos, provenientes de cabos usados em linhas de amarração de plataformas de petróleo. Com essa finalidade, os resíduos foram caracterizados utilizando técnicas tradicionalmente utilizadas em materiais. Corpos de prova de concretos de traço padrão 1,0: 2,3: 2,7: 0,55 (cimento: areia: brita: água) (NBR 5738) foram preparados e usados como referência. Para avaliar o efeito da incorporação dos resíduos no desempenho dos concretos, corpos de prova com teores de substituição parcial de 5% e 10% do agregado miúdo por resíduos foram preparados, e submetidos a ensaios de resistência à compressão axial (NBR 5739) e de absorção de água (NBR 778). A porosidade dos concretos foi determinada a partir de imagens obtidas em escâner comercial. Os resultados mostraram que os resíduos eram constituídos por poli (tereftalato de etileno), PET. O concreto formulado com teor de substituição de agregado miúdo por 5% de PET apresentou leve tendência ao aumento da resistência. A substituição de 10% do agregado por PET, entretanto, reduziu a resistência do concreto. Os valores de porosidade do concreto de referência e do formulado com substituição de 5% de agregado por PET apresentaram relação condizente com os valores de resistência à compressão. A metodologia adotada se mostrou satisfatória para a determinação de poros do tipo vazios de ar presentes na estrutura do concreto. As curvas de resistência versus porosidade baseadas nos modelos de Powers e Riyshkevitch demonstraram que essa metodologia pode ser utilizada para determinar a resistência à compressão de concretos com porosidade menor que 20%. O concreto formulado substituindo o agregado miúdo por 5% de PET apresenta resistência compatível com a do material de referência.

ABSTRACT In recent years, the high consumption of non-renewable natural resources and energy associated with the generation of solid waste has encouraged the development of sustainable materials for civil construction. In this context, some studies on the use of polymeric residues in the formulation of concrete-based materials have been published. These residues can minimize the use of mineral aggregates, in addition to providing some desired properties to the materials obtained. Porosity is one of the most important parameters of the concrete microstructure, as it is intrinsically related to some properties of this material, such as compressive strength. The objective of this work is to evaluate the properties and porosity of a concrete formulated with different contents of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) obtained from mooring cables of discarded oil platforms. The characterization of the polyester waste by different techniques showed that residue from mooringropes is comprised of PET. The mechanical evaluation of the concretes was performed by compression strength tests. The results showed that the addition of 5 % PET to the concrete formulations has a tendency to improve the mechanical strength of the materials. The porosity of each concrete sample was determined from images acquired from commercial scanner. Empirical equations were applied to relate the porosity data obtained to the compressive strength of the samples. The curves obtained matching with the inverse relationship between these two parameters.

Abstract The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of mercerization on the structure of castor oil cake (CC) and on the tensile properties of LDPE/PHB/CC composites. To achieve this goal, the fibers were treated with NaOH solutions (5 and 10 wt%). Characterization techniques such as: scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to investigate the structure of modified fibers. The composites were processed in a Haake mixer. Tensile tests of the composites were performed according to ASTM D638 standard. The analyzes revealed that mercerization promoted a partial conversion of cellulose I into cellulose II. Mercerization performed with 5% NaOH solution improved the tensile properties of the LDPE/PHB/CC composites, which were superior to those obtained with the 10% NaOH solution. This result suggests that the higher concentration of NaOH compromises the integrity of the fibers, deteriorating the mechanical properties.

RESUMO O crescente desperdício de materiais plásticos no meio ambiente juntamente com a preocupação com a futura escassez do petróleo tem aumentado o interesse por polímeros biodegradáveis, como o amido. Nos últimos anos, o amido tem sido utilizado em misturas com diferentes polímeros sintéticos. Essas misturas têm sido compatibilizadas por meio do uso de agentes compatibilizantes do tipo copolímeros. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a influência da adição do copolímero graftizado (PP-g-MA) nas propriedades mecânicas, térmicas e morfológicas de misturas de polipropileno (PP) e amido termoplástico (TPS). O TPS foi obtido em uma extrusora monorosca com 20 % (m/m) de glicerol, usado como plastificante. Posteriormente, misturas PP/TPS 80:20 % (m/m) foram processadas em uma extrusora de rosca dupla corotacional, na presença de 3, 5 e 7% (m/m) do PP-g-MA. A morfologia das misturas foi avaliada através de microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Os resultados mostraram uma redução significativa da fase dispersa de amido, com a adição do compatibilizante. As misturas processadas em presença do PP-g-MA apresentaram uma distribuição mais homogênea da fase de amido na matriz de PP. Os resultados dos ensaios de resistência à tração mostraram que o módulo do PP sofre um ligeiro aumento, com a adição do amido e do compatibilizante. A resistência das misturas no ponto de escoamento apresentou valores similares aos do PP. Apesar disso, a deformação na ruptura diminui drasticamente com a incorporação do amido. A adição de amido ao polipropileno, entretanto, aumenta significativamente a resistência ao impacto do polímero sintético. Com a adição de PP-g-MA à mistura PP/TPS, a resistência ao impacto sofre uma queda, que pode ser atribuída a redução da fase de amido na mistura. A estabilidade térmica das misturas PP/TPS sofre um ligeiro aumento com a incorporação do agente compatibilizante. Os materiais obtidos podem ser utilizados em substituição ao PP.

ABSTRACT The growing waste of plastics in the environment coupled with concerns about future oil shortages has increased interest in biodegradable polymers such as starch. In recent years, starch has been used in blends with different synthetic polymers. Such blends have been compatibilized by the use of compatibilizing agents of the copolymer type. In this study, the morphological, mechanical and thermal properties of polypropylene (PP)/thermoplastic starch (TPS) blends obtained in the presence of the compatibilizing agent (PP-g-MA) were evaluated. The thermoplastic starch was obtained in a single screw extruder with 20% (mass/mass) of glycerol used as plasticizer. PP/TPS blends were prepared by melt mixing in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. The concentration of the compatibilizing agent was 3, 5 and 7% (mass/mass). The morphology of the blends was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The results showed a significant reduction of the dispersed starch phase with the addition of the PP-g-MA. The blends obtained in the presence of PP-g-MA showed a more homogeneous distribution of the starch phase in the PP matrix. The results obtained with the tensile tests showed that the elastic modulus of PP undergoes a slight increase with the addition of the starch and the compatibilizer. The tensile strength of the PP was not significantly affected. However, there was a significant decrease of the elongation at break with the incorporation of starch. The starch incorporated in the PP matrix led to a significant increase in the impact strength of the final material. However, with the addition of PP-g-MA to the PP/TPS blend, the impact strength falls. This result can be attributed to the reduction of the starch phase in the PP matrix. The thermal stability of the PP/TPS blends was slightly increased with the incorporation of the compatibilizing agent. The materials obtained can be used instead of PP.

The use of polyethylene in sliding systems for automotive industry requires adequate mechanical properties, such as high wear resistance, besides good processing properties in conventional extrusion processes. Aiming to fulfill these requirements, crosslinks were introduced in a high molecular weight polyethylene (HMWPE) grade through a process involving grafting of vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMOS) onto the polymer chain, promoted by dicumyl peroxide (DCP). The results obtained showed that the introduction of crosslinks improved the wear resistance of HMWPE. However, the HMWPE crosslinking led to a significant decrease in the Young’s Modulus, as a result of the reduction in crystallinity or the heterogeneous structure of the crosslinked samples. The tensile strength and the thermal properties were not affected.

LDPE blends based on PHB and GG biodegradable polymers were prepared by melt mixing in a twin screw extruder. The mechanical properties of the materials were evaluated. Preliminary information about the biodegradation behavior of the specimens was obtained by visual observation of samples removed from the simulated soil in 90 days. The results indicated that LDPE/PHB blends may be used for designing LDPE based materials with increased susceptibility to degradation, if elongation at break and impact properties are not determinant factors of their performance. LDPE based materials on GG present values of flexural and mechanical strength lower than those of LDPE/PHB blends. LDPE/PHB/GG blends exhibit unsatisfactory properties. Apparently, the effect of addition of GG to LDPE on the biodegradation behavior of LDPE/GG blends was less intense than the effect caused by addition of PHB to the blends. Similar observation has occurred with the partial replacement of GG by PHB in the ternary blends.

In this study, composites based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/talc were prepared at different compositions by melt mixing in a twin screw extruder. The effect of a nucleating agent, talc, on the crystallization behavior, rheological and morphological properties of PLA was investigated. DSC results showed that the addition of the mineral filler in the range between 1 and 5 wt. % to the PLA matrix increases the degree of crystallinity. This finding shows that talc acted as a nucleating agent for PLA during the processing stage. The composites morphology was also studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The micrographs showed that a good dispersion of talc was achieved in all compositions analyzed. The rheology of PLA/talc composites was evaluated with the dynamic mode and correlated with the aforementioned observed morphology. The results showed that the addition of the mineral filler to the PLA matrix decreased system viscosity, thus highlighting the filler's lubricant effect. As talc content increased, system's viscosity also increased, providing material with higher elastic behavior. Thermal analysis showed that the composition of 3 wt.% of talc added to polymer matrix seems to be interesting with regard to the need of articles possessing good dimension stability.

Blends of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) ethylene-1-octene copolymers (EOC), with different 1-octene (OC) content, and ground rubber tire (GRT) were prepared by melt mixing in a twin screw extruder. Five different compositions of LLDPE/EOC/GRT blends were processed in the extruder to evaluate the effect of EOC addition to the LLDPE/GRT blends. The addition of EOC to LLDPE/GRT blends improves the mechanical properties. Besides, the replacement of 5% of GRT by EOC grades (OC = 20 or 30 wt %) in the 50/50 LLDPE/GRT blend, leads to a significant increase of ultimate tensile properties. The EOC comonomer content affects the properties of LLDPE/EOC and LLDPE/EOC/GRT blends. Dynamical-mechanical analyses showed that, with the addition of EOC to LLDPE/GRT blends, the Tg of GRT and the Tg of EOC are closer. This effect is more pronounced when the EOC with the highest content of comonomer (30 wt %) is added to LLDPE/GRT blend. In this case, only one peak related to the Tg of the rubber phase can be visualized in the amorphous region. These findings indicate that EOC may act as compatibilizer agent for LLDPE/GRT blends.

The incorporation of micrometer sized silica particles on poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) - EVA - residues from the footwear industry was evaluated. The effects of the processing parameters - temperature and mixing ratio - on the mechanical behavior of molded plates of neat recycled EVA and EVA/silica composites were also investigated. The mechanical properties measured by the tensile test, the fractographic analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) showed a reduced EVA to silica compatibility. Therefore, incorporation of untreated silica to recycled EVA copolymer produced a slight decrease on the mechanical performance of EVA/silica composites in respect to neat EVA copolymer. The NMR analysis also shows that the crosslinking process on recycled EVA may be occurring at the carbonyl group.