TY  - INPR
JF  - Construction and Building Materials
TI  - Unleashing high-volume waste plastic recycling in sustainable cement mortar with synergistic matrix enabled by in-situ polymerization
PB  - Elsevier BV
N1  - This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher?s terms and conditions.
Y1  - 2024/10//
ID  - discovery10196430
AV  - restricted
SN  - 0950-0618
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.138031
A1  - Al-Mansour, Ahmed
A1  - Xu, Chengji
A1  - Yang, Rijiao
A1  - Dai, Yuqing
A1  - Dang, Nanxi
A1  - Lan, Yan
A1  - Zhang, Mingzhong
A1  - Fu, Chuanqing
A1  - Gong, Fuyuan
A1  - Zeng, Qiang
N2  - The substantial energy consumption and CO2 emissions associated with the production and transportation of concrete and its components have necessitated the search for suitable replacements, particularly waste materials such as plastic, to mitigate their environmental impact. The emergent challenge of employing recycled waste plastics (RWP) in concrete centers around their poor interactions with the cement matrix. Here, a synergistic approach with in-situ polymerization by using sodium acrylate (SA) at various doses (0?%, 0.5?%, 1?%, 2?%) was employed to produce environmentally-friendly mortars. Recycled polypropylene (PP) particles were adopted as the aggregate to replace natural sand in cement mortar. Results indicate decreased water contact angel by 46?% and increased pull-off strength by 25?% for SA-polymerized PP. Moreover, mortars with 2?% SA exhibited a 31?% increase in compressive strength, a 64?% increase in flexural strength, a 76?% reduction in water sorptivity, and a 13.6?% decrease in total porosity. The formation of interconnected polymeric networks in the cement matrix and interfacial transition zone (ITZ) contributes to structural densification, highlighting the superior engineering properties. These findings present a promising pathway towards sustainable and resource-efficient building materials, fostering a circular economy for plastics.
VL  - 447
KW  - Waste plastic; In-situ polymerization; Interfacial transition zone; Microstructure.
ER  -