Production and characterization of gypsum-based composites reinforced with cocoa agroindustry waste particles

ABSTRACT

This work aimed to produce and characterize gypsum-based composites reinforced with cocoa waste particles as a way to add value to this agricultural by-product and create an innovative material. For the production of composites, thin plaster for casting and particles of cocoa waste were used. The reinforcement proportions inserted were 0.0%; 2.5%; 5.0%; 7.5% and 10.0% replacing plaster mass. For the production of composites, wooden molds with dimensions of 40 x 40 x 160 mm were used. Analysis of the chemical composition of the cocoa waste was performed to determine the levels of total extracts, ash, lignin and holocellulose. The composites were evaluated in physical, mechanical, thermal and acoustic tests. It was found that there were improvements in physical properties with the addition of reinforcement making the material lighter, given the reduction in density (1190.69 to 1138.92 kg/m³), ??and providing a decrease in hygroscopicity, with moisture levels decreasing from 7.74 to 4.01% and water absorption decreasing from 18.37 to 5.28%. Likewise, the thermal resistance gradually increased over the treatments with values ??from 1.90 to 2.41 K.m/W and the acoustic insulation was higher in composites compared to pure plaster, although there was no linearity between treatments. As for the mechanical properties, there was a decrease in resistance both to flexion (3.60 to 0.84 MPa) and to compression (4.43 to 1.73 MPa). It was concluded that the cocoa waste has the potential to be used in the composite considering that the inclusion of up to 8.15% of the same met the standard in all tests performed. This promotes the idea that lignocellulosic waste is a promising alternative for creating materials with high added value.

Keywords
Lignocellulosic waste; water absorption; thermal resistance; composite materials