Properties of textile air conditioner waste dust-filled polyurethane rigid foam composites

Abstract

This paper investigates the morphology, mechanical and thermal insulation properties of textile air conditioner dust-filled polyurethane (PU) rigid foams. Textile air conditioner dust occurs during the spinning process of staple fibres. It consists of cotton fibre impurities as boll, leaf, and short fibres that generate a vast environmental load. This dust is used as a filler and dispersed in polyurethane up to 40% wt. The cell -size of foams decreased and cell -density increased by the increase in filler ratios in which the dust acted as a heterogeneous nucleation site during cell formation. The dust agglomerated in polyurethane foam and induced irregular cell wall and hence non-uniform cell formation and many broken cells. The flexural strength and modulus decreased in higher dust content (40% wt.). The lower thermal insulation of cellulose-based dust and damaged structure/uniformity of foam cells resulted in an unstable/lower thermal conductivity of dust-filled polyurethane rigid foam composites.

Circularity in Materials: A Review on Polymer Composites Made from Agriculture and Textile Waste

“…Thermal insulation properties deteriorated relative to plain PU. This study concluded that using air conditioning waste deteriorated the properties of polyurethane [4]. Similarly, Möhl et al studied composites made up of polylactic acid (PLA) and PLA Ingeo™ yarn as a matrix and reinforced it with cotton and flax fiber waste from the spinning industry.…”

“…Özkan Buzğan et al prepared composites using air conditioner dust that consisted of short fibers, leaf particles, cotton boll pieces, etc. They faced the issues with control of material during composite fabrication [4]. Another study of dead waste was conducted by Barczewski et al in which they prepared composite from linseed cake (a byproduct from the linseed oil extraction process) but could not achieve good mechanical properties [86].…”

“…The materials that we can manufacture today using fossil fuel resources may not be available after a few decades due to rapidly depleting petroleum reserves [3]. Advancement in industrial production and engineering practices may have many benefits, but with increasing production, industrial waste generation also increases [4]. The waste produced globally has adverse impacts on the environment; according to UNEP, waste generation is roughly around 11.2 billion tons annually.…”