Studying the Fabrication and Characterization of Polymer Composites Reinforced with Waste Eggshell Powder

Abstract

Polymeric and plastic materials currently have numerous positive impacts due to their unique properties that make them important for various engineering applications. However, sustainability is a vital factor that should be considered, because of environmental issues. Eggshells (ES) are an important way to reduce the impact of nondegradable materials when applied to reinforce different types of polymer matrices, whether natural or synthetic polymers. Therefore, this study is an attempt to explore the potential application of waste eggshell fillers for the first time as a natural reinforcement in polyamide 12 (PA) composites. PA was loaded with three different ratios (3, 5, and 10 wt. %) of eggshell powder. Morphological studies of the PA powder, ES powder, and their composites were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were performed to study the thermal and chemical properties of the raw materials and the produced composites. The results indicate ES fillers’ potential usage as a reinforcement material to develop the thermal and chemical properties of the PA polymer matrix composites, thereby reducing costs and minimizing the environmental pollution caused by waste eggshells and petroleum-based polymers.

Sustainable composites of eco-friendly polyethylene reinforced with eggshells and bio-calcium carbonate

“…These short "branches" did not fit into the crystal lattice, leading to a large disorder. The same happened in the study by Alkaron et al [33] , where he comments that with the addition of calcium carbonate there was a slight influence on the crystallinity of his composites, however with the reinforcement of eggshells the crystallinity suffered a decrease. The composites containing the compatibilizing agent had a slight increase in crystallinity, but the value did not outweigh pure LDGPE.…”