Composite Materials Using Expanded Perlite as a … · Composite Materials Using Expanded Perlite...

Composite Materials Using Expanded Perlite as

a Charge and Plastic Wastes as Reinforcement,

Elaboration and Properties

Sara AMRANI, Youssef HALIMI, Mohamed TAHIRI Laboratory Interface Materials Environment LIME,

Aïn Chock’s Sciences Faculty, University Hassan II. BP 5366- 20.100. Casablanca. Morocco

Email: mohtahiri @yahoo.fr

Abstract - The optimization and streamlining of

certain structures, parts manufacturing combined

with high technical qualities (mechanical strength

and physicochemical), recycling or reuse of solid

wastes, reducing maintenance costs ... have

motivated the use and development of specific

materials whose composition and characteristics

accommodate themselves to technological

constraints.

The composite materials based on expanded

perlite and unsaturated polyester resin (organic

resins regenerated), were developed for this

purpose. The basic idea is to combine in the same

mass of different materials by their chemical and

structural natures in order to increase

mechanical, physical and / or chemical

performance that can facilitate implementation.

The composite materials developed during this

study are developed from an organic resin

associated with expanded perlite and other

mineral fillers including marble powder and / or

plastic wastes fibers.

Different formulations are performed; taking into

account both the proportion of expanded perlite,

the nature of the inorganic fillers or

reinforcements. The various tests carried out as

mechanical and mechanic-chemical properties are

reported.

Keywords: Composite materials, expanded perlite,

plastic waste recycling, mechanic characteristics,

chemical properties

I. INTRODUCTION

The optimization and streamlining of certain

structures, parts manufacturing combined

with high technical qualities (mechanical

strength and physicochemical), recycling

and reclamation of industrial waste,

reducing maintenance costs ... have

motivated the use and development of

specific materials whose composition and

characteristics accommodate themselves to

technological constraints.

The composite materials based on expanded

perlite and unsaturated polyester resin

(organic resins regenerated), were

developed for this purpose. The basic idea is

to combine in the same mass of different

materials by their chemical and structural

natures in

order to increase performance mechanical,

physical and / or chemical that can facilitate

implementation [1].

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

1. The expanded perlite

a- petrographic aspect

Perlite is a volcanic rock of spheroidal

texture (Fig.1), formed of aluminum

silicates mainly of sodium feldspars and / or

potassium and quartz with 2 to 5 % of water

constitution. After grinding and heating

(900-1200 ° C), perlite expands,

significantly increasing the volume but

keeping the same mass (Fig. 2). The resulting product is a white powder

lumpy formed of vitreous kernels. The

expanded Character recognized of perlite,

unlike other siliceous volcanic rocks gives

its main exploitable properties in the

construction industry, horticulture,

environment and other industries including

ceramics.

DOI: 10.5176/2339-5060_1.2.11

Received 08 May 2014 Accepted 14 May 2014

GSTF International Journal of Chemical Sciences (JChem) Vol.1 No.2, May 2014

©The Author(s) 2014. This article is published with open access by the GSTF16

DOI 10.7603/s40837-014-0003-7

mailto:[email protected]

Figure 1. Polarized light microphotograph unparsed of

vitrous perlite.

Glass, containing a phenocryst of feldspars, is cut into

small beads (= perlites) by small cracks.

Figure 2. The perlite as a total rock under different forms,

grinded and expanded

b- Chemical composition and physic-

chemical characteristics

In Tables I and II below, are respectively the

chemical composition of perlite from

various occurrences and some physical,

chemical and mechanical characteristics.

TABLE I: Chemical composition of major elements

of perlite from various fields

Greece [2] USA [3]

(Arizona)

Hungary [3]

(Palhaza)

SiO2 73 75 73.60 72.80

Al2O3 12 14 12.70 12.46

Fe2O3 0.6 0.9 0.70 1.54

CaO 0.3 0.9 0.60 1.56

MgO 0.15 0.25 0.20 0.02

Na2O 34.9 4.5 3.20 2.95

K2O -- 5.8 5.00 4.12

TiO2 -- -- 0.10 0.10

MnO -- -- -- 0.10

PF -- -- 3.80 3.30

Morocco (Nador) [3]

Tidiennit Three Forks

SiO2 78.36 71 71

Al2O3 12.03 15 14.38

Fe2O3 1.38 -- 0.95

CaO 2.29 1.5 2.29

MgO 0.45 0.05 0.37

Na2O 2.84 1.50 3.85

K2O 4.98 3.80 4.08

TiO2 0.18 -- 0.90

MnO 0.059 0.05 0.06

PF 1.50 3.80 1.96

. Table II: Technical Specifications of expanded perlite [4]

2. Polyester resin

The table below lists some technical

specificities of resin polyester used in the

mixture.

Resin Thermoset Polyester

ρ (kg/m3

) 1300

E(MPa) 3800

v 0.37

R (MPa) 88

α μm/m°C 100

a- Preparation

- Polycondensation

1st stage: monoester

Porosity

PH

Density of expansion

specific surface

thermal conductibility

acoustic absorption

Water retention

Refraction index

Softening point

Melting point

Compressive strength

96% to 97%

6.9 to 7.5

30-200 kg/m3

110-135 m2

/kg

0.19 w/m°k

0.6-0.7

35% to 50%

1.5

871°C to 1093°C

1260°C to

1343°C

5-2.1 Mpa



2nd

stage: poly esterification

The monoester can react with a molecule of

glycol acid, or on itself.

The equilibrium displacement

polyesterification occurs by three different

methods:

by vacuum action,

training by neutral gas,

training by solvent

- Copolymerization

The Curing of unsaturated polyester resin is

obtained by copolymerization of polycondensate

with the monomer. The reaction is conducted in

the presence of organic peroxide:

At ambient temperature, in combination

with accelerators

Or hot.

III-ELABORATION AND SYNTHESIS

Three operations are essential to the

implementation of a composite material:

1. Impregnation of reinforcement by the

resin.

2. Shaping the geometry of the part.

3. Curing of system.

There are various techniques for the

preparation of the composite material [5, 6]. One

used in this case is compression molding. This is

a artisanal method which involves manually put

in shape, parts based of marble powder more a

reinforcement or filler in form of a paste; all

mixed with a thermosetting matrix generally of

unsaturated polyester resin.

1. Description of the process

a- Preparation of the mold surface

The mold is spread with wax (de-molding

agent) uniformly to the buffer. This waxing

operation serves to protect the surface of the

molded part, for that, it’s recommended to

operate naturally in a dust free environment. [7]

b- The paste preparation

In a cylindrical enclosure equipped by a

mixer, we prepare the paste to mold, consists of

a mixture of polyester resin and a filler of

perlite, associated with the marble powder and

other ingredients as catalyst (methyl peroxide

ethyl cetone) and accelerator (cobalt octoate) to

the socket (Fig. 3).

Figure 3: The various ingredients entering into the

formulation of the paste c- Compression and formatting

The prepared viscous paste is cast onto

walls of the open mold according to the

chosen form and dimensions [8,9].

The mold closed and maintained under

pressure until fully curing, which usually

requires several minutes (Fig. 4). Then the

parts are de-molded delicately from the

periphery of the mold.

Figure 4. A device for shaping of the composite material

which the mold appears under pressure



2. Formulations

The tables below detail the various

formulations undertaken in the manufacture

of parts distributed in groups of samples

(Tab.III)

Tab. III: Formulations of different tested parts for the

preparation of the composite material

IV- MECHANIC CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

1. The bending tests [10]:

The purpose of this test is to determine the load

and tensile strength and the bending resistance of a

tile of dimension 100 mm × 100 mm

according to the thickness, the rate of

expanded perlite and the nature of the used

reinforcement.

a- According to the thickness

For the group 1 of samples (Table IV),

more the piece is thicker, the load of rupture

and the applied stress are large (Fig. 5). The

variation does not follow a linear curve. TABLE IV: bending test measurement according to the

thickness of the composite parts

Group1

Thickness

(mm)

breaking

load (N)

Stress

(Mpa)

1 10 2

0

0

8.08

2 15 2

3

0

8.21

3 20 3

1

0

9.18

4 25 3

3

5

9.28

Fig. 5: Stresses applied to composite tile according to the

thickness

b- According to the rate of expanded

perlite



Marble powder - expanded perlite

mixture:

TABLE V: Bending test according to the rate of expanded

perlite

Group

2

Thickness

(mm)

expanded

perlite %

breaking

load (N)

Stress

(Mpa)

1 10.00 4

5

30

0

9.08

2 10.03 3

5

31

0

10.01

3 10.01 2

5

32

4

9.88

4 10.04 1

5

31

5

9.94

Figure 6: Stresses applied to composite tile according to the rate

of expanded perlite

The lowest stress recorded by the materials

composed of the highest rate of expanded

perlite.

Sand - perlite mixture

TABLE VI: The bending test measurement according to

the rate of expanded perlite

Group

3

Thickness

(mm)

%

Perlite

Load of

rupture(N)

Stress

(Mpa)

1 10.4 45 640 16.9

2 10.4 35 649 17.13

3 10.3 25 680 17.95

4 10.2 15 676 17.85

Figure 7: Stresses applied to composite tile according to

the rate of expanded perlite

With perlite, the material possesses the

smallest elongation and the smallest stress

resistance. In addition, the introduction of

marble powder increases substantially this

property in comparison with a filler of sand.

The nature of reinforcement

Tab. VI: the bending test measurement according to a

reinforcement based of worn plastic filaments.

Group 4

Thickness

(mm)

Load of

rupture (N)

Stress

(Mpa)

1 10 300 8.28

2 15 350 8.51

3 20 380 9.38

4 25 395 9.58

The load of rupture is significantly

improved by reinforcement the mixture of

plastic fabric worn 2D (group 4, Fig. 8)

while the stress does not vary much (Table

VI).



Figure. 8: Variation in tensile strength according to the

nature of the reinforcement.

2. The water absorption [11]:

The technique involves the impregnation

of the dry sample in an enclosure filled

water and its submission to the hydrostatic

weighing. TABLE VII: The absorption rate measurement in the

different samples of the composite material based

expanded perlite.

Initial

mass

(g)

Dry

mass

(g)

Wet mass

(g) %

Absorp

tion

Group 1

1 10.7 10.4 10.9 5,2

2 15.9 15.8 16,5 4.9

3 21.8 21.6 22.8 6.1

4 26,6 26.4 28.2 6,9

Group 2

1 13.8 13.7 13.8 2.4

2 15.5 15.4 16.5 1.7

3 17.3 17.1 17.3 1.1

4 19.4 19.2 20.7 0,8

Group 3

1 13.5 13.4 13.7 2.4

2 15.3 15.2 15.6 2.28 3 17.1 17.0 17.4 2.2 4 19.1 19.0 19.46 2.4

Group 4 1 10.5 10.4 10.8 4.1

Table VII shows the increasing of water

absorption with the quantity of expanded

perlite introduced into the material. This

variation is linked, all the more, to the

coarse particle size of the expanded perlite

which contains interstices or pores favor

draining of water molecules despite the

hydrophobic nature of the polyester resin

involved in the mixture.

1. The density [11]:

TABLE VIII: Density measurement in different samples of the composite material based on expanded perlite.

Initial

mass m0

(g)

Average

volume

(cm3)

density

Group 1 1 10.7 10.2 1.03

Group 2

1 14.2 10.1 1.41

2 15.9 10.4 1.53

3 17.8 10.3 1.73

4 20.1 10.4 1.93

Group 3

1 13.9 10.3 1.35

2 15.9 10.4 1.53

3 17.8 10.3 1.73

4 17.6 10.4 1.89

Group 4 1 10.3 10.1 0.98

Given the very low density of the

expanded perlite (0.08 to 0.12), the density

of the composite is even lower than the

perlite content is high. Table VIII shows in

addition, that the reinforcement plastic

(group 4) may also contribute to the

lightening of material.

3. Abrasion test [12]:

The abrasion resistance of the materials

prepared was quantified by measuring the

length of the imprint produced on a face by

a rotating disc, in the presence of an

abrasive.

TABLE IX: Abrasion Measurement for different types of

composite materials based on expanded perlite.

L (mm)

Group 1 31 32

Group 2 18-25 15-22

Group 3 20-26 21-25

Group 4 31 32

Materials containing marble powder and

sand to a less degree have a higher



resistance to abrasion than the materials

containing only expanded perlite (Table IX).

5. Chemical resistance: [13]

The prepared tiles from different

formulations are subjected to the corrosive

solutions action (NH4Cl, NaOCl, HCl,

KOH) to assess their chemical resistance

degree. The attack period is defined

according to the use of the material; floor or

wall, but generally limited to 30'-1h.

Group

1

Group 2

Group

3

Group

4 Ammonium

chloride 100

g/l.

Visibl

e

effects

on cut

sides

no effect

no effect

no effect

Sodium

hypochlorite

20 mg/l

Visible

effects

on cut

sides

no effect

no effect

Visible

effects

on cut

sides

acids

HCl

3 %

no effect

Visibl

e

effect

s on

cut

sides

Visible

effects

on cut

sides

Visible

effects

on cut

sides

HCl

18%

Visibl

e

effects

on cut

sides

no effect

Visible

effects

on cut

sides

Visible

effects

on cut

sides alcaline

KOH

30g/l.

no

effect

no

effect

no

effect

no

effect

KOH

100 g/l.

No

effect

no

effect

no

effect

no

effect

The composite material remains generally

refractory to chemical attack which only

affects the cut sides that have available

interstices for corrosive solutions.

V. Conclusion

The composite materials developed in this

study, from an organic resin associated with

the expanded perlite and other mineral

charges such as marble powder and / or

sand.

Different formulations are produced;

considering both the proportion of expanded

perlite, the nature of the mineral used as

reinforcement and the thickness of the

plates. The different tests performed to

exhibit mechanical and mechanic- chemical

properties allow obtaining the following

conclusions:

Parts that offer the most strength is

thicker with have reinforcement in

plastic (wastes) and low rate of

expanded perlite.

Increasing the rate of expanded

perlite reduced the density of the

composite materials and gives them

lightness.

The fields of application of the composite

material developed herein are highly related

to characteristics mentioned above. Its

chemical mechanical strength gives it a

certain rigidity, which allows its use as soil

protection blankets. On the other hand, the

lightness of the product is indicated for use

in wallboard for thermal or acoustic

insulation.

References:

[1] L’industrie française des matériaux composites :

des enjeux prioritaires pour un développement

durable. Berreur L., Maillard B. & Nösperger

S. ; Etude Digitip., 129p -(2001)

[2] Fiche technique de perlite, PERLITE INC’’. Z.I

Berrechid, Casablanca- Maroc [email protected]

[3] Les perlites de Jbel Tidiennit, Rapport interne

BRPM, Mars 1987.

[4] Valorisation de la perlite expansée dans le secteur du

BTP, Rapport interne LPEE, 2006

[5] Matériaux composites à matrices organiques’’

Chrétien G. (1986) : Ed. Lavoisier, pp. 495

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.



mailto:[email protected]

[6] Pratique des Plastiques et Composites’’, Ouvrage

Collectif, Ed. Dunod. 1999.

[7] Reinforcement of Metallic Plates with Composite

Materials ; Mahmud M. Shokrieh, Majid J. Omidi ;

Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 39, No. 8, 723-

744 (2005)

[8] Interfaces fibre-matrice dans les matériaux

composites. Applications aux fibres végétales’ ’

Nardin M.:, Revue des Composites et des

Matériaux Avancés., 16, pp 1-9(2006)

[9] M a té r ia u x composites. Collection Technique

et Ingénierie’’ ; Bathias C., Ed . Dunod, 432 p.

(2005) Parts’’;

[10] L. Sorrentino; W. Polini ; Journal of Composite

Materials, Vol. 39, No. 15, 1391-1411 (2005)

[11] Norme Marocaine NM ISO 10545 -3’’ :

Détermination de l’absorption d’eau, de la

porosité ouverte, de la densité relative apparente

et de la masse volumique globale. Édition :

Service de normalisation industrielle marocaine

2000

[12] Norme Marocaine ISO 10545-6 : Détermination

de la résistance à l'abrasion profonde pour les

carreaux non émaillés. Édition : Service de

normalisation industrielle marocaine 1995

[13] Norme Marocaine NM ISO 10545 -13’’ :

Détermination de la résistance chimique. ‘

Service de normalisation industrielle marocaine

2000 [14] Norme Marocaine NM ISO 10545 -4’’ :

Détermination de la résistance à la flexion et de la

force de rupture. Édition : Service de normalisation

industrielle marocaine 2000

Head of Research Team: Prof. Mohamed TAHIRI

is currently a full professor of Chemistry,

environment engineering, Air Pollution, at Hassan II

University-Casablanca.

On 2012, he has been registered as a permanent

consultant of UNIDO, Vien-Austria on renewable

energies, biomass and biogas, Water engineering.

Since January 2010, he’s Chair holder of University

Chair on Innovation. He holds in his faculty a

Bachelor on sanitation management in urban areas.

Pr. Mohamed TAHIRI created new Master on

Innovation and is conducting R&D in partnerships

with various industries. He published around 40

papers in international reviews and registered some

3 patents at OMPIC.



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