Abstract

SANGUCHO BARROS, Darwin Santiago; VELASCO CEVALLOS, Danny Alexander  and  VIERA ARROBA, Luisa Paulina. Propiedades físicas y mecánicas de reciclados de plásticos producidos en Ecuador como material de construcción. Figempa [online]. 2023, vol.16, n.2, pp.58-69. ISSN 2602-8484.  https://doi.org/10.29166/revfig.v16i2.4495.

Plastic in Ecuador represents 11.43% of the waste generated. As the construction industry has a significant impact on the Ecuadorian economy, it is an ideal place to implement a circular economy model and support a solution using this waste. Plastic wood is proposed as a low-impact material for construction, so its characterization is necessary. In this work, the physical and mechanical characteristics of two types of plastic wood produced in Ecuador, M1 (PET and rice husk) and M2 (polypropylene), were determined using ASTM D regulations (6108, 6109, 638, 2344, 6111, 570, and 2240). The results indicated that plastic wood M1 has higher tensile strength and water absorption capacity due to its natural reinforcement fibers. Additionally, M1 has the highest modulus of elasticity, which gives it greater stiffness and lower deformability. On the other hand, it was observed that M2 has a less compact cross-section and voids in its structure, resulting in greater deformations. In general, plastic wood is advantageous for construction because it has a low probability of being attacked by wood-boring insects and has great potential in the design of axial load elements due to its acceptable performance under compression, tension, and bending, limited to low-rise constructions due to the high deformations it presents.

Keywords : wood plastic composite; circular economy; characterization; construction.

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