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Non-conforming fibre-reinforced green polypropylene composite panels: a case study

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Abstract

Coal Bottom Ash (CBA) is one of the byproducts of the coal combustion process in power plants that accumulates in landfills due to its porous, granular structure, which limits its use. Due to its pozzolanic properties, it has been extensively studied for the development of cement composites. Very few studies have been conducted on its potential as a reinforcing material in the development of polymer composites. This is due to its porous structure, which affects the properties of the resulting polymer composite. Therefore, in this study, the particulate structure of CBA was converted into a more compact nanofibre structure by a hydrothermal process, mCBAH. This study focused on the optimization of hydrothermal conditions to obtain a high density of the nanofibre structure of CBA, which can be used as fibre-reinforced filler in polypropylene, PP. Interestingly, a compact nanofibre structure of CBA was successfully obtained by hydrothermal process. Unfortunately, a weaker fibre-reinforced composite of PP was obtained due to the decomposition of the unstable mineral structures formed under strong alkaline medium, resulting in poor mechanical properties and lower thermal properties than the unmodified system. However, this hydrothermally modified CBA can also be used for the removal of pollutants from wastewater.

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Data availability

The data that supports the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary material. Any additional data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge TNB Research Sdn. Bhd. (File no: 4852, Grant no. 3017066) and Research Management Institute, RMI UiTM (File no: 600-RMC/GPK 5/3 (159/2020) for their financial support and the Faculty of Applied Sciences, FSG UiTM, for providing research facilities to carry out this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

    M. Y. Md Fauzan Kamal, A. L. Famiza, M. N. Asiah, M. Z. Sharil Fadli & M. Z. Nurul Natasha

  2. TNB Research Sdn. Bhd, No. 1, Kawasan Institusi Penyelidikan, Jalan Ayer Itam, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

    M. Y. Md Fauzan Kamal & Z. Mohamad Fetri

  3. Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Perlis, Kampus Arau, 02600, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia

    M. Z. Nabilah Akemal

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  1. M. Z. Nabilah Akemal
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  2. M. Y. Md Fauzan Kamal
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  3. A. L. Famiza
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  5. M. Z. Sharil Fadli
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Contributions

MZNA: co-supervision, formal analysis, data curation, writing and editing the original draft, MYMFK: visualization, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, ALF: supervision, conceptualization, formal analysis, writing the original draft, reviewing and editing, MNA: conceptualization, methodology and formal analysis, MZSF: co-supervision, ZMF: validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, MZNN: literature search.

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Correspondence to A. L. Famiza.

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Akemal, M.Z.N., Kamal, M.Y.M.F., Famiza, A.L. et al. Non-conforming fibre-reinforced green polypropylene composite panels: a case study. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 25, 2025–2036 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01651-6

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