Abstract
Electromagnetic waves in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz frequency) are used for radar, satellite communication, and, in some countries, for wireless computer networks. Shielding allows to protect humans and electronic devices from harmful effects of these waves. Cement-based composites containing conductive material can be used for this purpose, and pyrolysed carbonaceous residues (biochars) are promising in this respect. Two different biochars originated from wood (CB) and sewage sludge (SSB) pyrolysis were used as fillers in cement-based composites. The electromagnetic shielding properties of these composites are analysed vs the type and amount of biochar added. The influence of water content arising from different curing and ageing in ambient conditions is investigated for one set of samples. Results show that CB and SSB contain 74% and 30% of graphitic carbon, respectively. In the composites, SSB particles are bulky and scarcely dispersed, while CB particles are elongated and homogenously distributed. Values of Shielding Effectiveness (SE) > 20 decibel at normal incidence are achieved for the composites containing 18% of CB biochar. The influence of ageing was also investigated for a sample with 18% of wood commercial biochar: increasing wet curing increases the shielding effectiveness, while increasing ageing in air decreases the shielding effectiveness values: after 10 weeks, the measured value is about 5 dB less. The evidence suggests that the amount of physically adsorbed water is responsible for this behaviour, and it should be taken into account when dealing with cement based composites used for electromagnetic shielding.
Graphic abstract
References
Agrafioti E, Bouras G, Kalderis D, Diamadopoulos E (2013) Biochar production by sewage sludge pyrolysis. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 101:72–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2013.02.010
Ahmad M, Rajapaksha AU, Lim JE, Zhang M, Bolan N, Mohan D, Vithanage M, Lee SS, Ok YS (2014) Biochar as a sorbent for contaminant management in soil and water: a review. Chemosphere 99:19–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.10.071
Amin FR, Huang Y, He Y, Zhang R, Liu G, Chen C (2016) Biochar applications and modern techniques for characterization. Clean Techn Environ Policy 18(5):1457–1473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1218-8
ASTM C150 (2012) Standard specification for Portland cement, In: Annu. B. ASTM Stand. Vol.04.01 Cem. Lime Gypsum, 2012.
Banik S, Bandyopadhyay S, Ganguly S (2003) Bioeffects of microwave––a brief review. Bioresour Technol 87(2):155–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0960-8524(02)00169-4
Batista EMCC, Shultz J, Matos TTS, Fornari MR, Ferreira TM, Szpoganicz B, de Freitas RA, Mangrich AS (2018) Effect of surface and porosity of biochar on water holding capacity aiming indirectly at preservation of the Amazon biome. Sci Rep 8(1):10677. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28794-z
Behazin E, Ogunsona E, Rodriguez-Uribe A, Mohanty AK, Misra M, Anyia AO (2016) Mechanical, chemical, and physical properties of wood and perennial grass biochars for possible composite application. BioResources, 11(1):1334–1348. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.11.1.1334-1348
Cao J, Chung DDL (2003) Coke powder as an admixture in cement for electromagnetic interference shielding. Carbon 41(12):2433–2436. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-6223(03)00289-6
Capodaglio AG, Callegari A, Dondi D (2017). Properties and beneficial uses of biochar from sewage sludge pyrolysis. In: 5th international conference on sustainable solid waste management, Athens.
Chen J, Zhao D, Ge H, Wang J (2015) Graphene oxide-deposited carbon fiber/cement composites for electromagnetic interference shielding application. Constr Build Mater 84:66–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.03.050
de Azevedo Basto P, Savastano Junior H, de Melo Neto AA (2019) Characterization and pozzolanic properties of sewage sludge ashes (SSA) by electrical conductivity. Cem Concr Compos 104:103410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2019.103410
Fan YV, Klemes JJ, Tan RR, Varbanov PS (2019) Graphical break-even based decision-making tool (BBDM) to minimise GHG footprint of biomass utilisation: biochar by pyrolysis. Chem Eng Trans 76:19–24. https://doi.org/10.3303/CET1976004
Geetha S, Kumar KKS, Rao CRK, Vijayan M, Trivedi DC (2009) EMI shielding: Methods and materials—a review. J Appl Polym Sci 112(4):2073–2086. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.29812
Ghani WAWAK, Mohd A, da Silva G, Bachmann RT, Taufiq-Yap YH, Rashid U, Al-Muhtaseb AH (2013) Biochar production from waste rubber-wood-sawdust and its potential use in C sequestration: chemical and physical characterization. Ind Crop Prod 44:18–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2012.10.017
Gupta S, Kua HW (2019) Carbonaceous micro-filler for cement: effect of particle size and dosage of biochar on fresh and hardened properties of cement mortar. Sci Total Envir 662:952–962
Karhu K, Mattila T, Bergström I, Regina K (2011) Biochar addition to agricultural soil increased CH4 uptake and water holding capacity—results from a short-term pilot field study. Agric Ecosyst Environ 140(1):309–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2010.12.005
Khushnood RA, Ahmad S, Savi P, Tulliani J-M, Giorcelli M, Ferro GA (2015) Improvement in electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of cement composites using carbonaceous nano/micro inerts. Constr Build Mater 85:208–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.03.069
Kim JH, Lee J-K, Kim H-G, Kim K-B, Kim HR (2019) Possible effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure on central nerve system. Biomol Ther 27(3):265–275. https://doi.org/10.4062/biomolther.2018.152
Kravanja Z, Varbanov PS, Klemeš JJ (2015) Recent advances in green energy and product productions, environmentally friendly, healthier and safer technologies and processes, CO2 capturing, storage and recycling, and sustainability assessment in decision-making. Clean Techn Environ Policy 17(5):1119–1126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-015-0995-9
Li K, Wang C, Li H, Li X, Ouyang H, Wei J (2008) Effect of chemical vapor deposition treatment of carbon fibers on the reflectivity of carbon fiber-reinforced cement-based composites. Compos Sci Technol 68(5):1105–1114
Liu Z, Ge H, Wu J, Chen J (2017) Enhanced electromagnetic interference shielding of carbon fiber/cement composites by adding ferroferric oxide nanoparticles. Constr Build Mater 151:575–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.06.017
Major J, Steiner C, Downie A, Lehmann J (2009) Biochar effects on nutrient leaching. In: Lehmann J, Joseph S (Eds.), Biochar for environmental management: science and technology, Earthscan, 271, pp 271–287
Malliou O, Katsioti M, Georgiadis A, Katsiri A (2007) Properties of stabilized/solidified admixtures of cement and sewage sludge. Cem Concr Compos 29(1):55–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2006.08.005
Maroušek J, Strunecký O, Stehel V (2019) Biochar farming: defining economically perspective applications. Clean Technol Environ Policy 21(7):1389–1395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-019-01728-7
Maroušek J, Vochozka M, Plachý J, Žák J (2017) Glory and misery of biochar. Clean Technol Environ Policy 19(2):311–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1284-y
Mazzoli A, Corinaldesi V, Donnini J, Di Perna C, Micheli D, Vricella A, Pastore R, Bastianelli L, Moglie F, Primiani VM (2018) Effect of graphene oxide and metallic fibers on the electromagnetic shielding effect of engineered cementitious composites. J Build Eng 18:33–39
Mohanty P, Nanda S, Pant KK, Naik S, Kozinski JA, Dalai AK (2013) Evaluation of the physiochemical development of biochars obtained from pyrolysis of wheat straw, timothy grass and pinewood: effects of heating rate. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 104:485–493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2013.05.022
Muthusamy S, Chung DDL (2010) Carbon-fiber cement-based materials for electromagnetic shielding. ACI Mater J 107(6):603–611
Nam IW, Kim HK, Lee HK (2012) Influence of silica fume additions on electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of multi-walled carbon nanotube/cement composites. Constr Build Mater 30:480–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.11.025
Paul CR (2006) Introduction to electromagnetic compatibility. Wiley
Prasad R, Mahmoud AE, Parashar SKS (2019) Enhancement of electromagnetic shielding and piezoelectric properties of White Portland cement by hydration time. Constr Build Mater 204:20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.01.140
Savi P, Cirielli D, di Summa D, Ruscica G, Natali Sora I (2019) Analysis of shielding effectiveness of cement composites filled with pyrolyzed biochar. In: 2019 IEEE 5th international forum on research and technology for society and industry (RTSI), 376–379. https://doi.org/10.1109/RTSI.2019.8895522
Sharma NK, Swain SK, Sahoo UC (2012) Stabilization of a clayey soil with fly ash and lime: a micro level investigation. Geotech Geol Eng 30(5):1197–1205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-012-9532-3
Singh AP, Gupta BK, Mishra MG, Chandra A, Mathur RB, Dhawan SK (2013) Multiwalled carbon nanotube/cement composites with exceptional electromagnetic interference shielding properties. Carbon 56:86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2012.12.081
Tan X, Liu Y, Zeng G, Wang X, Hu X, Gu Y, Yang Z (2015) Application of biochar for the removal of pollutants from aqueous solutions. Chemosphere 125:70–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.12.058
Varbanov PS, Jia X, Lim JS (2021) Process assessment, integration and optimisation: the path towards cleaner production. J Clean Prod 281:124602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124602
Wen S, Chung DDL (2004) Electromagnetic interference shielding reaching 70 dB in steel fiber cement. Cem Concr Res 34(2):329–332
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Matteo Longo of Bioforcetech Corporation for supplying sewage sludge biochar. One of the authors (Davide d.S.) acknowledges the financial support from D.I.S.A. University of Bergamo.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
di Summa , D., Ruscica, G., Savi, P. et al. Biochar-containing construction materials for electromagnetic shielding in the microwave frequency region: the importance of water content. Clean Techn Environ Policy 25, 1099–1108 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02182-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02182-0