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Gallo Stampino P, Riva L, Caruso M, Rahman IA, Elegir G, Bussini D, Marti-Rujas J, Dotelli G, Punta C. Can TEMPO-Oxidized Cellulose Nanofibers Be Used as Additives in Bio-Based Building Materials? A Preliminary Study on Earth Plasters. Materials (Basel) 2022; 16:74. [PMID: 36614411 PMCID: PMC9820849 DOI: 10.3390/ma16010074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Interest towards cellulose nanofibers obtained from virgin and waste sources has seen a significant growth, mainly thanks to the increasing sensitivity towards the concept of circular economy and the high levels of paper recycling achieved in recent years. Inspired by the guidelines of the green building industry, this study proposes the production and characterization of TEMPO-oxidized and homogenized cellulose nanofibers (TOHO CNF) from different sources and their use as additives for earth plasters on two different raw earth samples, characterized by geotechnical laboratory tests and mineralogical analysis: a high-plasticity clay (T2) and a medium-compressibility silt (ABS). Original sources, including those derived from waste (recycled cardboard and paper mill sludge), were characterized by determining chemical content (cellulose versus ashes and lignin) and fiber morphology. TOHO CNF derived from the different sources were compared in terms of nanofibers medium diameter, crystallinity degree, thermal decomposition and oxidation degree, that is the content of carboxylic groups per gram of sample. Then, a preliminary analysis of the influence of CNF on earth plasters is examined. Adhesion and capillary absorption tests highlighted the effect of such nanofibers on blends in function of two factors, namely the cellulose original source and the oxidation degree of the fibers. In particular, for both earth samples, T2 and ABS, a significant increase in adhesion strength was observed in the presence of some TOHO CNF additives. As far as capillary sorption tests, while an undesired increase in water adsorption was detected for T2 compared to the control, in the case of ABS, a significant reduction in water content was measured by adding TOHO CNF derived from recycled sources. These results pave the way for further in-depth investigation on the role of TOHO CNF as additives for earth plasters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Gallo Stampino
- Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta” and INSTM Local Unit, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Laura Riva
- Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta” and INSTM Local Unit, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Caruso
- Materials Testing Laboratory, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Imran Abdul Rahman
- Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta” and INSTM Local Unit, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Graziano Elegir
- Innovhub Stazioni Sperimentali per l’Industria S.r.l., Via Giuseppe Colombo 83, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Daniele Bussini
- Innovhub Stazioni Sperimentali per l’Industria S.r.l., Via Giuseppe Colombo 83, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Javier Marti-Rujas
- Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta” and INSTM Local Unit, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Giovanni Dotelli
- Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta” and INSTM Local Unit, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Carlo Punta
- Department of Chemistry, Materials, and Chemical Engineering “G. Natta” and INSTM Local Unit, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
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