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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

The Production Of Pyrolytic Biochar For Addition In Value-Added Composite Material, Douglas Matthew Cuthbertson Jan 2018

The Production Of Pyrolytic Biochar For Addition In Value-Added Composite Material, Douglas Matthew Cuthbertson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pyrolytic biochar has recently gained attention for its potential value as a carbon sequestering by-product that can be used in industrial applications. While biochar is typically targeted for soil amendment applications, higher value applications such as addition in consumer products and building materials needs to be investigated.

In this study, biochar is produced from three different Canadian feedstocks using three different pyrolysis methods. The biochar is characterized to determine the effects that feedstock selection and pyrolysis conditions has on biochar properties. The biochar is also incorporated into concrete at varying concentrations to create a lightweight and sustainable material. The effect …


Chemical Modification Of Crumb Rubber To Increase Its Bonding With Concrete, Mary T. Mccannon, Kendall J. Sweitzer Jan 2017

Chemical Modification Of Crumb Rubber To Increase Its Bonding With Concrete, Mary T. Mccannon, Kendall J. Sweitzer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The hydrophilicity of crumb rubber was increased with wet chemical modification and added to concrete to increase its adhesion with concrete, consequently the compressive strength relative to that of concrete with untreated rubber. Other modification methods were tested on crumb rubber and rubber sheets to yield an increase in hydrophilicity. Certain tests were less reliable for powder testing or tedious and time consuming and concrete materials and rubber may not be homogeneous.

For wet chemical modification, several approaches were attempted. First, crumb rubber was soaked in 5% sodium hydroxide, 5% potassium permanganate and saturated sodium bisulfite, tested for hydrophilicity using …