Use of Panels Made from Plastic Waste in Thermal Insulation

Abstract

The materials of the given article are devoted to the problem solution associated with one of the processing plastic waste methods by adding various fillers in order to obtain the final product for the thermal insulation materials manufacture. The researches were conducted using the UPR (unsaturated polyester resin) samples made of EPS (expanded polystyrene) plastic waste and crushed recycled polyethylene from greenhouse film waste with various types of wood waste from carpentry workshops. The tests have revealed that when EPS is added to the unsaturated polyester mixtures, the EPS thermal conductivity coefficient decreases with a slight decrease in density, which gives the wide opportunities to use EPS waste as an additive for UPR and expands the ways of its potential industrial application, and the addition of styrene to the compositions containing 10% of styropor causes a clear decrease in thermal conductivity characteristics and a slight decrease in the density of these mixtures. The values of the thermal conductivity coefficient and the density of the low-density polyethylene material increase with the wood powder percentage raising used as an organic filler.