A preliminary study on the preparation of wood-plastic composites from urban wastes generated in Merida, Mexico with potential applications as building materials

Abstract

A preliminary study on the use of wood and plastic wastes generated in Merida, Mexico to assess their potential for the development of building materials is reported. Composites based on recycled, high-density polyethylene (R-HDPE) loaded with wood particles were prepared. The R-HDPE was collected from Merida’s Separation Plant, where it was sorted from other residues, either organic or inorganic. Composites based on virgin, high-density polyethylene (V-HDPE) were also prepared to assess the effect of the R-HDPE on the composite’s mechanical properties. The wood came from the trims of different varieties of the city’s trees that are periodically pruned as part of the cleaning and urbanising programmes implemented by the City Council. A batch of this material was selected at random to incorporate into both the R-HDPE and V-HDPE. Different wood particle sizes were experimented with to obtain extruded composites with contents of 50% and 60% by weight of wood that were characterized under tension and impact. Flat wood—plastic extrudates with reasonable good appearance were also produced at the laboratory level as a first step to find an adequate route to scale-up the process to a pilot level to evaluate the feasibility of producing alternative building materials.