Influencia del Tratamiento de Desechos Lignocelulósicos sobre las Propiedades de Aglomerados Basados en Residuos de Algodón

Abstract

Previous work has shown the feasibility of producing blocks and boards by agglomerating wastes from the cotton ginning process with calcium binders. These residues represent a serious inconvenience for ginning plants, since about 300,000 t of lignocellulosic wastes are generated annually, without any final disposal destination.
However, although these agglomerates can be produced with the residues in their natural state, it is verified that the mechanical properties, such as compressive strength, are improved when the residue is subjected to certain previous treatments, this being related to the compatibility of the cement and lignocellulosic residues.
For this reason, in the present paper, the influence of previous treatments consisting in cotton gin waste immersion in aqueous alkaline solutions is analyzed. Obtained results show that these treatments have a significant influence on the compressive strength of composites.