Valorisation of plastic and wood waste through the incorporation in basalt fibre reinforced polymeric composites: A critical review
Ayub Ali, Rumana Hossain, Heriyanto Heriyanto, Veena Sahajwalla
Abstract
Mitigation of looming environmental pollution through the valorisation of waste is a greener approach in parallel with current waste utilizations strategies. Wood and plastic waste collectively holds a lion’s share of globally generated total waste, and their utilization can significantly contribute to minimize ongoing environmental threats. In the light of this concern, this review provides an insight of wood and plastic waste valorisation by integrating them in the fabrication of polymeric composites reinforced with basalt fibre. Next to the brief discussion on the sources and characteristics of wood and plastic waste, their detrimental effects and the ways for threat minimization have been discussed. A detailed discussion has also been provided on the sources and characteristics of basalt fibre as a potential reinforcement material in making polymeric composites. Hybrid materials from basalt embedded with wood and plastic waste along with their manufacturing methods and findings have been investigated aimed at their applications. Finally, the potentiality of such materials to apply in structural sector, transportation, protective field and other technical area have been summarized to replace the uses of glass fibre in these sectors. Existing challenges and future directions have been highlighted at the end of the article.