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Waste management is a most current topic, and as such, numerous articles in literature discuss over the recycling and re-use of waste materials from various fields. A common solution is the to use these materials as partial substituent of the inert fraction in concretes and mortars. This work focuses on the possibility of using Acanthocardia tuberculata seashells, which constitute a food waste destined to landfilling, as partial substituents of inert in mortars. The results obtained evidenced that the reduction in mechanical properties (in terms of toughness and flexural stress) is mainly due to the water absorption properties of seashells aggregates, which affect the hydration of the cement. However, as experimentally demonstrated, such decrease in mechanical properties in any case does not compromise the performance of the material when used for civil applications. Resumen: La gestión de residuos es un tema actual, y como tal, numerosos artículos en la literatura discuten sobre el reciclaje y la reutilización de materiales de desecho de diversos campos. Una solución común es utilizar estos materiales como sustituyentes parciales de la fracción inerte en hormigones y morteros. Este trabajo se enfoca en el posible uso de conchas marinas Acanthocardia tuberculata, que constituyen un desperdicio de alimentos destinados al relleno sanitario, como sustituyente parcial del inerte del mortero. Los resultados obtenidos evidenciaron que la reducción de las propiedades mecánicas (en términos de tenacidad y resistencia a flexión) se debe principalmente a las propiedades de absorción de agua de las conchas marinas, que afectan la hidratación del cemento. Sin embargo, como se demostró experimentalmente, dicha disminución de las propiedades mecánicas en cualquier caso no compromete el rendimiento del material cuando viene empleado en aplicaciones civiles.

espanolThe continuous research of new functional materials combining both advanced properties and increased sustainability has dramatically risen up in the last decades. Instead of searching for new solutions, composites (formed by a combination of already present materials) are subject of different studies due to their capability of merging the advantages of components. Hence, chitosan, a biowaste-derived biopolymer, has been thermally-converted into chars by pyrolysis treatment. Subsequently, both chitosan and its char are introduced into cementitious matrix forming cement-based composites. The analysis of the mechanical properties of these materials evidenced that char-containing composites show an incipient fracture toughness capability, very appealing for possible structural applications. EnglishLa investigacion continua de nuevos materiales funcionales que combinan propiedades avanzadas y una mayor sostenibilidad ha aumentado dramaticamente en las ultimas decadas. En lugar de buscar nuevas soluciones, los compuestos (formados por una combinacion de materiales ya presentes) estan sujetos a diferentes estudios debido a su capacidad de fusionar las ventajas de los dos componentes. El quitosano, un biopolimero derivado de residuos biologicos, se ha convertido termicamente en carbon mediante tratamiento de pirolisis. Posteriormente, tanto el quitosano como su carbon se introducen en una matriz cementosa que forma compuestos a base de cemento. El analisis de las propiedades mecanicas de estos materiales puso de manifiesto que los compuestos que contienen carbon muestran una incipiente capacidad de resistencia a la fractura, muy atractiva para posibles aplicaciones estructurales.

Photo-polymerization is a polymerization method widely exploited in many technological fields, due to its high versatility and fast reaction rates. In this study, poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) nanostructures are grown onto cellulose following a simple and promising light-driven reaction mechanism involving benzophenone (as photo-initiator) and UV-curing. The effectiveness of the surface functionalization has been determined by means of morphological and physicochemical characterizations, showing the formation of very sharp PEGMA nanometric architectures.

In this work, we reported the conversion though carbothermal process of two catalysts produced by pyrolyzing exhausted coffee and waste tires. We tailored the surface with anchored iron nanoparticles through a facile carbothermal route and tested them for catalytic oxidative desulphurization of high sulphur content oil derived from tires pyrolysis. We studied their activity in a biphasic system under different conditions reaching a desulphurization of up to of 60% by using an oil with a sulphur concentration of up to 7139 ppm. The extensive characterization proved the reliability of those materials as promising catalysts for upgrading of sulphur rich drop-in fuels.