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The incorporation of industrial waste in polymeric resin is being increasingly considered to produce artificial stones. This incorporation has advantages, such as the reduction of the amount of waste discarded in nature, and added value to innovative construction material. The present work aims to incorporate the glass waste generated from the industrial lamination stage into epoxy matrix for the production of a novel artificial stone, as to be used in civil construction areas, as an economic and ecological alternative. Firstly, it was specified the granulometric composition of the as-received amount of waste by using the simplex numerical modeling. For the production of specimens, vibration, vacuum and compression processing were used. The stone specimens with 70 wt.% glass waste and 30 wt.% epoxy resin matrix (AS70GW) were subjected to density evaluation, water absorption, flexural testing, abrasive wear Amsler and SEM. The AS70GW developed, presented a flexural strength of 25.4 MPa, which is considered a high strength material. The results of water absorption and apparent porosity were 0.4 and 0.8%, respectively, within the range indicated for coating materials. As such, it is considered a material of small porosity and can be used in low and medium traffic environments, with lower wear to 1.67 mm. The artificial stone AS70GW did not get any stains that could not be removed; in some cases, suitable cleaning products might be used. The results compared with the literature reveal an artificial stone with technical feasibility to be used as a coating in the area of civil construction.

Industrial waste incorporation in artificial stone production has been widely used nowadays, both in search of alternative raw materials as well as for seeking an environmentally correct destination for the waste. During ornamental stones processing, material losses are significant, generating wastes that are often inappropriately disposed of in nature. Quartzite is classified geologically as a metamorphic stone, composed almost entirely of quartz grains and porcelain powder and is characterized by a dense microstructure, consisting of mullite and quartz crystalline phases. The main aim of this work is to characterize and evaluate the effects of incorporating quartzite, quartz, and porcelain powder wastes in an epoxy matrix for artificial stone development. Plates were produced by the vacuum vibro-compression method, already adopted by companies in this field. The highest density mixture was calculated, and the artificial stone developed was characterized to evaluate its physical and mechanical properties. The two most close-packed mixtures were used to produce the plates. The absorption values obtained for the two compositions suggested the artificial stone can be used in external environments, tops, and floating/raised floors, due to the water absorption index ≤0.4%. The composition in which the porcelain powder was incorporated obtained maximum bending stress of 25 MPa, classifying the artificial stone as high quality to be applied as a coating.

The development of artificial stone from the agglutination of polymeric resin using industrial wastes can be a viable alternative from a technical, economic, and sustainable point of view. The main objective of the present work was to evaluate the physical, mechanical, and structural properties of artificial stones based on quartzite waste added into a synthetic, epoxy, or biodegradable polyurethane polymer matrix. Artificial stone plates were produced through the vacuum vibration and compression method, using 85 wt% of quartzite waste. The material was manufactured under the following conditions: 3 MPa compaction pressure and 90 and 80 °C curing temperature. The samples were characterized to evaluate physical and mechanical parameters and microstructure properties. As a result, the artificial stone plates developed obtained ≤0.16% water absorption, ≤0.38% porosity, and 26.96 and 10.7 MPa flexural strength (epoxy and polyurethane resin, respectively). A wear test established both artificial quartzite stone with epoxy resin (AS-EP) and vegetable polyurethane resin (AS-PU) high traffic materials. Hard body impact resistance classified AS-EP as a low height material and AS-PU as a very high height material. The petrographic slides analysis revealed that AS-EP has the best load distribution. We concluded the feasibility of manufacturing artificial stone, which would minimize the environmental impacts that would be caused by this waste disposal. We concluded that the production of artificial rock shows the potential and that it also helps to reduce environmental impacts.

Brazil is one of the world’s major ornamental stone producers. As a consequence, ornamental stone wastes are generated on a large scale and are usually open air disposed. Thus, it is important to develop novel material reusing these accumulated wastes, aiming to minimize environmental impact. The development of artificial stones made with ornamental stone wastes agglomerated by a synthetic polymer represents an excellent alternative and, therefore, is currently the subject of several works. This work seeks to develop an innovative artificial stone containing 85%wt of granite waste and 15%wt of vegetable polyurethane from castor oil, a biodegradable resin, from a renewable source. The purpose is creating a sustainable material, technically viable to be applied as a civil construction coating. To manufacture the artificial stone plates, granite and polyurethane were mixed and transferred to a metallic mold subjected to vibration, vacuum and, later, hot compression. The artificial stone presented low water absorption (0.13%) and apparent porosity (0.31%) as well as a favorable 17.31 MPa bend strength. These results were confirmed through the excellent particles/matrix adhesion displayed in the micrographs, in addition to great chemical resistance.

Nowadays there is an increasing tendency to reuse industrial residues in order to reduce their environmental impact. A typical alternative for a residue is to be incorporate into a productive process that could be economically viable. In this work, 80 wt% of residues, quarry dust and chamotte from brick industries, were incorporated into 20 wt% of epoxy resin for the production of a novel artificial ornamental stone to be used in civil construction. For preparation of test specimens the granulometric composition associated with the best packaging of residues was determined by the Simplex method. Artificial stone plates were produced using vibration and vacuum processes. Specimens were tested for mechanical, physical and thermal properties as well as chemical resistance. The developed artificial stone presented mechanical properties within the standard expected range, with rupture stress of 30 MPa. Density and thermal behavior were also found to comply with values of natural ornamental stones applied in civil construction. This artificial stone was resistant to chemical attack by HCl, one of the most aggressive acid, which caused a weight loss of only 0.08 g. According to wear test, the thickness reduction indicated that the artificial stone could be used for high traffic pavement. Keywords: Artificial stone, Residue, Chamotte, Quarry dust, Technical properties

The use of ornamental stones waste incorporated in resin to produce artificial stone has been an interesting alternative to reduce the increasing amount of discarded residue in the environment; in addition, it is technically and economically viable. This research aims at producing artificial stone from 85 wt% of granite waste incorporated in 15 wt% of vegetable polyurethane to be used in the construction industry. Initially, the best particle size composition of the residue was determined in order to better pack the particles. The vacuum vibro compression was used for the production of artificial stone plates. The study evaluated the mechanical and physical properties of the produced artificial stone as well as of the natural ornamental stone, granite. The artificial material using granite showed superior properties when compared to natural granite. The values of density, water absorption, and apparent porosity were, 2.24 g/cm3, 0.19%, 0.42%, respectively. The flexural strength obtained by the rupture stress was 18 MPa. The results in tests are within the standard expected range, and show the good performance of the artificial stone.

Due to the natural resource depletion, the incorporation of quarry dust, a by-product from the stone milling and abundantly available in the artificial stone production, can represent an ecologically viable method to reduce environmental problems besides adding it a value. In this work, it was used 90% of stone dust mass and 10% of epoxy resin mass for producing a new artificial ornamental stone using vacuum, vibration, and compression which allow its use on civil construction. For preparing the specimens, the granulometric composition associated to the best waste packaging has been determined by the simplex method. The characterization consisted on analyzing its physical and mechanical properties. The artificial stone developed presented mechanical properties according to the expected pattern, with break tension of 32 MPa, and when evaluated the break tension by flexion, the specimens passed through freezing and thaw process without any change, being able to be used in environments with low temperature. The results found for density, water absorption, and porosity were according to the patterns for civil construction, having porosity lower than 0.5%.

In this work an artificial stone, which is a composite material, was produced using a reinforcement residue of iron ore and epoxy resin as matrix. This production can be a viable alternative to provide an alternative destination to the iron ore residue, since it has today dams and deposition ponds as destination, bringing risks to environment and to human health. The objective of this project was to produce artificial stone for coating, reusing iron ore residue, thus adding economic value to this material. The specimens were produced by pressing, with a resin content of 15%. Environmental and thermogravimetric analysis, physical tests, and chemical resistance experiments were performed. The residue was classified as non-inert and non-hazardous. The hydrochloric acid was the one that most attacked the artificial stone of iron ore residue (ASIO), with mass loss of 0.025 g. Regarding the water absorption, the ASIO obtained a value of 0.21%, value that is compatible with the ones found for artificial marbles. The production of artificial stone proved to be feasible, in addition to providing an environmentally favorable destination for the iron ore residue.

Ornamental stones, such as marble and granite, are worldwide used as pavement cover and lining parts in civil construction. Dwindling deposits and environmental pollution, due to extraction methods, have motivated the replacement of natural ornamental stones by synthetic ones. In particular, artificial ornamental stones are being developed with mineral wastes incorporated into polymeric matrix. In this work, granite particle waste, from a quarry, which supplies plates for building construction, was used in amounts of 85 and 90 wt % together with epoxy resin to fabricate novel artificial stones. Physical and mechanical characterization disclosed superior properties that allow these new developed artificial stones to be applied as pedestrian traffic pavements.

Magnetic microparticles were formulated by encapsulating magnetite nanoparticles with cellulose acrylamidemetyl propionate acetate (CAPA) chemically modified with acrylamide (AM) in order to immobilize, through covalent bonds, enzymes. The microparticles were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetry. The magnetic CAPA + AM microparticles display a quite regular spherical geometry with smooth surface and a magnetite load corresponding to 11.2% of the total mass. These particles were considered as convenient supports for enzyme immobilization in biodiesel transesterification process.

The present work is part of an innovation research project aiming to develop artificial stone from industrial wastes. In principle, the project goal is to fabricate artificial stones with improved characteristics to be used as plates for housing and road construction. In this work, the specific industrial residue was an electrostatically precipitated powder obtained from the initial sintering stage of an integrated steelmaking plant. Plates were produce by vacuum vibro-compression of epoxy resin mixed with 80 and 85 wt% of this specific residue. After curing, the plates were characterized for physical parameters and mechanical properties. The microstructural aspect of the finishing surface was analyzed for both novel artificial stones by scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the 80% residue incorporated artificial stone is superior to the 85% residue incorporated and markedly stronger than a commercial artificial stone, incorporated with granite residue, with comparable density and water absorption. These characteristics favor the technical substitution of the presently investigated artificial for the commercial stone. In particular, based on wear tests, the residue incorporated artificial stone would be restricted to application as pavement in medium traffic roads.

The chemical modification of Acrylamidomethyl Cellulose Acetate Propionate (AMCAP) was carried out by radical addition of acrylic acid. The structural modification was confirmed with the aid of FTIR, MS and NMR techniques. Thermal properties of hydrophilic cellulose derivative (AMCAP–H2O2) such as glass transition (Tg 153 °C) and thermal stability (372.7 °C) were determined by DSC and TGA techniques, respectively. These thermal properties confirmed the introduction of carboxylic groups into AMCAP structure, which causes an impact in their properties. The AMCAP–H2O2 shows minor contact angle compared to AMCAP, giving a more hydrophilic characteristic, due to acrylic acid addition into the side chains of AMCAP polymer.