Chapters authored
Gamma Radiation as a Recycling Tool for Waste Materials Used in Concrete
Over the course of the last 50 years, a large number of major technological advances have contributed to the development of higher-strength, high-performance materials that provide excellent benefits. Nevertheless, in most cases, after a very short useful life, these products become waste material and contribute to environmental degradation. This situation has created an environmental crisis that has reached global proportions. In efforts to combat this issue and to promote sustainable development and reduce environmental pollution, some investigations have focused on recycling using innovative and clean technologies, such as gamma radiation, as an alternative to conventional mechanical and chemical recycling procedures. In this context, the reuse and recycling of waste materials and the use of gamma radiation are useful tools for improving the mechanical properties of concrete; for example, the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity are improved by the addition of waste particles and application of gamma radiation. In this chapter, we propose the use of gamma radiation as a method for modifying waste materials; for instance, polyethylene terephthalate plastic bottles, automotive tire rubber, and the cellulose in Tetra Pak containers, and their reuse to enhance the properties of concrete.
Part of the book: Evolution of Ionizing Radiation Research
Waste and Recycled Textiles as Reinforcements of Building Materials
Currently, the use of composite materials in the construction areas has had a great impact on the society; mainly, those related with sustainability and environment aspects. Daily proposals aimed at overcoming the properties of traditional materials that arise, which include emergent materials either from waste or recycled products. One of them is related to the textile materials, which include fibers such as wool, hemp, linen, and cotton. In the past decade, special attention has been focused on the used clothes, which represent a source of raw materials environmentally responsible and economically profitable. Textile materials are discarded daily around the world, representing approximately 1.5% of the generated waste. Blue jeans are the most used clothing in the world, and they are elaborated by one of the most commonly used natural textile fibers—cotton. Textile materials have been reused in different applications, for example, in the production of poor-quality wires, crushed to manufacture noise and temperature insulation materials, and as fillers or reinforcements of concrete. In this chapter, different topics are described that include: (a) environmental impact of textile waste—a result of massive consumption of clothing, (b) recycling and reuse of textile waste, and (c) waste and recycled textile materials used as building materials.
Part of the book: Natural and Artificial Fiber-Reinforced Composites as Renewable Sources