Abstract

Char, the solid residue produced during biomass gasification, is usually treated as a waste with high environmental and economic costs associated to its disposal. However, char shows remarkable properties that make it suitable for a plethora of different applications. In particular, this study aims at investigating the feasibility of using char as filler in polymers for boosting polymer thermal stability and electrical conductivity, and comparing its performances with carbon black (CB), a more traditional carbonaceous filler. Char residues were collected from a commercial biomass gasifier, thoroughly characterized, and compared with CB. Both materials were used in combination with a styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene (SEBS) matrix for the production of two different compounds, deeply characterized as well. An addition of 44 wt% of char increases the thermal stability of the compound and its electrical conductivity up to 2 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹, without interfering with its structure and mechanical properties. Less CB (20 wt%) was needed for obtaining composites with the same electrical conductivity. The findings of this study pave the way for new valorization routes for large amounts of char in cutting-edge applications and present the opportunity to the polymer manufacturing to use a high-available and low-cost substitute for carbon-based fillers.

Graphic Abstract

中文翻译：

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生物质气化炭作为填充剂在聚合物中的平衡和与炭黑的比较

摘要

焦炭是生物质气化过程中产生的固体残留物，通常被视为废物，与处置相关的环境和经济成本很高。但是，炭灰显示出非凡的性能，使其适合多种不同的应用。特别地，本研究旨在研究在聚合物中使用炭作为填料以提高聚合物的热稳定性和导电性的可行性，并将其性能与更传统的碳质填料炭黑（CB）进行比较。从商用生物质气化炉中收集焦炭残渣，对其进行彻底表征并与CB进行比较。两种材料都与苯乙烯-乙烯-丁烯-苯乙烯（SEBS）基质结合使用，以生产两种不同的化合物，它们也具有很深的特性。^-3 S cm ^-1，不影响其结构和机械性能。为了获得具有相同电导率的复合材料，需要更少的CB（20 wt％）。这项研究的发现为尖端应用中大量木炭的新型增值途径铺平了道路，并为聚合物制造提供了机会，以高可用且低成本的方式替代碳基填料。

图形摘要