Biochar from poultry litter as reinforcement used in epoxy-based composites: mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties.

Biochar (BC) is a by-product rich in carbon, from the pyrolysis of biomass, and therefore, it has great appeal to be used in several applications. In the present work, the use of biochar from poultry litter waste (PLW) as a filler for composites with epoxy resin is evaluated regarding its performance in the thermal, mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties. The BC was produced from the pyrolysis of the PLW, and the composites were produced from concentrations of 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 wt% of BC, in relation to the epoxy resin mass. The composites were characterized in terms of micrography (MEV), infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical properties (tension and impact) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). From the dynamic mechanical point of view, there was a considerable increase in parameters such as storage modulus at both glassy (≈ 23%) and rubbery regions (≈ 43%) and loss modulus (≈ 32%). However, a decrease at the glass transition temperature, in loss modulus, (≈ 19 °C) was reported, comparing the neat epoxy with those composites with 10 wt% of BC. This behavior was mainly related to the poor dispersion of BC into the composites, especially those with 10 wt% of reinforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]