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Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques
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Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 12832

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Luisa Barbieri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Enginnering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
Interests: recycling; materials; technologies; solid state chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, “Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques”, will address advances in materials science, processing, characterization, and technology for environmentally sustainable approaches, as well as their environmental impact. Natural, renewable, recyclable, non-toxic, and harmless materials are desirable raw materials in a variety of sectors, including, but not limited to, construction, renovations, cultural heritage, and packaging. Their nature contributes to creating a new generation of materials with low environmental impact, safeguarding both the planet’s and our health, limiting emissions, and contributing to the circular economy. These materials include bricks, cements, tiles, geopolymers, glasses, glass–ceramics, lightweight aggregates, composites, polymers, obtained from natural and recycled raw materials. They can be associated with sustainable fabrication techniques characterized by both low temperature and low emission. This Special Issue aims at building links among various stakeholders involved in the materials community and concerned with environmental sustainability, including academia, industry, and government researchers. Original papers and review papers are solicited on all types of materials and related production techniques and their characterization, as well as on methodologies to assess their environmental impact.

Prof. Dr. Luisa Barbieri
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • recycling
  • materials science
  • innovative technologies
  • environmental sustainability
  • waste
  • secondary raw material
  • circular economy
  • cleaner production
  • environmental impact evaluation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2889 KiB  
Article
Hydrothermal Co-Processing of Coal Fly Ash Cenospheres and Soluble Sr(II) as Environmentally Sustainable Approach to Sr-90 Immobilization in a Mineral-like Form
by Tatiana Vereshchagina, Ekaterina Kutikhina, Leonid Solovyov, Sergei Vereshchagin, Elena Mazurova and Alexander Anshits
Materials 2021, 14(19), 5586; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14195586 - 26 Sep 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1856
Abstract
Co-processing of radioactive effluents with coal fly ash-derived materials is recognized as a resource-saving approach for efficient stabilization/solidification of radioactive components of wastewater. In this context, the paper is focused on the hydrothermal synthesis of Sr2+-bearing aluminosilicate/silicate phases as analogs of [...] Read more.
Co-processing of radioactive effluents with coal fly ash-derived materials is recognized as a resource-saving approach for efficient stabilization/solidification of radioactive components of wastewater. In this context, the paper is focused on the hydrothermal synthesis of Sr2+-bearing aluminosilicate/silicate phases as analogs of a mineral-like 90Sr waste form using hollow glass-crystalline aluminosilicate microspheres from coal fly ash (cenospheres) as a glassy source of Si and Al (SiO2-Al2O3)glass) and Sr(NO3)2 solutions as 90Sr simulant wastewater. The direct conversion of cenosphere glass in the Sr(NO3)2-NaOH-H2O-(SiO2-Al2O3)glass system as well as Sr2+ sorption on cenosphere-derived analcime (ANA) in the Sr(NO3)2-H2O-ANA system were studied at 150–200 °C and autogenous pressure. The solid and liquid reaction products were characterized by SEM-EDS, PXRD, AAS and STA. In the Sr(NO3)2-NaOH-H2O-(SiO2-Al2O3)glass system, the hydrothermal processing at 150–200 °C removes 99.99% of the added Sr2+ from the solution by forming Sr-tobermorite and Sr-plagioclase phases. In the Sr(NO3)2-H2O-ANA system, Sr2+ sorption on analcime results in the formation of solid solutions (Na1−nSrn/2)AlSi2O6·H2O of the Na-analcime–Sr-wairakite series. The results can be considered as a basis for the development of environmentally sustainable technology for 90Sr removal from wastewater and immobilization in a mineral-like form by co-processing waste from coal-fired and nuclear power plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques)
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10 pages, 1308 KiB  
Article
Functionality of Silk Cocoon (Bombyx mori L.) Sericin Extracts Obtained through High-Temperature Hydrothermal Method
by Wei-Hsun Wang, Wen-Shin Lin, Chia-Hung Shih, Cheng-You Chen, Siao-Hong Kuo, Wei-Lin Li and Yung-Sheng Lin
Materials 2021, 14(18), 5314; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14185314 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2652
Abstract
Sericin, a textile waste, can be used for antioxidant and skin-whitening purposes. The hydrothermal method of extracting sericin is more eco-friendly than are chemical and enzymatic methods. In this study, silk cocoons were cut into pieces and then subjected to hydrothermal extraction at [...] Read more.
Sericin, a textile waste, can be used for antioxidant and skin-whitening purposes. The hydrothermal method of extracting sericin is more eco-friendly than are chemical and enzymatic methods. In this study, silk cocoons were cut into pieces and then subjected to hydrothermal extraction at three temperatures (160, 200, and 220 °C) to obtain sericin extracts (Sericin160, Sericin200, and Sericin220, respectively). Antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibition were measured to determine the extracts’ effectiveness. Sericin220 was the strongest antioxidant, with total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and ferric reducing power of 62.19 ± 0.04 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight, 0.07 ± 0.01 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry weight, and 181.49 ± 0.024 mg vitamin C equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations for DPPH and ABTS free-radical scavenging ability were 6.41 ± 0.05 and 0.79 ± 0.37 mg/mL, respectively. Sericin220 also exhibited the highest tyrosinase inhibition activity (70.82 ± 4.1 mg vitamin C equivalent/g), indicating its whitening potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques)
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13 pages, 7670 KiB  
Article
Sintered Glass-Ceramics, Self-Glazed Materials and Foams from Metallurgical Waste Slag
by Nicolai B. Jordanov, Ivan Georgiev and Alexander Karamanov
Materials 2021, 14(9), 2263; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092263 - 27 Apr 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2245
Abstract
The materials used for the synthesis of parent glass are 70% wt. metallurgical slag and 30% wt. industrial quartz sand. The initial batch is melted at and then quenched in water. The resulting glass frit is milled bellow 75 microns and pressed 1400 [...] Read more.
The materials used for the synthesis of parent glass are 70% wt. metallurgical slag and 30% wt. industrial quartz sand. The initial batch is melted at and then quenched in water. The resulting glass frit is milled bellow 75 microns and pressed 1400 °C into “green” samples. In a next stage, they are heat treated at different temperatures with various heating rates and holding times. As a result, it is demonstrated the possibility for production variations, allowing the manufacture of three types of new materials by using the same pressed glass powders. We highlight the flexibility of the synthesis obtaining namely well densified glass-ceramics at about 950 °C, self-glazed glass-ceramics at about 1000 °C or glass-ceramic foams at approximately 1100 °C. The first set of materials is characterized by very well sintered structure combined with reasonable crystallinity; the second one—by smooth self-glazed surface with an attractive appearance and good properties and the third one—by 80–90% closed porosity and very good thermal stability above 1000 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques)
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19 pages, 4589 KiB  
Article
Alkali Activation of Metallurgical Slags: Reactivity, Chemical Behavior, and Environmental Assessment
by Isabella Lancellotti, Federica Piccolo, Katja Traven, Mark Češnovar, Vilma Ducman and Cristina Leonelli
Materials 2021, 14(3), 639; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030639 - 30 Jan 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3212
Abstract
Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) represent a promising alternative to conventional building materials and ceramics. Being produced in large amounts as aluminosilicate-rich secondary products, such as slags, they can be utilized for the formulation of AAMs. Slags are partially crystalline metallurgical residues produced during the [...] Read more.
Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) represent a promising alternative to conventional building materials and ceramics. Being produced in large amounts as aluminosilicate-rich secondary products, such as slags, they can be utilized for the formulation of AAMs. Slags are partially crystalline metallurgical residues produced during the high temperature separation of metallic and non-metallic materials in the steelmaking processes. In the present study, the electric arc furnace carbon or stainless steel slag (EAF) and secondary metallurgical slag such as ladle furnace basic slag (LS) were used as precursors in an alkali-activation process. EAF slag, with its amorphous fraction of about 56%, presented higher contents of soluble Si and Al species with respect to ladle slag R (35%). However, both are suitable to produce AAM. The leaching behavior shows that all the release values are below the regulation limit. All the bivalent ions (Ba, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) are well immobilized in a geopolymeric matrix, while amphoteric elements, such as As and Cr, show a slight increase of release with respect to the corresponding slag in alkaline and aqueous environments. In particular, for Sb and As of AAM, release still remains below the regulation limits, while Mo presents an increase of leaching values that slightly exceeds the limit for landfill non-dangerous waste. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques)
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18 pages, 4444 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Three Manufacturing Techniques for Sustainable Porous Clay Ceramics
by Fernanda Andreola, Isabella Lancellotti, Rachele Sergi, Valeria Cannillo and Luisa Barbieri
Materials 2021, 14(1), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14010167 - 31 Dec 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1958
Abstract
This study proposes different manufacturing techniques (manual pelletization, powder pressing, and “shell scaffold”) to obtain lightweight clay ceramics containing recovery raw materials. The sintering in an electrical furnace (1000 °C, 1 h processing time) was conducted by traditional firing from room temperature, for [...] Read more.
This study proposes different manufacturing techniques (manual pelletization, powder pressing, and “shell scaffold”) to obtain lightweight clay ceramics containing recovery raw materials. The sintering in an electrical furnace (1000 °C, 1 h processing time) was conducted by traditional firing from room temperature, for pressed and shell-scaffold samples, while the flash heating (i.e., samples directly put at 1000 °C) was used only for the pellets. The porous materials (porosity 40–80%), functionalized with nutrients (K and P) in amounts to confer the fertilizer capability, gave suitable results in terms of pH (6.7–8.15) and electrical conductivity (0.29–1.33 mS/cm). Thus, such materials can be considered as feasible lightweight clay ceramics, with a positive effect on the soil. These findings permit us to hypothesize a potential use in green roofs or in agronomic applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmentally Sustainable Materials and Fabrication Techniques)
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