This study concentrated on the influence of rice husk biochar on the structural, thermal, flammable, and mechanical properties of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The percentage of rice husk biochar with recycled HDPE was varied between 10% and 40%, and the optimum percentages were found for the various properties. Mechanical characteristics were evaluated in terms of the tensile, flexural, and impact properties. Similarly, the flame retardancy of the composites was observed by means of horizontal and vertical burning tests (UL-94 tests), limited oxygen index, and cone calorimetry. The thermal properties were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). For detailed characterization, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were performed, to elaborate on the variation in properties. The composite with 30% rice husk biochar demonstrated the maximum increase in tensile and flexural strength, i.e., 24% and 19%, respectively, compared to the recycled HDPE, whereas the 40% composite showed a 22.5% decrease in impact strength. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the 40% rice husk biochar reinforced composite exhibited the best thermal stability, due to having the highest amount of biochar. In addition, the 40% composite also displayed the lowest burning rate in the horizontal burning test and the lowest V-1 rating in the vertical burning test. The 40% composite material also showed the highest limited oxygen index (LOI), whereas it had the lowest peak heat release rate (PHRR) value (52.40% reduced) and total heat release rate (THR) value (52.88% reduced) for cone calorimetry, when compared with the recycled HDPE. These tests proved that rice husk biochar is a significant additive for enhancing the mechanical, thermal, and fire-retardant properties of recycled HDPE.

Given the rising consumption of plastic products, it is becoming imperative to prioritize the recycling of plastic items as a solution to reducing plastic waste and environmental pollution. In this context, this research focuses on assessing the impact of incorporating rice husk and wood flour into recycled high-density polyethylene (rec-HDPE) to analyze its mechanical properties, flammability, and thermal stability. The combined rec-HDPE content of wood flour and rice husk varied between 0% and 20%. The rec-HDPE content of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE) was fixed at 3%. Mechanical characteristics such as flexural, tensile, and impact strengths were assessed. Cone calorimetry (CC) tests, limited oxygen index (LOI) tests, and horizontal and vertical burning tests were performed to determine the flammability or fire retardancy of these composites. On the other hand, to characterize the thermal characteristics of these composites, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used. To further characterize the fluctuation in these characteristics, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies were carried out. The mechanical characteristics were found to be increased in response to adding rice husk or wood flour. An 8% increase in tensile strength and a 20% increase in elastic modulus enhancement were recorded for a 20% rice husk-added composite. SEM revealed the reason for the variation in tensile properties, based on the extent of agglomeration and the extent of uniform distribution of fillers in rec-HDPE. Following these lines, the 20% rice husk-added composite also showed a maximum increase of around 6% in its flexural strength and a maximum increase of 50% in its flexural modulus. A decrease in impact strength was recorded for rice husk and wood flour-reinforced composites, compared with unreinforced rec-HDPE. Hybrid composites displayed a lack of mechanical strength due to changes in their nature. FTIR tests were performed for a much more elaborate analysis to confirm these results. Twenty percent of rice husk-added rec-HDPE displayed the best thermal properties that were tested, based on TGA and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) analysis. This 20% composite also displayed the best fire-retardancy characteristics according to UL 94 tests, cone calorimetry tests, and limited oxygen index tests, due to the barrier created by the silica protective layer. These tests demonstrated that the incorporation of both fillers—rice husk and wood flour—effectively enhanced the thermal, mechanical, and fire-retardant attributes of recycled HDPE.

Casting is a fabrication method used to create various industrial parts with different shapes. Flaws such as shrinkage, porosity, and short metal filling can result in casting rejection. These flaws are heavily reliant on casting parameter design (gating and riser system design) and can be reduced by optimizing the casting parameter design. The development of materials with new or improved properties has long been the primary objective of materials scientists. The designing of metallic alloys for structural purposes must take strength, toughness, and formability into account to achieve the desired performance. The unique convergence of these essential characteristics that characterize high manganese steels fascinate scientists worldwide. The current work systematically investigated a gating system and riser design effect for high Manganese steel samples (bushes) to develop an understanding of the structure–property relationship. The first conventional manual calculation was performed to design the gating and riser system. Subsequently, a sophisticated simulation software called SolidCast was used to design, validate, and improve the casting parameters of the specimen. To back up the findings, confirmatory experiments were carried out. Both designs were used to make castings in order to check for flaws. The microstructural and mechanical characteristics of these materials were investigated. Visual inspection of the manually-designed castings revealed considerable shrinkage, whereas software-designed castings seemed in good shape, without the shrinkage, macroporosity, and microporosity. The microstructure of the specimens was also studied by applying optical microscopy and SEM analysis. By improving the gating and riser system with the SolidCast software, sound casting was achieved. This improved the quality of casting results with a considerable enhancement of yield strength (~32 percent), hardness (~34 percent), and tensile strength (~27 percent), which may lead to significant cost savings.

In the current study, cellulose acetate (CA)/cellulose triacetate (CTA) nanocomposite membranes blended with zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) are prepared via phase inversion for pervaporation desalination performance. ZrO₂ nanoparticles are added to enhance the hydrophilicity and porosity of the nanocomposite membranes. The fabricated nanocomposite membranes are characterized by SEM, FTIR, TGA, and DSC to study the surface morphology, chemical composition, thermal stability and strength. Nanocomposite membranes’ performance for pervaporation desalination is assessed as a function of feed concentration. Pervaporation results revealed that the nanocomposite membrane consisting of 2% ZrO₂ achieved a maximum water flux of 6.5 kg/m²h, whereas the salt rejection was about 99.8%.

In this study, cellulose triacetate (CTA) hybrid membrane is successfully prepared via the phase-inversion method for bioethanol recovery through pervaporation. Nano zinc oxide (ZnO) particles are mixed into the polymer matrices of CTA to enhance the pervaporation membrane’s performance. The fabricated hybrid membrane is characterized using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to reveal the surface morphology and thermal resistance, respectively. The pervaporation performance of the hybrid membrane is assessed for recovering bioethanol from its dilute solution. Pervaporation results show that the hybrid membrane prepared with 3 wt.% ZnO achieved a permeation flux of 1065.71 g/m²h, while the separation factor was around 1038 at 50 °C operating temperature.