The effect of paraffin wax encapsulated microcrystalline cellulose (EMC) particles on the mechanical and physical properties of EMC/epoxy composites were investigated. It was demonstrated that the compatibility between cellulose and epoxy resin could be maintained due to partial encapsulation resulting in an improvement in epoxy composite mechanical properties. This work was unique because it was possible to improve the physical and mechanical properties of the EMC/epoxy composites while encapsulating the microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) for a more homogeneous dispersion. The addition of EMC could increase the stiffness of epoxy composites, especially when the composites were wet. The 1% EMC loading with a 1:2 ratio of wax:MCC demonstrated the best reinforcement for both dry and wet properties. The decomposition temperature of epoxy was preserved up to a 5% EMC loading and for different wax:MCC ratios. An increase in wax encapsulated cellulose loading did increase water absorption but overall this absorption was still low (<1%) for all composites.

Enhanced dewatering remains a major challenge in sludge disposal. In this paper, a thermal solidification treatment under low temperatures was first and successfully employed to improve the dewaterability of sludge from water-based ink wastewater. A total of 95.1% of dewatering ratio, 36.6% of moisture content, and 91.9% of sludge volume reduction could be acquired at 75 °C and 30 min setting time by the reported approach. The DSC results indicated that a large amount of bound water trapped in sludge could be released into the bulk solution to become free water after thermal solidification treatment. The bound water content of sludge can be reduced from 3.40 to 0.20 g g⁻¹ dry solid. The reported thermal solidification treatment is a thermophysical process that does not involve the solubilization of solid substrates and does not cause an increase in the COD value of dehydrated water. The obtained sludge after cooling was a clot of compacted cake with a uniform coralline-like structure. The softening and shrinking of acrylic resin within the sludge during heating contributed to the formation of compacted cake and thus enhanced the dewaterability. This study offers an economical and efficient treatment of sludge for the water-based ink printing industry.