Evaluation of Thermophysical and Strength Properties of Composite Panels Produced from Sugarcane Bagasse and Waste Newspapers

Abstract Large quantities of waste newspapers and sugarcane bagasse are prevalently discarded by open burning or indiscriminate dumping, thereby posing severe danger to the environment and public health. This study sought to examine the feasibility of managing the wastes by recycling them into value-added products for building construction. Composite panels were fabricated using waste newspaper paste (WNP) with sugarcane bagasse particles (SBP) varied at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 % by weight of the composite mix. Epoxy resin was thoroughly mixed with its hardener and applied as binder. The samples were developed in triplicates per proportion of the SBP adopted and then dried completely before their thermophysical and strength properties were evaluated. It was observed that variations in mean values of water absorption (28.57 – 39.43 %), thickness swelling (6.21 - 8.33 %), specific heat capacity (1232 - 1312Jkg−1K−1) trended positively with increasing proportions of the SBP. Whereas nailability remained 100.0 % in all the cases, bulk density (689.4 - 640.5 kgm−3), thermal conductivity (0.1186 - 0.1163 Wm−1K−1), thermal diffusivity (1.396 - 1.384 x 10−7 m2s−1), and flexural strength (2.572 - 2.280 N/mm2) correlated inversely with the added fractions of the SBP. Generally, it was found that the samples could perform satisfactorily if applied as ceiling or partition elements in building design. Therefore, recycling of sugarcane bagasse and waste newspapers as described in this study could serve as a promising way of solving their disposal problems and also enhance achievement of low-cost and safe buildings.