CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Introduction

The growth in various types of industries and population has resulted in enormous
increase in production of various types of waste materials all over the world.
The creation and disposal of non-decaying of some of these waste materials such
as blast furnace slag, fly-ash, steel slag, scrap tires, plastic and others have been posing
difficult problems in developed as well as in developing countries. Used of industrial
waste products has been widely studied for seeking suitability utilized in concrete
construction. It has been possible to assess the feasibility of using rubber aggregate (the
product of shredding used rubber tires) as an aggregate in concrete construction and
investigate means of exploiting the inherent strength, durability and physical
characteristics that rubber aggregate can bring to concrete used in the Lightweight Roof
Tile (LRT) application. This alternative is to reduce the pollution and disposal problems.
The concept of sustainable development, currently a very hot issue requires that the
society as a whole becomes aware of necessity to make the most of all existing
resources, trying to minimize creation of residues.
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Recently, the use of renewable resources has attracted the attention of many
researchers because of their potential to substitute petrochemical derivatives. By
renewable resource is meant agricultural products, mainly from five principal crops:
soybean, palm oil, rapeseed, sunflower and coconut, where the materials are synthesized
by sunlight. These natural products are already processed by the chemical industry and
used in many fields of application especially in the biopolymers production (Padma,
2006).
Some scientists tried to synthesize epoxy palm oil acrylated resins from palm oil
products but their synthesize resin showed poorer curing properties in radiation curable
coating applications due to limited unsaturated in the fatty acid chain of palm oil
molecules (Marston, 2008). The performances of these resins with respects to their
curing rate and physical-mechanical properties of cured products under UV radiation
were studied (Atsushi and Yasuhiko, 2003). In this study, newly synthesized biopolymer
based on waste cooking oil doped with titanium dioxide known as TOP was produced
that can be used as a surface coating for LRT that was fabricate for finishing
applications.

1.2

Problem Statement

Traditionally aggregates, sand and Portland cement are used in concrete construction.
The demand of these materials for construction purpose is increased rapidly but
naturally material become shortage in nature.
The economic factors relating to the materials used in construction mainly derive
from the costs of extracting the material, processing and hauling it to the side. Besides

that, the environmental disturbance is made up of factors such as disturbance to the

landscape leading to possible dereliction and the depletion of natural resources.
The principal problem with concrete tiles is their weight, although efforts have
been made to produce lighter concrete roof tiles without sacrificing strength. However,
there is generally a reduction in strength and other beneficial properties when
lightweight materials are substituted for heavier ones in a cementitious product. Thus,
there is continuous need for concrete roof tiles which are lighter in weight than
conventional concrete roof tiles but have adequate strength and durability of
conventional concrete roof tiles. Such strong, durable lightweight concrete roof tiles will
be useful as a suitable replacement (Dunton et al, 1995). If a building having wood or
asphalt shingles needs to have its roof replaced, roof tiles can normally be used only if
the roof framing is reinforced and strengthened, which can involve significant structural
work that increases the cost appreciably (Schreifels et al, 1997).
Roof tiles are often more exposed to climatic conditions than the other exterior
elements of a building. With few exceptions, roof membranes are not protected by
adjoining buildings and are generally fully exposed to wind, precipitation, temperature
variations and sunlight (Tibbetts and Baker, 1965). One of the solutions is to apply a
photocatalyst to the surface as a self-cleaning which multifunctional coating for roof
tiles in order to prevent attack by algae and moss. Titanium dioxide as fillers and
particularly in its anatase form is the most widely used photocatalyst. Besides the
breakdown of organics, a second light induced phenomena called superhydrophilicity
occurs in parallel on such a photocatalytic surface (Iversen and Jensen, 2009).
Coating with nano-scale titanium dioxide of roughness that will repel water and
dirt, modeled after the coating of the lotus leaf are being created. The lotus leaf has
extraordinary ability to keep itself clean and dry. Now nanotechnology of titanium
dioxide is being used to mimic the lotus leaf surface and create new products that
outperform existing no-stick products. Typically, on a hydrophobic or water-repellent
surface, dirt particles are collected by water drops and rinsed off (Balaguru, 2007).
For other alternative, industrial waste such as waste tires are used in the
Lightweight Roof Tile (LRT) fabrication. If these materials can suitably use in LRT
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application, the pollution and disposal problem may be reduced. The used of industrial
waste also decrease the cost of LRT fabrication and increase the quality of cementitious
mixtures especially the mechanical and physical properties such as compressive
strength, flexural strength, vibration characteristic and others.
In this study, biopolymer from waste cooking oil was prepared and specific
fabrication method for waste cooking oil biopolymer doped titanium dioxide (TOP)
surface coating with or without fillers such as titanium dioxide were formulated and
applied onto the LRT surfaces. The physical testing such as scratch resistant, porosity,
UV visible test were conducted and different samples were exposed to outdoor humidity
and sunlight to observed the self clean property of the fillers in order to improved its
quality as desired.

1.3

Objective

The main objectives of this study are:

(i)

To establish the Lightweight Roof Tile (LRT) design mixes by waste tire rubber
aggregate with Porland cement which produce LRT with prescribed properties
such as reduce weight while maintaining the strength.

(ii)

To study the surface coating of LRT surfaces by waste cooking oil biopolymer
doped with titanium dioxide is known as TOP to obtain a durable coating
providing properties such as superhydrophobic, photocatalyst and physical
properties.

(iii)

To evaluate the mechanical and physical property of LRT samples (i.e

compressive strength, flexural strength, vibration characteristic and functional
TOP in LRT surfaces (i.e scratch resistance, UV visible, water droplet porosity
and others).

1.4

Significant of Study

The significant in this study are:

(i)

The fabrication of Lightweight Roof Tile (LRT) by using waste tires has several
benefits, in removing used tires from our countryside, reducing the
environmental effects from manufacture of clay roofing tiles and reducing our
consumption of resources in its transportation or building materials to support the
construction project.

(ii)

The use of waste cooking oil biopolymer doped in titanium dioxide (TOP) as an
alternative for synthetic polymer and improved sustainability for polymer
feedstock. Polymers are no longer special construction materials that replace
classical mineral or organic building materials. They are now one vital
component in the production of composite and sustainable building materials.

(iii)

The synergic action titanium dioxide as fillers in TOP surface coating for LRT
surfaces offers great opportunities to the improvement the quality and stability
for wide range application new and innovative purposes.

1.5

Scope of Study

The study of work undertaken is summarized below:

(a)

Lightweight Roof Tile (LRT) samples

In order to assess the characteristics of LRT, the following aspects were

considered:

Mix design,

Workability,

Ease of preparation and finishing

The workability was assessed using ASTM Standard testing equipment and
procedures. The following tests were carried out to establish the engineering
properties of LRT:

Compressive strength test (ASTM 170-50)

Flexural strength test (ASTM C 99-52)

Vibration test (ASTM D 4728)

Weight measurement (ASTM C 138)

Porosity test for LRT (ASTM C 67)

Scanning Electron Microscopy for LRT (ASTM C 1723 10)

The results which were then applied to potential application in this case are LRT.
However the LRT mixed design also can be use in floor, ceiling, pavement and
others applications. The production of LRT incorporating rubber aggregate was

also investigated with the aim of producing LRT products which meet the
industry requirements for strength, weight and environmental friendly.

(b)

TOP as a surface coating

In order to assess the characteristics of surface coating biopolymer doped

titanium dioxide (TOP), the following aspects were considered:

Mix design,

Workability,

Ease of preparation and finishing

The workability was assessed using ASTM Standard testing equipment and
procedures.

The following tests were carried out to establish the engineering properties of
TOP as surface coating testing:

Scratch resistance by pencil test (ASTM D 3363)

Porosity test for TOP (ASTM D 6583-04)

Water droplet test (ASTM D 7334-08)

Scanning Electron Microscopy for TOP (ASTM C 1723 10)

UV visible test (ASTM D 4329-92)

The results which were then applied as a surface coating or paint to potential
application in this case are LRT surfaces. TOP also suitable applied on the wall surfaces,
building surfaces, wood surfaces and others surface especially the surface that is
exposed to sunlight and humidity.

1.6

Expected Result

In this study, the types of size particle rubber aggregate which are 20 mesh and 1-3 mm
was formulated by different ratio aggregate which is 0.55, 0.60, 0.65, 0.70 weight by
weight to design Lightweight Roof Tile (LRT) without sacrifice the mechanical and
physical test such as compressive strength, flexural strength, vibration, porosity and
SEM pictures that are expected.
Waste cooking oil biopolymer doped with titanium dioxide (TOP) was used and
formulated according to specific fabrication method with and without fillers by different
percentages loading of fillers such as titanium dioxide which is 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5
weight by weight as surface coating on LRT finishes were employed. The LRT coated
by TOP were irritated upon sunlight for certain period of time to observe the self-clean
properties in order to improve its quality as desired through physical test such as scratch
resistance, water droplet test, UV visible and porosity was observed. High scratch
resistance and good quality upon exposure to sunlight and humidity are expected.