Marine waste as a resource: Developing bio-epoxy composites for a sustainable future

Abstract

Biowastes from discarded fishscales and seashells are rich sources of natural polymers, such as collagen, keratin, and calcium carbonate, that can be used to produce eco-friendly and biodegradable polymer composites. Therefore, utilizing the biowastes for manufacturing polymer composite can offer significant economic, environmental, and social benefits. This experimental study explores the use of Biopoxy matrix (SR33) and fish scale and seashell powders derived from biowastes as filler reinforcements while the composites were manufactured through open mold stir casting technique. Thereafter, the fillers were extracted and processed from raw waste sources, and were characterized using XRD and FTIR analyses. Mechanical and physical properties, including density, water absorption, fracture morphology, flexural, tensile, impact strength, and hardness, were also evaluated to assess the composite's performance. Additionally, thermal properties were investigated through DSC and TGA analyses. Interestingly, the results revealed that green composites with fish scale fillers at 2.5 wt% and seashell fillers at 7.5 wt% exhibited superior performance captured through enhanced mechanical and thermal properties control composite samples, suggesting their efficacy in reinforcing the biopoxy matrix. The study underscores the potential of utilizing biowaste-derived fillers for sustainable and eco-friendly composite materials. The combination of biopoxy with these specific filler concentrations presents a promising avenue for developing green composites with favorable mechanical and thermal characteristics, contributing to the ongoing efforts for sustainable material development.