CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) became a significant pollution issue. Around 20% in weight of WEEE is plastic. The plastic fraction of WEEE (WEEEP) distribution is about a 30?35% of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), 20?25% of high impact polystyrene (HIPS), 20?30% polypropylene (PP) and 10% of polycarbonate (PC). The presence of heavy metals, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and other hazardous compounds have limited the reuse of the plastic fraction WEEE (WEEEP), despite of their high recycling potential. However, due to the increasing volume of WEEP, its toxicity makes an expanding negative impact on both the environment and human health.BFRs are one of the largest groups of flame retardants globally used. The main consumer of BFRs is the electronics industry, and it is estimated that 40% of all flame retardant found in WEEE are BFR. Tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA) is the most widely flame retardant employed in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) among 30?40 different BFRs known.In order to address the WEEE pollution problem and bring a practical solution to transform this waste into a useful and non-hazardous material, we developed a novel stabilization strategy. A core-shell recycled plastic aggregate (RPA) consisting of grinded WEEEP (core) and a mixture of cement and several additives such as a very fine aggregate, clay or activated charcoal (shell) was obtained. We proved that the core-shell strategy, in which cement-activated charcoal shell was employed, produces a stabilization of the hazardous compounds. Compression strength tests showed that RPAs could be used as replacement for sand in cement mortar. We propose that the RPA with optimal physical and mechanical properties has great potential for use in the construction industry, especially for the manufacture of brick and insulating plates. The main physical and mechanical properties of RPA, and building component are presented.