Behavior resulting from fire in plasterboard with plastic cable waste aggregates

Resumen

This article analyzes the effect of fire on plasterboards with aggregates of plastic cable waste, considering the plaster coating as a strategy to reduce the flammability of the added polymers. A real test was performed, using a direct fire set in a Madrid fire station, and a theoretical estimate of the composition of the gas emissions, focused in CO2 and CO, during a fire in a type room is presented. The results reflect that there is no clear trend between the evolution of temperatures over time and the amount of plastic waste added to the plaster matrix in the different specimens, but a different behavior is obtained depending on the surroundings where they are located. Temperatures of 600 ºC are reached between 5 and 10 min after the start of the fire if they are located in a place with heat containment, and they do not reach 400 ºC in the same period of time in a place with less heat containment. It was also observed that gypsum can be considered a passive protection of polymers, as it retards the effect of the flame on them. Concerning the gases released, the theoretical calculations, based on the elemental and thermogravimetric analysis of the plastic cable waste, reveal that the amount of carbon dioxide generated in a fire would not pose a risk to people's health whereas the values obtained for the carbon monoxide exceed the limited considered dangerous to health for a period greater than 15 min. Using plastic cable waste as secondary raw material reduces the number of incinerations to be carried out in landfills with this type of waste, thereby decreasing the potential emission of contaminants into the atmosphere and contributing to the sustainability of our planet.