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. 2022 Mar 15:812:151423.
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151423. Epub 2021 Nov 4.

Application of COVID-19 single-use shredded nitrile gloves in structural concrete: Case study from Australia

Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch  1 , Rajeev Roychand  2 , Mohammad Saberian  3 , Jie Li  4 , Guomin Zhang  5
Affiliations

Application of COVID-19 single-use shredded nitrile gloves in structural concrete: Case study from Australia

Shannon Kilmartin-Lynch et al. Sci Total Environ. .

Abstract

The use of single-use nitrile gloves has been on a sharp incline since the Coronavirus pandemic first started in late 2019. This led to a significant increase in the generation of this clinical waste that requires various recycling solutions to reduce its environmental impact from disposal or incineration. This paper explores its application in structural concrete by adding shredded nitrile gloves at 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% of the volume of concrete. The compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, and SEM-EDS analysis were undertaken to ascertain the effect of different concentrations of shredded nitrile gloves on the mechanical properties, quality of concrete, and its bond performance with the cement matrix. The results demonstrate that the inclusion of up to 0.2% of shredded nitrile gloves can provide ~22% improvement in the compressive strength of blended concrete composites at 28-days of curing. In comparison, the inclusion of 0.3% of shredded nitrile gloves shows improvements of ~20% in compressive strength at 28-days. The SEM-EDS analysis shows a very good bond formation between the nitrile rubber and the cement matrix with no gap identified in the interfacial transition zone (ITZ).

Keywords: COVID-19; Concrete; Mechanical properties; Nitrile rubber; Pandemic; Surgical gloves; Waste management.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest With regards to the declaration of interest, we hereby confirm that there are no conflicts of interest associated with our paper.

Figures

Unlabelled Image
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
SEM-EDS analysis of the bond performance of shredded nitrile gloves with cement paste.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Ultrasonic pulse velocity results.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
28-day compressive strength results.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
28-day Young's Modulus results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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