New lightened plaster material with dissolved recycled expanded polystyrene and end-of-life tyres fibres for building prefabricated industry

Abstract

The overexploitation of natural resources and the shortage of labour in the building sector is encouraging the development of prefabrication applied to building. This is leading the agents involved in construction to increasingly opt for the application of prefabricated systems that optimise resources while shortening construction execution times. Thus, the main objective of this research is the development of a new lightweight construction material composed of plaster, in which the conglomerate has been partially replaced by dissolved expanded polystyrene (EPS) waste and the addition of textile fibres from end-of-life tyres (ELT). The results obtained after the physicochemical and mechanical characterisation of the new plaster composite show how a 31.3% lighter material is obtained, with a 66.7% lower thermal conductivity and a 33.3% higher flexural strength in plates compared to traditional gypsum material. This improvement in the technical performance of the composites produced, combined with the reduction in the consumption of natural resources and the large amount of waste recovered and reintroduced into the production process, confirm the suitability of the new construction material developed for use in the production of more sustainable prefabricated plates and panels. © 2023 The Authors