Biodegradable Composite for Temporary Partitioning Materials

Building construction can be considered as one of the indispensable industries in the world. Even though the necessity of the industry is evident, its current practices are not environmentally friendly. Some of the main reasons for this is the usage of unsustainable raw materials such as sand and soil, as well as the usage of harmful non-biodegradable materials such as PVC, asbestos. When considering the applications of raw materials used in the construction industry, nearly 40% of them are used for manufacturing non-load bearing constructions such as partitioning materials. In this research, a method for manufacturing a novel biodegradable movable partitioning material has been discussed. This partitioning material is a composite, created with banana yarn as reinforcement, Poly-lactic acid as the matrix, manufactured using compression moulding technique. Furthermore, two different types of composites were manufactured by changing the yarn laying directions, which are unidirectional and bidirectional. Flexural and impact strength of both types of composites have been tested by varying the weight percentage, the pretension of yarns and processing parameters: moulding temperature and moulding pressure. Finally, several weight percentages, pre-tensioning values, moulding temperatures and moulding pressure values have been suggested in order to manufacture a quality partitioning material.