Obtaining of oil blocks as a way to manage hazardous asbestos

Our plain-English summary of Obtaining of oil blocks as a way to manage hazardous asbestos, by A. Staroń, M. Kijania-Kontak, A. Kozak, et al (Waste Management, 2020).

The study

• Authors: A. Staroń, M. Kijania-Kontak, A. Kozak, M. Banach
• Journal: Waste Management
• Published: 2020;105:180-189
• Cited by: 5 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

In the second half of the 20th century, asbestos extraction was up to 4 Mt/year. Due to its high strength and insulation properties, this mineral was used as an additive in building materials. Over time these materials were destroyed by the process of weathering and leaching. Asbestos fibers in dust form penetrate the respiratory system causing diseases. This article proposes the binding of hazardous asbestos fibers in a polymer matrix formed from waste cooking oil. Compact materials were produced by heating catalyzed waste cooking oil and asbestos waste, and the process of obtaining these materials was optimized and their physicochemical and strength properties were determined. Oil-asbestos blocks contained sulfuric acid in a mass ratio of 0.05-0.30, being the mass of waste cooking oil, invariable mass of filling and 20% of waste cooking oil to the mass of the whole mixture. The materials were characterized by a compact structure and high hardness. The best mechanical strength above 140 N/mm was obtained for blocks with low acid to oil mass ratio ranging from 0.05 to 0.1125.

Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

In plain English

This laboratory materials study did not involve people. The authors tested whether asbestos-cement roofing waste could be locked into blocks made from used cooking oil. They ground corrugated and flat eternit roofing sheets, which by their analysis contained chrysotile and crocidolite asbestos. They mixed this with sulfuric-acid-treated used rapeseed oil and, in most mixtures, sand, and heated it in molds for 8 to 24 hours. The methods state 160 to 220 degrees Celsius, but Table 1 lists one mixture at 240. Not all mixtures formed solid blocks, and only solid ones were tested. The strongest blocks, above 140 N/mm, had low acid-to-oil ratios (0.05 to 0.1125). For blocks made from flat sheets, strength fell as the acid ratio and the asbestos content rose. After 1000 hours of simulated weathering, selected blocks lost 70 to 93% of their strength. The authors concluded the blocks are safe for the environment because the fibers are permanently bound in the oil matrix, and could be used in road and construction work. They said long-term testing is still needed.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Laboratory materials experiment: making and testing blocks of acid-treated waste cooking oil, ground asbestos-cement waste and sand
• Who was studied: No human subjects. Materials tested were used rapeseed oil (after frying) and asbestos-cement waste from corrugated (EF) and flat (EP) eternit roofing tiles, combined in 26 mixtures listed in Table 1
• Exposure: Ground asbestos-cement roofing waste in which the authors identified chrysotile and crocidolite. Mixtures used a sulfuric acid to oil mass ratio of 0.05 to 0.3. The methods give curing at 160 to 220 degrees Celsius for 8 to 24 hours, but Table 1 also lists one mixture (sample 22) cured at 240 degrees Celsius.
• Main results:
  • Not all mixtures formed compact blocks; only compact ones were tested for water absorption and compressive strength
  • The best mechanical strength, above 140 N/mm, was in blocks with a low acid to oil mass ratio of 0.05 to 0.1125
  • Flat-sheet blocks EP3, EP4, EP6 and EP17 had high compressive strength and low elongation; corrugated-sheet blocks EF20 and EF26 had low strength and high elongation
  • After accelerated aging (1000 hours), strength of selected blocks fell by 70% for EP4, 89% for EP17 and 93% for EP3, compared with non-aged samples
  • For blocks with flat eternit waste, the most favorable (utility value of 1) settings were an acid to oil ratio of 0.05, 25% asbestos-cement waste, 220 degrees Celsius and 15 to 24 hours of curing. Strength fell as acid ratio and asbestos waste content rose.
  • For blocks with corrugated eternit waste, the maximum utility value reached was 0.72
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the blocks are safe for the environment because the asbestos fibers are permanently bound in the oil matrix, and that the blocks could be used in the road and construction industry
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors state that the materials still need testing for long-term changes in their physicochemical properties, which they intend to do

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Hardness (Mohs Scale).

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