Evaluation of the use of marble waste in polypropylene composite and wall tile

The use of marble waste as a secondary raw material in production helps to reduce environmental damage. In this study, samples of ceramic wall tiles (WT) (10 % calcite replacement) and samples of polypropylene (PP) composites washing machine drums (43 % calcite replacement) were prepared using marble waste powders (WMP). Measurements of water absorption (%), fracture strength (kg/cm²), firing strength (kg/cm²) and color properties (L, a, b) were performed on the WT samples. In addition, the physical and mechanical properties such as compression, tensile and flexural behavior were investigated on the specimens of polypropylene composites with calcite (PP-C) and polypropylene composites with WMP (PP-WM) composites. The use of WMP in the production of WTs reduces the water absorption capacity due to its hydrophobicity. However, no significant changes were observed in the fracture strength values for WMP-WT samples and STD-WT samples. When waste marble powder was used in PP drum composites, an increase in MFi of approximately 23 % was observed, although the mechanical properties of the composites decreased slightly. Regarding the use of WMP as a secondary raw material, the predicted results were in agreement with the experimental observations.