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This investigation presents a critical analysis of mouthguard production, focusing on the evaluation of conventional vs additive manufacturing methods, the materials involved, and aspects such as their failure and prevention. It also summarizes the current trends, perspectives, and the main limitations. It is shown that some of the shortcomings can be solved by implementing additive manufacturing technologies, which are systematically reviewed in this research. Due to the specific materials used to produce mouthguards, there are certain additive manufacturing technologies that dominate and a wide variety of raw materials. The costs vary depending on the technology.

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Binders formulated with activated alkali materials to replace Portland cement, which has high polluting potential due to CO2 emissions in its manufacture, have increasingly been developed. The objective of this study is to evaluate the main properties of activated alkali materials (AAM) produced by blast furnace slag, fly ash, and metakaolin. Initially, binders were characterized by their chemical, mineralogical and granulometric composition. Later, specimens were produced, with molarity variation between 4.00 and 5.50, using the binders involved in the research. In preparing the activating solution, sodium hydroxide and silicate were used. The evaluated properties of AAM were consistency, viscosity, water absorption, density, compressive strength (7 days of cure), calorimetry, mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction, and morphological analysis by scanning electron microscopy. The results of evaluation in the fresh state demonstrate that metakaolin has the lowest workability indices of the studied AAM. The results observed in the hardened state indicate that the metakaolin activation process is optimized with normal cure and molarity of 4.0 and 4.5 mol/L, obtaining compressive strength results after 7 days of curing of approximately 30 MPa. The fly ash activation process is the least intense among the evaluated binders. This can be seen from the absence of phases formed in the XRD in the compositions containing fly ash as binder. Unlike blast furnace slag and metakaolin, the formation of sodalite, faujasite or tobermorite is not observed. Finally, the blast furnace slag displays more intense reactivity during thermal curing, obtaining compressive strength results after 7 days of curing of around 25 MPa. This is because the material's reaction kinetics are low but can be increased in an alkaline environment, and by the effect of temperature. From these results, it is concluded that each precursor has its own activation mechanism, observed by the techniques used in this research. From the results obtained in this study, it is expected that the alkaline activation process of the types of binders evaluated herein will become a viable alternative for replacing Portland cement, thus contributing to cement technology and other cementitious materials.

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Additive manufacturing has garnered significant attention as a versatile method for fabricating green and complex composite materials. This study delves into the fabrication of polymer composites by employing polylactic acid (PLA) in conjunction with rice husk as a reinforcing filler. The filaments were made by an extruded filament maker and then were used to make tensile and impact samples by another extrusion technology, fused deposition modeling (FDM). The structural and morphological characteristics of the composite materials were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy SEM. Results show that both the filament and samples are very reliable in producing polymer parts with this rice husk solid waste. This research contributes to increasing materials' circularity and potentially creating a local social economy around rice production, where this waste is not much used.

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The demand for materials with improved properties and less negative impact on the environment is growing. Artificial stones are examples of these materials produced with up to 90% of particulate material joined by a binder. This article evaluates the physical and mechanical properties of two artificial stones produced with processing steel residue (blast furnace dust waste) and quartz powder. Two binders were used: pure epoxy resin, denoted as ASPB100, or a mixture of 70 wt% epoxy resin with 30 wt% cashew nut shell oil, denoted as ASPB7030. The process took place under vibration, compression (3 MPa/20 min and 90 °C) and vacuum (80 Pa). ASPB100 showed water absorption of 0.07%, while for ASPB7030, it was 0.54%. They were classified as having high mechanical strength associated with bending stress values equal to 32 and 25 MPa, respectively. Stain resistance indicated that both artificial stones had their stains removed with the tested cleaning agents. In this way, the novel artificial stones produced are sustainable alternatives for the application of blast furnace waste and cashew nut shell oil, reducing their negative impacts on the environment.

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The particleboard industry consumes large amounts of raw material, and this type of product consumption has been increasing over the last few years. The research for alternative raw materials becomes interesting, since most of the resources come from planted forests. In addition, the investigation of new raw materials must take into account environmentally correct solutions, such as the use of alternative natural fibers, use of agro-industrial residues, and resins of vegetable origin. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical properties of panels manufactured by hot pressing using eucalyptus sawdust, chamotte, and polyurethane resin based on castor oil as raw materials. Eight formulations were designed with variations of 0, 5, 10, and 15% of chamotte, and two variations of resin with 10% and 15% of volumetric fraction. Tests of gravimetric density, X-ray densitometry, moisture content, water absorption, thickness swelling, and scanning electron microscopy were carried out. Through the results it can be noticed that the incorporation of chamotte in the manufacture of the panels increased the water absorption and the swelling in thickness, around 100% and the use of 15% of resin decreased, more than 50%, the values of these properties. X-ray densitometry analyzes showed that the addition of chamotte alters the density profile of the panel. In addition, the panels manufactured with 15% resin were classified as P7, the most demanding type on EN 312:2010 standard.

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Engineering activities aim to satisfy the demands of society. Not only should the economic and technological aspects be considered, but also the socio-environmental impact. In this sense, the development of composites with the incorporation of waste has been highlighted, aiming not only for better and/or cheaper materials, but also optimizing the use of natural resources. To obtain better results using industrial agro waste, we need to treat this waste to incorporate engineered composites and obtain the optimal results for each application desired. The objective of this work is to compare the effect of processing coconut husk particulates on the mechanical and thermal behavior of epoxy matrix composites, since we will need a smooth composite in the near future to be applied by brushes and sprayers with a high quality surface finish. This processing was carried out in a ball mill for 24 h. The matrix was a Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA)/triethylenetetramine (TETA) epoxy system. The tests that were performed were resistance to impact and compression, as well as the linear expansion test. Through this work, it can be observed that the processing of coconut husk powder was beneficial, allowing not only positive improvements to the properties of the composite, but also a better workability and wettability of the particulates, which was attributed to the change in the average size and shape of particulates. That means that the composites with processed coconut husk powders have improved impact strength (46 up to 51%) and compressive strength (88 up to 334%), in comparison with unprocessed particles.

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The main objective of this work was to produce and characterize a novel ecofriendly castor oil-based polyurethane (COPU) matrix composite reinforced by Luffa cylindrica mats, luffa for short, to be used as panels, as an alternative to oriented strand board (OSB). To do so, the mechanical behavior was evaluated by tree point flexural, perpendicular o surface tensile, screw pullout, and impact tests that were carried on the novel composite along with the neat matrix. Furthermore, the physical characteristics, the thermomechanical behavior, and the functional groups of the materials were observed by water absorption and thickness swelling tests along with dilatometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). A comparison with commercialized OSB was also performed for control. The luffa/COPU composite was prepared by hand lay-up with 48 vol% of luffa mats incorporated as the maximum allowed by the mold under the available resources for manufacturing. The luffa fibers acted as a good reinforcement for the COPU matrix, where the flexural strength and modulus of elasticity were increased by more than 23 and 10 times, respectively, and the other mechanical properties more than doubled for the composites compared to the neat COPU resin. In general, the composite presented a lower performance compared to the commercial OSB, with the impact results being the exception. The water absorption and thickness swallowing results showed an already-expected behavior for the studied materials, where the better performance was found for the hydrophobic neat resin. The FTIR revealed that there was little interaction between luffa and COPU resin, which can be translated to a weak interface between these materials. However, the mechanical behavior, together with the other results presented by the luffa/COPU composite, confirm it is more than enough to be used as civil construction panels such as OSB.

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The growing need for natural resources for the production of inputs for construction, such as ceramic bricks, as well as the high rates of solid waste generation in the sector, makes construction an industrial segment with unfavorable environmental effects. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) emerges as a tool capable of assisting in the quantification and analysis of the impacts associated with construction materials, whether traditional or alternative. Thus, the goal of this paper is to assess the environmental impacts associated with the development of alternative building materials. To compare the conventional and the alternative bricks, both were evaluated according to the LCIA methods Ecoindicator 99, IMPACT 2002+, and ReCiPe 2016, in the midpoint and endpoint levels. The sensitivity analysis was carried out considering as an alternative input for the firing process, a mixture composed of wood and biomass originating from the Pennisetum purpureum. According to Ecoindicator 99 method, the categories respiratory organics, fossil fuels, and radiation stand out, which showed greater sensitivity in altering the input used in the firing process, reducing their impacts by 38.38%, 34.68%, and 31.81%, respectively, when comparing product III (ceramic brick incorporated with OSPW and submitted to the firing process with the mix of wood and Pennisetum purpureum) and product I (ceramic brick incorporated with OSPW and submitted to the traditional firing process). In addition, in the respiratory organics category, the IMPACT 2002+ method showed a reduction of approximately 43% of the impacts associated with product III, when compared to the product with the greatest impact in this category. In a global analysis of the results presented by the ReCiPe 2016 method, the product III had the lowest associated environmental impact when compared to the other evaluated systems.

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This review article proposes the identification and basic concepts of materials that might be used for the production of high-performance concrete (HPC) and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC). Although other reviews have addressed this topic, the present work differs by presenting relevant aspects on possible materials applied in the production of HPC and UHPC. The main innovation of this review article is to identify the perspectives for new materials that can be considered in the production of novel special concretes. After consulting different bibliographic databases, some information related to ordinary Portland cement (OPC), mineral additions, aggregates, and chemical additives used for the production of HPC and UHPC were highlighted. Relevant information on the application of synthetic and natural fibers is also highlighted in association with a cement matrix of HPC and UHPC, forming composites with properties superior to conventional concrete used in civil construction. The article also presents some relevant characteristics for the application of HPC and UHPC produced with alkali-activated cement, an alternative binder to OPC produced through the reaction between two essential components: precursors and activators. Some information about the main types of precursors, subdivided into materials rich in aluminosilicates and rich in calcium, were also highlighted. Finally, suggestions for future work related to the application of HPC and UHPC are highlighted, guiding future research on this topic.

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Geopolymer materials have been gaining ground in the civil construction sector not only for having superior physical properties when compared to conventional cement, but also for being less harmful to the environment, since the synthesis of the geopolymer does not release toxic gases or require high energy costs. On the other hand, geopolymer materials like cementitious matrices have low flexural strength and have fragile breakage. To overcome these deficiencies, the insertion of fibers in geopolymeric matrices has been evaluated as a solution. Although most research on this practice focuses on the use of synthetic fibers, the use of natural fibers has been growing and brings as an advantage the possibility of producing an even more ecological material, satisfying the need to create eco-friendly materials that exists today in society. Thus, this paper aimed to, through the evaluation of research available in the literature, understand the behavior of fibers in geopolymer matrices, identify similarities and differences between the performance of geopolymer composites reinforced with natural and synthetic fibers and, understanding that it is possible, point out ways to optimize the performance of these composites.

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The fresh and rheological properties of alkali mortars activated by blast furnace slag (BFS) were investigated. Consistency tests, squeeze flow, dropping ball, mass density in the hardened state, incorporated air, and water retention were performed. Mortars were produced with the ratio 1:2:0.45 (binder:sand:water), using not only ordinary Portland cement for control but also BFS, varying the sodium content of the activated alkali mortars from 2.5 to 15%. The results obtained permitted understanding that mortars containing 2.5 to 7.5% sodium present a rheological behavior similar to cementitious mortars by the Bingham model. In turn, the activated alkali mortars containing 10 to 15% sodium showed a very significant change in the properties of dynamic viscosity, which is associated with a change in the type of model, starting to behave similar to the Herschel-Bulkley model. Evaluating the properties of incorporated air and water retention, it appears that mortars containing 12.5% and 15% sodium do not have compatible properties, which is related to the occupation of sodium ions in the interstices of the material. Thus, it is concluded that the techniques used were consistent in the rheological characterization of activated alkali mortars.

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In this work, the study of the biomass application of a microphyte plant Slavinia auriculata Aublet in red ceramic was carried out. The waste comes from the phytoremediation process, used in sewage treatment plants. Characterization tests were carried out by chemical, mineralogical, dilatometry, thermal and mass spectrometry techniques, where it was possible to prove that biomass is compatible in its composition for application in ceramic materials and also has great potential to act as a source of energy. The production of specimens was carried out using an industrial clay mass and incorporating 0-10% of biomass in samples produced by pressing and burned at temperatures between 750 and 1050 °C. Properties of plasticity, firing shrinkage, apparent drying and firing density, water absorption, compressive strength and tensile strength in flexion were evaluated, where the feasibility of using up to 2.5% biomass in ceramics firing in 1050 °C s was proven. Although the results of water absorption at the firing temperature of 1050 °C have increased from 18.3% to 19.4% with the use of 2.5% of the residue, the results of tensile strength in flexion have reduced from 4.80 to 3.75 MPa and the results of compressive strength have reduced from 27.6 to 22 MPa, the values obtained meet international recommendations and are in accordance with the recommendations of the bibliography. Finally, an economic analysis of the application of biomass in ceramic materials was carried out, where it was observed that it was possible to save up to 5.04% with the use of the biomass under study, providing an annual savings of $ 2668.8 for the ceramic industry.

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