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Thermal degradation of polyvinyl chloride in the presence of lead oxide: A kinetic and mechanistic investigation (2024)
Journal Article

The elimination of toxic heavy metals from metallurgical wastes before its recycling to steel furnaces is essential. Lead oxide (PbO) is a major toxic heavy metal present in electric arc furnace dust (EAFD). The co-recycling of EAFD with Polyvinyl ch... Read More about Thermal degradation of polyvinyl chloride in the presence of lead oxide: A kinetic and mechanistic investigation.

Solving the microwave heating uniformity conundrum for scalable high-temperature processes via a toroidal fluidised-bed reactor (2024)
Journal Article

Challenges exist to implementing high-temperature microwave processes with changing dielectric properties that achieve uniform processing. This paper presents a new high-temperature hybrid microwave processing system which overcomes these challenges... Read More about Solving the microwave heating uniformity conundrum for scalable high-temperature processes via a toroidal fluidised-bed reactor.

A thermo-kinetic investigation on the thermal degradation of polyvinyl chloride in the presence of magnetite and hematite (2022)
Journal Article

Electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) which is accumulated in large amounts world-wide contains hematite (Fe2O3) and significant quantities of magnetite (Fe3O4). Waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) also poses a great environmental threat aside to accumulated E... Read More about A thermo-kinetic investigation on the thermal degradation of polyvinyl chloride in the presence of magnetite and hematite.

Thermodynamic, pyrolytic, and kinetic investigation on the thermal decomposition of polyvinyl chloride in the presence of franklinite (2022)
Journal Article

Thermal co-treatment of Electric Arc Furnace Dust (EAFD) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) may provide a viable route for reprocessing these hazardous materials within the circular economy. To develop and optimise a commercial treatment process, the compl... Read More about Thermodynamic, pyrolytic, and kinetic investigation on the thermal decomposition of polyvinyl chloride in the presence of franklinite.

Microwave selective heating of electric arc furnace dust constituents toward sustainable recycling: Contribution of electric and magnetic fields (2021)
Journal Article

Microwave heating of waste electric arc furnace dust (EAFD) for the purpose of its remediation has been studied extensively. However, these studies considered EAFD as a bulk material without addressing either the relative response of its individual c... Read More about Microwave selective heating of electric arc furnace dust constituents toward sustainable recycling: Contribution of electric and magnetic fields.

Production of high purity silica by microfluidic-inclusion fracture using microwave pre-treatment (2018)
Journal Article
Buttress, A., Rodriguez, J., Ure, A., Ferrari, R., Dodds, C., & Kingman, S. (2019). Production of high purity silica by microfluidic-inclusion fracture using microwave pre-treatment. Minerals Engineering, 131, 407-419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2018.11.025

© 2018 Demand for high purity silica used in component manufacture is set to outstrip current supply in the near future. As such, alternative processing routes to feed-stock materials suitable for use in lighting and solar cell fabrication are requir... Read More about Production of high purity silica by microfluidic-inclusion fracture using microwave pre-treatment.

Microwave assisted hydro-distillation of essential oils from fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) (2017)
Journal Article
Racoti, A., Buttress, A., Binner, E., Dodds, C., Trifan, A., & Calinescu, I. (2017). Microwave assisted hydro-distillation of essential oils from fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale Roscoe). Journal of Essential Oil Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/10412905.2017.1360216

A solvent free in situ microwave hydro-distillation method for extraction of essential oil from fresh ginger root it presented. Extraction was conducted in a TE10n single-mode microwave cavity and variable power 2 kW generator operating at 2.45GHz. T... Read More about Microwave assisted hydro-distillation of essential oils from fresh ginger root (Zingiber officinale Roscoe).

Towards large scale microwave treatment of ores: Part 2 - Metallurgical testing (2017)
Journal Article
Batchelor, A., Buttress, A., Jones, D., Katrib, J., Way, D., Chenje, T., …Kingman, S. (2017). Towards large scale microwave treatment of ores: Part 2 - Metallurgical testing. Minerals Engineering, 111, 5-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2017.05.003

© 2017 A pilot scale microwave treatment system capable of treating 10–150t/h of material at 10–200kW was designed, constructed and commissioned in order to understand the engineering challenges of microwave-induced fracture of ores at scale and gene... Read More about Towards large scale microwave treatment of ores: Part 2 - Metallurgical testing.

Towards large scale microwave treatment of ores: Part 1 – Basis of design, construction and commissioning (2017)
Journal Article
Buttress, A., Katrib, J., Batchelor, A., Jones, D., Craig, D., Royal, T., …Kingman, S. (2017). Towards large scale microwave treatment of ores: Part 1 – Basis of design, construction and commissioning. Minerals Engineering, 109, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2017.03.006

Despite over thirty years of work, microwave pre-treatment processes for beneficiation of ores have not progressed much further than laboratory testing. In this paper we present a scaleable pilot-scale system for the microwave treatment of ores capab... Read More about Towards large scale microwave treatment of ores: Part 1 – Basis of design, construction and commissioning.

Development and evaluation of a continuous microwave processing system for hydrocarbon removal from solids (2015)
Journal Article
Buttress, A., Binner, E., Yi, C., Palade, P., Robinson, J., & Kingman, S. (2016). Development and evaluation of a continuous microwave processing system for hydrocarbon removal from solids. Chemical Engineering Journal, 283, 215-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2015.07.030

A continuous conveyor-belt processing concept using microwave heating was developed and evaluated. Four hydrocarbon-contaminated soils were used as model feedstocks, and the degree of organic removal was assessed against the power and energy input t... Read More about Development and evaluation of a continuous microwave processing system for hydrocarbon removal from solids.

Understanding the scabbling of concrete using microwave energy (2015)
Journal Article
Buttress, A., Jones, D., Dodds, C., Dimitrakis, G., Dawson, A., & Kingman, S. (in press). Understanding the scabbling of concrete using microwave energy. Cement and Concrete Research, 75, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2015.04.009

This paper reports on the use of microwave energy to scabble concrete. While the technique is not new, little information exists relating to the controllability of the process, the effect of different types of concrete and the performance and durabil... Read More about Understanding the scabbling of concrete using microwave energy.

Microwave processing of cement and concrete materials - towards an industrial reality? (2015)
Journal Article
Buttress, A., Jones, D., & Kingman, S. (2015). Microwave processing of cement and concrete materials - towards an industrial reality?. Cement and Concrete Research, 68, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2014.11.002

Each year a substantial body of literature is published on the use of microwaves to process cement and concrete materials. Yet to date, very few if any have lead the realisation of a commercial scale industrial system and is the context under which t... Read More about Microwave processing of cement and concrete materials - towards an industrial reality?.

Accelerated swell testing of artificial sulfate bearing lime stabilised cohesive soils (2014)
Journal Article
Buttress, A. J., Grenfell, J., & Airey, G. (2015). Accelerated swell testing of artificial sulfate bearing lime stabilised cohesive soils. Materials and Structures, 48(11), 3635-3655. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-014-0428-y

This paper reports on the physico-chemical response of two lime stabilised sulfate bearing artificial soils subject to the European Accelerated Volumetric Swell Test (EN13286-49). At various intervals during the test, a specimen was removed and subje... Read More about Accelerated swell testing of artificial sulfate bearing lime stabilised cohesive soils.

The role of ettringite in the deterioration of artificial lime stabilised soils: a microstructural study (2013)
Journal Article
Buttress, A., Grenfell, J., & Airey, G. (2013). The role of ettringite in the deterioration of artificial lime stabilised soils: a microstructural study. Road Materials and Pavement Design, 14(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2013.779306

The formation of ettringite has been defined as a major failure mechanism of lime stabilised cohesive soils. It can result in both disruptive volumetric changes and loss of mechanical strength. The mechanisms of its formation and the role it plays in... Read More about The role of ettringite in the deterioration of artificial lime stabilised soils: a microstructural study.