Utilization of molasses as a renewable resource: development of hybrid acrylic latexes for sustainable building materials

Abstract Studies on the effective use of plant-based waste products in the field of industrial production—as in every discipline—have recently been accelerated by rising environmental contamination and issues with synthetic raw materials. Based on this, in this study, we aimed to investigate the potential role that molasses (MLS), a by-product of the sugar industry, can play in the creation of composite materials. In this context, MLS was incorporated into acrylic latexes at various rates via emulsion polymerization in the presence of butyl acrylate (BA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), acrylic acid (AA), and 2,3-epoxypropyl methacrylate (GMA). The structures of the synthesized hybrid latexes were elucidated by FTIR analysis. Particle sizes of hybrid latexes were determined by DLS analysis, and the thermal properties of hybrid latexes were determined by DSC and TGA analysis. Mechanical properties were determined by a tensile test. The results showed that MLS was successfully incorporated into the polymer structure by emulsion polymerization and that MLS imparted thermoplastic properties to acrylic latexes. The synthesized hybrid latexes were evaluated for use in the production of pumice bricks, based on the mechanical properties of the prepared bricks. From the tensile strength results of the prepared briquettes examined at 100, 125, and 150 °C, it was concluded that all emulsions exhibited better strength at 150 °C [15 MPa, 8 MPa, 6 MPa, and 5 MPa for 0 (pristine), 5%, 10%, and 15% molasses incorporated latexes, respectively] and all briquettes were better than commercial pumice briquettes. It was determined that these latexes could be utilized in the construction of building materials. Graphical abstract