A Study on the Density of Agglomerates Prepared from Cork Wastes
A Study on the Density of Agglomerates Prepared from Cork Waste

The density of black regranulate (BR) of cork and of black agglomerate (BA) and composite agglomerate (CA) prepared from such a waste by different methods was investigated. The preparation of the agglomerates was undertaken by controlling the specimen thickness for BA and the particle size for BR and the binder dosage for CA. The mass changes produced in the oven-drying treatment at 376.15~K of the agglomerates and in their subsequent stabilization under ambient conditions were also analyzed. The density was determined by standard methods. For BR, the bulk density first decreased and then increased with decreasing particle size. It was much lower than the apparent density of the agglomeration products of cork. Although to a lesser extent, the density was also lower for BA than for CA. It was higher for the smaller thickness specimens of BA. In the case of CA, the density followed the same variation trends as for BR. Furthermore it increased significantly with the increase in resin dosage. This resulted in a noticeable increase in the weight loss during the oven-drying and in a significant decrease in the degree of moisture adsorption during the stabilization period of the agglomerate.