Manufacture of Sustainable Cork Stoppers for Spirits Through Compression Molding
摘要
Cork stoppers used to seal bottles of spirits are composed of a synthetic plastic crown and a cork dowel. This work explores different alternatives in the manufacturing of crowns for cork stoppers, seeking to minimize the impact of using petroleum-derived plastics in an industry with such high production figures. This study aims to develop alternatives to current market offerings, focusing on design, materials, and exploring manufacturing methods such as compression molding. The advantages of using epoxy resins as a matrix to incorporate other materials as reinforcement will be studied and demonstrated. Through experimentation, epoxy resin will be evaluated for producing agrocomposites, a blend of residual vegetable fibers such as: cork powder and sugar beet pulp engineered as closures for wine bottles. Additionally, the potential to incorporate materials once considered waste into the resin matrix will be evaluated. The manufacturing of a specialized mold has allowed the production of various samples and prototypes, modifying the resin-reinforcement ratios, aiming to optimize the use of the highest possible percentage of reinforcement while preserving the desired properties of the final product. Through compression molding, an agrocomposite mixture of up to 25% plant residue was achieved. The adhesion-tensile test has allowed to determine the good adhesion properties of the agrocomposite to cork, reaching values of applied force, 350.05 N, and shear strength, 28.46 MPa for SBP samples and 310.33 N and 40.39 MPa respectively, for the CoP samples. Values that confirm the success of the experiment compared to the commercial samples.