DEVELOPMENT AND PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF SUSTAINABLE EPOXY COMPOSITES FROM TAILOR'S WASTE USING LAYERING AND EMBEDDING TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Growing concerns regarding municipal solid waste management and material sustainability have intensified the need to transition toward circular economic models within developing nations. Post-production tailor’s workshop waste comprising heterogeneous fractions of fabric off cuts, multi-ply threads, and polymeric or metallic hardware represents a significant regional pollution vector that is routinely discarded into landfills or openly incinerated. This study investigates the structural and optical optimization of sustainable diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy composites utilizing systematic layering and volumetric embedding architecture. Using a controlled experimental matrix, composite panels were fabricated by pairing a low-viscosity epoxy matrix with unrefined tailoring waste using accessible workshop techniques, including localized thermal degassing and automated dual-stage curing. The resulting composites were quantitatively evaluated based on volumetric epoxy displacement, optical transmittance attenuation profiles, and post-cure processability under mechanical tool stress. The empirical findings revealed that structural layout directly governs the material's properties. The layered configuration (Group A) functions as an effective anisotropic light barrier, inducing a 35% to 50% reduction in light transmission, making it ideal for opaque architectural panels. Conversely, the multi-depth embedding technique (Group B) produces an advanced three-dimensional visual effect characterized by distinct angle-dependent color shifts between 5⁰ and 50⁰. Critically, the incorporation of tailoring waste successfully achieved a volumetric resin displacement of 18% to 22%, yielding direct cost savings of up to #13,200 per square meter panel based on current Nigerian market values. Mechanical processing tests confirmed zero interfacial delamination or micro-cracking across all groups during cutting, drilling, and sanding. A predictive sustainability model shows that a modest network of ten local artisanal workshops could collectively divert 2.64 metric tonnes of stable tailoring waste from regional landfills annually. This study concludes that the creative upcycling of unrefined tailoring waste offers a scalable, economically profitable, and structurally viable material alternative for interior architecture and small-scale creative industries within low-resource environments.