Development of Abrasive Sandpaper Using Periwinkle Shell

The unsustainability of imported goods to the economy of Nigeria as well as the need for environmental waste management call for more investment in locally sourced raw materials and biodegradable recyclable wastes as raw material substitutes in producing tools for industrial and domestic use. This work seeks to address the recycling of agricultural wastes for producing tools used for abrasive machining processes. A comparative analysis of abrasive material made from two locally sourced materials, periwinkle and palm kernel shells were carried out to investigate their replacements for foreign imported abrasives used in emery cloth/sandpaper production. Composites of crushed shells with polyester resin bond were developed using mould compression and emery cloth/sandpaper were produced using hand-spray method. The conclusions of work and its contributions to knowledge should be especially useful to students of material science and engineering, manufacturing technology, professionals in composite and manufacturing technology field, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology Nigeria and new material developers.