Water Content Control to Improve Space Charge Storage in a Cork Derivative

The influence of humidity content on the electrical and dielectric properties of a composite made from recycled TetraPak® containers and granulated cork was studied. The material components have been dried before preparation and after the composite was conditioned by keeping the samples in a dry environment (desiccator) or in an oven at high temperature (70°C in air). The differences observed in electrical properties (investigated by isothermal charge and discharge current measurement) and dielectric properties (measured using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy) show that the thermal treatment at high temperature is more efficient on removing water and slows down the re-absorption rate.