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Chemically treated plastic aggregates for eco-friendly cement mortars

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Abstract

The use of waste plastic as aggregate in cement composites can solve the problem of the disposal of waste plastics in a sustainable way, and it reduces the need for extracting traditional materials like sand and gravel, which causes erosion and environmental degradation. The reaction of plastics with certain oxidizing chemicals is believed to result in chemical or electrostatic bonding between the plastic surface and the cement matrix. The present study investigates the effect of pre-treating plastic aggregates (with sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite) on certain engineering properties of cement mortars. Five types of recycled plastics are used as partial sand replacements. Two replacement levels (5 and 15% by volume of sand) and two methods of chemical treatment are investigated. The results showed a decline in the properties of mortars made with chemically treated plastic aggregates: the addition of treated plastic aggregates makes the matrix porous, thereby degrading the mechanical properties. This behaviour intensifies with increasing plastic dosage. The polyoxymethylene (POM) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic mortars performed best, while the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) mortars achieved poor results. Water-rinsing the treated aggregates removed reactive species from the plastic surface, and neutralized the matrix alkalinity resulting in comparatively less porous structures.

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All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help provided by the Chief Technician and the technical staff in the Department of Civil Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, in particular, Mr. Mark Gilligan. The authors also thank the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala for their financial support. The authors wish to thank N. Skeffington, Wellman Int. Ltd. and G. McGovern, Polyfab Ltd.

Funding

This research received financial support from the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, 147001, Punjab, India

    Gurbir Kaur

  2. Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin-2, Ireland

    Sara Pavia

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  1. Gurbir Kaur
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Correspondence to Gurbir Kaur.

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Kaur, G., Pavia, S. Chemically treated plastic aggregates for eco-friendly cement mortars. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 23, 1531–1543 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-021-01235-2

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