Production of Recycled Plastic Aggregates and Its Utilization in Concrete
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 4
Abstract
Plastic represents an environmental issue, as only 7% of it is recycled. The plastic remaining is either burned, disposed of in an uncontrolled manner, or landfilled. Thus, to reduce the quantity of plastic that is disposed of, there is a need to increase the amount of the material that enters various product streams. This includes its use in the construction industry, and more particularly in concrete, which uses large quantities of aggregate. A novel aggregate (RPA) comprising recycled plastic was developed. The aggregate produced was lightweight, with a density ranging from 510 to and absorption of from 2.7 to 9.81%. Other properties were comparable to aggregates of similar densities. Various composition RPA was used in concrete, and the resulting properties of both fresh and cured concrete were measured. For a given water to cement (w/c) ratio, it was possible to achieve slump of between 40 and 220 mm and fresh density of between 1,827 and . Further, 28-day strengths of between 14 and 18 MPa were achieved. Flexural strength was also measured. SEM analysis was undertaken to view the structure of the aggregate and the interface between the RPA and the cement matrix.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to King Saud University (KSU) and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology for sponsoring and funding this research project and to the University of Birmingham for the academic and supervision assistance. Also, the authors would like to thank SABIC for supporting this research. The authors also extend their appreciations to the CoE-CRT Center of Excellence and the laboratory staff of KSU for their full assistance during laboratory work.
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©2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jan 10, 2016
Accepted: Jul 27, 2016
Published online: Oct 26, 2016
Discussion open until: Mar 26, 2017
Published in print: Apr 1, 2017
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