Abstract
This paper presents a recent study on recycling poly-ethylene-tetraphylate (PET), known as plastic waste material in Ghana, to wealth. Composites were produced by heating aggregates together with shredded PET plastic waste material, while bitumen was added to the plastic-coated aggregates. The composites produced were reinforced with 4.5 wt%, 9.0 wt%, 13.6 wt%, and 18.0 wt% PET. Mechanical properties of the fabricated composite samples were studied with a Universal testing machine for optimization. The work demonstrated that shredded PET plastic waste material acts as a strong binding agent for bitumen that can improve on the shelf life of the asphalt. From the results, 13.6 wt% concentration of PET was shown to experience the maximum compressive strength and flexural strength. Besides, water resistance was shown to increase with PET concentrations/weight fraction. From the data characterized 13.6 wt% of PET plastic gives the optimum plastic concentration that enhances the rheological properties of bitumen. The implications of the result are therefore discussed for the use of 13.6 wt% PET in road construction.
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Panashe, J.A., Danyuo, Y. Recycling of plastic waste materials: mechanical properties and implications for road construction. MRS Advances 5, 1305–1312 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2020.197
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2020.197