Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable Concrete

Concrete use is enhanced daily due to infrastructure development, but it has adverse impacts on the environment. Modern lifestyles have led to the increased use of plastic, and, for households, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics are used. However, PET is non-biodegradable and causes adverse i...

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Main Authors: Lukman Abubakar, Nusrat Yeasmin, Arjak Bhattacharjee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Construction Materials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7108/4/4/40
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author Lukman Abubakar
Nusrat Yeasmin
Arjak Bhattacharjee
author_facet Lukman Abubakar
Nusrat Yeasmin
Arjak Bhattacharjee
author_sort Lukman Abubakar
collection DOAJ
description Concrete use is enhanced daily due to infrastructure development, but it has adverse impacts on the environment. Modern lifestyles have led to the increased use of plastic, and, for households, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics are used. However, PET is non-biodegradable and causes adverse impacts on the environment and marine health. So, there is a need to minimize the amount of plastic waste by finding an alternative use for the waste. Our study focuses on creating sustainable concrete by utilizing PET-based plastic waste as a partial substitution for aggregates, aiming to use this concrete for various low-load-bearing construction applications. From our phase analysis study, no adverse effects were found on cement phase formation. We also found that up to 10 wt.% PET incorporation leads to acceptable compressive strength reduction as per ASTM guidelines. To enhance adhesion, the PET was roughened, and, from FESEM, we found effective adhesion of PET waste into the cement matrix. We believe that this sustainable concrete will not only contribute to waste reduction but also promote eco-friendly construction material development.
format Article
id doaj-art-310b40efd6f6469e94a2ee517ef51d39
institution Kabale University
issn 2673-7108
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
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series Construction Materials
spelling doaj-art-310b40efd6f6469e94a2ee517ef51d392024-12-27T14:19:16ZengMDPI AGConstruction Materials2673-71082024-11-014473874710.3390/constrmater4040040Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable ConcreteLukman Abubakar0Nusrat Yeasmin1Arjak Bhattacharjee2Sustainable Manufacturing and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USASustainable Manufacturing and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USASustainable Manufacturing and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801, USAConcrete use is enhanced daily due to infrastructure development, but it has adverse impacts on the environment. Modern lifestyles have led to the increased use of plastic, and, for households, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics are used. However, PET is non-biodegradable and causes adverse impacts on the environment and marine health. So, there is a need to minimize the amount of plastic waste by finding an alternative use for the waste. Our study focuses on creating sustainable concrete by utilizing PET-based plastic waste as a partial substitution for aggregates, aiming to use this concrete for various low-load-bearing construction applications. From our phase analysis study, no adverse effects were found on cement phase formation. We also found that up to 10 wt.% PET incorporation leads to acceptable compressive strength reduction as per ASTM guidelines. To enhance adhesion, the PET was roughened, and, from FESEM, we found effective adhesion of PET waste into the cement matrix. We believe that this sustainable concrete will not only contribute to waste reduction but also promote eco-friendly construction material development.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7108/4/4/40sustainable concretewaste plasticcompressive strengthaggregate replacement
spellingShingle Lukman Abubakar
Nusrat Yeasmin
Arjak Bhattacharjee
Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable Concrete
Construction Materials
sustainable concrete
waste plastic
compressive strength
aggregate replacement
title Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable Concrete
title_full Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable Concrete
title_fullStr Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable Concrete
title_full_unstemmed Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable Concrete
title_short Waste Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as a Partial Replacement of Aggregates in Sustainable Concrete
title_sort waste polyethylene terephthalate pet as a partial replacement of aggregates in sustainable concrete
topic sustainable concrete
waste plastic
compressive strength
aggregate replacement
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7108/4/4/40
work_keys_str_mv AT lukmanabubakar wastepolyethyleneterephthalatepetasapartialreplacementofaggregatesinsustainableconcrete
AT nusratyeasmin wastepolyethyleneterephthalatepetasapartialreplacementofaggregatesinsustainableconcrete
AT arjakbhattacharjee wastepolyethyleneterephthalatepetasapartialreplacementofaggregatesinsustainableconcrete