Thousands of plastic bottles are adding to huge mounds of plastic garbage. As PET bottles cannot be recomposed, they remain untreated adding to the existing heaps of garbage. Further, now there is a way to put these discarded bottles to a better use in the construction industry. A novel strategy for construction of low cost concrete structures by additive manufacturing of a cement based composite made from recycled PET bottles as replacement for sand.
As marine sand which is suitable for concrete construction too is becoming scarce and thus too expensive. Hence, there is need for an alternative building material. The material made from PET bottles reduced the quantity of sand used in concrete structures by nearly 13, thereby helping to save 10 to 15% in cost.
Using this new material made purely out of waste, we can create decorative elevation panels, partitions, facades, blocks and bricks. It can act as a replacement for metal sheets and is a sustainable alternative. This material is like a competitor of glass reinforced concrete which is currently in vogue. It is light weight, environment friendly, stronger and can be used for multipurpose. In construction industry, it makes sense to use a material which has long life cycle since the average life of a building is 35 years. The plastic in concrete material developed using PET bottles is projected to have a life span of 35 to 50 years.
Matter Referenced:
Project of Anuradha Suryavanshi, M. Sc. from M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara. Times of India, Ahmedabad, Friday, 21st May, 2019.
By: Dr. Bhawana Asnani.
Happy to see Reviews, Additions, Suggestions and Comments, further.
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