Abstract
Construction materials are rapidly being used worldwide due to the recent growth in infrastructure and population. Consequently, the natural resources that supply many construction materials, such as natural coarse aggregates, are depleting. This study aims to investigate the use of post-consumer plastic waste with fly ash and bottom ash in the development of synthetic coarse aggregates as a sustainable alternative. Plastic aggregate cubes of various proportions of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and filler material (fly ash and bottom ash) were cast and tested for 28-day compressive strength. The sample with 40% PET and 60% filler material, of which 20% is fly ash and 80% is bottom ash, produced the highest compressive strength and was chosen as the ideal mix. For each grade of 15, 20, 25, and 30, two sets of concrete cubes were cast with 100% natural aggregates and 100% plastic aggregates. The use of plastic aggregates reduced the compressive strength of concrete. Therefore, with natural and plastic aggregates, two different mixes are required to achieve the same compressive strength. More cement is required with plastic aggregates. Concrete made with plastic aggregates also resulted in substantially lower density and production costs. Consequently, a considerable reduction in the material cost per footing of a sample building was obtained. According to the study, about 1–2 tonnes of gravel per a cubic meter of concrete can be eliminated from construction and reserved in nature altogether. It was apparent that the incorporation of synthetic coarse aggregates using post-consumer PET plastic waste along with fly ash and bottom ash is a sustainable and economically viable alternative to gravel in concrete.
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Data Availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We express sincere gratitude towards the technical officers of the following laboratories of the University of Moratuwa: Mr. H.T.R.M. Thanthirige of the Building Materials Laboratory, Mr. D.M.N.L. Dissanayaka of the Structural Testing Laboratory, Mr. E.K. Zoysa of the Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Mr. D.G.S. Vithanage of the Soil Mechanics Laboratory, and Mr. U.K. Padmaperuma of the Advance Bitumen Testing Laboratory. Furthermore, we would like to thank Mr. Dinusha Chandrasekara and his team at Green Earth Solutions, Horana, Sri Lanka, for providing us with the necessary resources and information on plastic waste and the costs associated with it.
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D.L.D.G. Peiris planned and conducted all the experiments. D.L.D.G. Peiris also analyzed data, carried out calculations, drew graphs and was the primary author of the manuscript. R.M.K.M. Rathnayake assisted with the writing and proofreading of the manuscript. G.K.P. John proofread the manuscript. Nirma Swaris hand drew Figs. 9 and 10. R.U. Halwatura provided fly ash and bottom ash, overlooked the project, and proofread the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Peiris, D.L.D.G., Rathnayake, R.M.K.M., John, G.K.P. et al. Utilization of Waste Plastic and Fly Ash/Bottom Ash as an Alternative to Natural Aggregates: Strength Properties. Mater Circ Econ 6, 2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42824-023-00094-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42824-023-00094-6