Mechanical and thermal properties of interlocking bricks utilizing wasted polyethylene terephthalate

Abstract

Plastic bottles are non-biodegradable material made up of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and takes around 450 years to get decomposed. In Malaysia, near 13.2% of plastics contribute to municipal solid waste, where 2.5% is PET. To reduce the waste, interlocking bricks manufacture by waste plastic bottles are used to replace the conventional bricks that use cement and clay. The purpose of this research is to reuse plastic bottles comprised of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyurethane binder, by manufacturing interlocking brick that helps to reduce the waste on landflls and the pollution. The plastic bottles were shredded and grinded to a size of 0.75 mm and mixed with the Polyurethane (PU) and the Polymer. The mixed later casted and compacted in the interlocking brick machine mould. The tests performed on the interlocking bricks were compressive strength, impact, fexural strength and thermal conductivity for obtaining the mechanical and thermal properties. The tests values were then keyed into the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to obtain the optimal PET and PU to verify reliability. Based on the results it is concluded that PET/PU of 60/40 ratio is suitable as non-load bearing masonry brick and recommended to be used as partition walls.