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Recycling plastic wastes for production of sustainable and decorative plastic pavement bricks

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Abstract

Plastic pollution and high cement costs for pavement brick construction are two major issues in Ghana. This study proposes a dual solution to these problems by using plastic waste (PW) as a binder in constructing sustainable and decorative pavement bricks. Plastic pavement bricks were produced by melting and mixing waste polyethylene [low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE)] and polypropylene (PP) with quarry dust (QD). A range of PW/QD weight ratios (intervals of 10) were used to produce the plastic pavement bricks. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy identified the presence of PW and QD in the plastic pavement bricks. Plastic pavement bricks were also subjected to additional testing to determine their densities, compressive strengths, water absorption rates, and efflorescence. Increasing PW in the PW/QD ratio improved compressive strength and reduced water absorption, making the plastic pavement bricks less prone to efflorescence. The HDPE pavement brick with 40% HDPE and 60% QD had the lowest water absorption and highest compressive strength of 1.26% and 35.19 0.11 N/mm2. The densities of the plastic pavement bricks ranged from 1.16 to 1.84 g/cm3, depending on the type of plastic used. Finally, the Pearson correlation coefficient, r, revealed that the PW type and amount in the PW/QD ratio had a significant impact on the durability of the pavement bricks. This resulted in more sustainable and decorative pavement bricks while reducing plastic waste in the environment.

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Funding

The work was funded by the Directorate of Research Innovation and Consultancy of University of Ca pe Coast with research support grant identification number RSG/INDI/CANS/2020/10.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial Chemistry Section, Department of Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

    Samuel Kofi Tulashie, Atiiga Abdul-Wadud Ibrahim, Stephen Mensah, Sandra Atisey & Raphael Odai

  2. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France

    Daniel Dodoo

  3. Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Micro and Nanoengineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland

    Daniel Dodoo

  4. Department of Building Technology, Cape Coast Technical University, Cape Coast, Ghana

    David Mensah

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  1. Samuel Kofi Tulashie
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  2. Daniel Dodoo
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  3. Atiiga Abdul-Wadud Ibrahim
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  4. Stephen Mensah
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  5. Sandra Atisey
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Correspondence to Samuel Kofi Tulashie.

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Tulashie, S.K., Dodoo, D., Ibrahim, A.AW. et al. Recycling plastic wastes for production of sustainable and decorative plastic pavement bricks. Innov. Infrastruct. Solut. 7, 265 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-022-00866-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41062-022-00866-0

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