Utilising poly(ethylene terephthalate) wastes in concrete reinforcement: A sustainable approach to waste management, building materials and conservation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Carbon neutrality and carbon footprints’ reduction are global development goals that are intrinsically linked to waste management and are both achievable by wastes’ valorisations. Herein, 0.5%–10% grated poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) wastes were incorporated in M25 concrete as a sustainable and environmentally benign method of managing and/or reducing the nuisance of plastic wastes. The concrete was prepared by the weight-batching method in a 1:1:2 ratio of cement, sand and gravel, respectively; with a proportionate replacement of these constituents by PET to yield PET–concrete composites, after water-curing for 7–35 days. The addition of PET reduced the workability of the concrete by 33%–83% but furnished composites with improved compressive (0.66–2.89 N/mm2; 2.6%–10.6%) and tensile (0.04–0.64 N/mm2; 3.1%–79%) strengths, respectively; peaking with 2% PET content. Durability tests revealed favourable properties of reduced water sorptivity (13.2% → 8.4%) and improved resistance to acid attack (7.4% → 4.9%) but added susceptibility to seawater penetrability (1.5% → 3.1%), as PET contents increased, compared to the control composite (13.4%; 9.5%; 1.3%), respectively. A preliminary life cycle assessment was positive and in concurrence with the notion that incorporating PET into concrete is a feasible and green way of mitigating plastic wastes.
Language: English
Subfield: Building and Construction
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4408063967