Using the plastic wastes in fabrication of composite materials for different applications

Abstract

This study suggests using the recycled plastic waste to prepare the polymer matrix composite (PMCs) to use in different applications. Composite materials were prepared by mixing the polyester resin (UP) with plastic waste, two types of plastic waste were used in this work included polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) and Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with varies weight fractions (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 %) added as a filler in flakes form. Charpy impact test was performed on the prepared samples to calculate the values of impact strength (I.S). Flexural and hardness tests were carried out to calculate the values of flexural strength and hardness. Acoustic insulation and optical microscope tests were carried out. In general, it is found that UP/PVC composite exhibit the optimum values compared to UP/PET composite in all properties under test. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the prepared composites from the waste could be utilized as precast or partitions inside the buildings with improved mechanical properties

Keywords

• Plastic waste, polymer matrix composite (PMCs), polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC).