Category
Oral - Applied
Description
The goal of this research is to develop a novel method of repurposing waste plastic bottles as reinforcing fibers in asphalt pavements. This aims to enhance cracking resistance and extend the service life of asphalt roads in an eco-friendly manner. Over fifty billion plastic bottles of water were used in the US in a year and only less than one-third of those bottles were usually recycled. It takes up to a thousand years for each bottle to decompose. Some of the toxins in decomposing bottles of water can result in a variety of health issues through the groundwater. With these plastic bottles ending up in landfills each year due to low recycling rates, there is an urgent need for sustainable ways to reuse this plastic waste. Recent studies have explored incorporating plastics in asphalt, but current techniques require melting, posing environmental and health risks. Several previous studies reported that when plastic was melted and coated on the surface of the aggregate, the molten plastics showed very good adhesion properties. Several research have evaluated the impact of postconsumer recycled plastic on the performance properties of asphalt mixtures, being added as a binder modifier or as a coating to the aggregate. However, the main concern of this application using waste plastic in road paving is that heating plastic over its melting temperature can often release toxic fumes. This project will investigate the feasibility of waste plastic as reinforcing fibers through a dry process that does not require a melting process. Mechanically processed waste plastic fibers are expected to improve resistance to low-temperature cracking.
Recycling Plastic Wastes as Reinforcing Fibers in Asphalt Pavements
Oral - Applied
The goal of this research is to develop a novel method of repurposing waste plastic bottles as reinforcing fibers in asphalt pavements. This aims to enhance cracking resistance and extend the service life of asphalt roads in an eco-friendly manner. Over fifty billion plastic bottles of water were used in the US in a year and only less than one-third of those bottles were usually recycled. It takes up to a thousand years for each bottle to decompose. Some of the toxins in decomposing bottles of water can result in a variety of health issues through the groundwater. With these plastic bottles ending up in landfills each year due to low recycling rates, there is an urgent need for sustainable ways to reuse this plastic waste. Recent studies have explored incorporating plastics in asphalt, but current techniques require melting, posing environmental and health risks. Several previous studies reported that when plastic was melted and coated on the surface of the aggregate, the molten plastics showed very good adhesion properties. Several research have evaluated the impact of postconsumer recycled plastic on the performance properties of asphalt mixtures, being added as a binder modifier or as a coating to the aggregate. However, the main concern of this application using waste plastic in road paving is that heating plastic over its melting temperature can often release toxic fumes. This project will investigate the feasibility of waste plastic as reinforcing fibers through a dry process that does not require a melting process. Mechanically processed waste plastic fibers are expected to improve resistance to low-temperature cracking.
Comments
Doctorate