Utilisation of polyethylene terephalate (PET) waste plastics in stabilising soils for construction.

Abstract

This research focused on the potential utilization of PET wastes as a stabilizer to improve the compressive strength of clay soil. A series of laboratory compaction and CBR tests were carried out. Soil specimens were compacted at maximum dry density with different percentages of plastic waste 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% weight of clay soil). Results indicate that an increasing of PET waste content decreases the maximum dry density and the optimum moisture content (OMC). Soil became non-plastic when the addition of PET waste content was equal to or greater than 5% of weight of clay soil. An increasing of PET waste content increased the CBR values of clay soil This new technique of soil stabilization can be effectively used to meet the challenges of society, to reduce the quantities of waste, producing useful material from non-useful waste materials. Thus using plastic bottles as a soil stabilizer is an economical utilization since there is scarcity of good quality soil for construction. This project involved the detailed study on the possible use of waste plastic bottles for soil stabilization. The analysis was done by conducting Maximum Dry Density and California Bearing Ratio tests after mixing predetermined quantities of soil and plastic strips to attain the various results. The comparison of test results showed that 5.0% plastic strips mixed in the Clay (black cotton) were the most efficient in increasing strength of soil. The optimum percentage of plastic strips in soil was found out by California Bearing Ratio Test.