Study of Waste Plastic Mix Concrete with Plasticizer

The fresh and hardened properties of waste virgin plastic mix concrete have been studied (CUR Report 1991). A number of concrete mixes were prepared in which sand was partially replaced by waste plastic flakes in varying percentages by volume. Waste plastic mix concrete with and without superplasticizer was tested at room temperature. Forty-eight cube samples were moulded for compressive strength tests at three, seven, and twenty-eight days. Eight beams were also cast to study the flexural strength characteristic of waste plastic mix concrete. It was found that the reduction in workability and compressive strength, due to partially replacement of sand by waste plastic, is minimal and can be enhanced by addition of superplasticizer. 1. Introduction Disposal of plastic waste in environment is considered to be a big problem due to its very low biodegradability and presence in large quantities. In recent time significant research is underway to study the possibility of disposal of these wastes in mass concrete where strength of concrete may not be major criteria under consideration, such as heavy mass of concreting in PCC in pavements. If plastic wastes can be mixed in the concrete mass in some form, without significant effect on its other properties or slight compromise in strength, we can consume large quantities of plastic waste by mixing it in the concrete mass. Plastic is one component of municipal solid waste (MSW) which is becoming a major research issue for its possible use in concrete especially in self-compacting concrete and light weight concrete. Although some of these materials can be beneficially incorporated in concrete, both as part of the cementitious binder phase or as aggregates, it is important to realize that not all waste materials are suitable for such use. Concrete has proved to be an excellent disposal means for fly ash, silica fume, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), marble powder, and so forth which not only traps the hazardous material but also enhances the properties of concrete. Concrete, as a material, has significantly been benefited from the usage of fly ash, silica fumes, and GGBS. For a constant workability, the reduction in water demand of concrete due to fly ash is usually between 5 and 15% when compared with Portland cement only mix. The reduction is large at higher w/c ratio [1]. In recent years there has been an increased use of mixing the Portland cement and GGBS components directly in the concrete mixer. An advantage of this procedure is that the proportion of Portland cement and GGBS can be varied at