Plastic Brick: A Sustainable Building Solution

Tushar Pundir1, Prashant Raj2, Prince Singh3, Sumiran Burman4

Department of Civil Engineering Phonics Group of Institution
Abstract:
The increasing volume of plastic trash pollutes the environment and is an annoyance, particularly in
high mountain villages without a garbage collection system. The atmosphere and air are polluted as a
result of the enormous volumes of plastic that are burned or discarded in tourist areas. Therefore, it's
critical to put these leftover plastics to good use. Cleaning low-density polyethylene bags and adding
sand at particular ratios to generate high-strength bricks with thermal and acoustic insulation features
is one of the greatest strategies to reduce the buildup of plastic trash, which is an on-degradable
contaminant. Additionally, this lowers building costs and contributes to pollution management.
In contrast, this reduces the amount of sand or clay that must be removed from the priceless river beds
or mines. Since there is a natural abundance of plastic garbage, the cost component decreases. To get
the desired hues, coloring agents can also be added to the mixture. Therefore, an effort is made in this
thesis to research the characteristics of brick formed from plastic trash. The production and study of
bricks constructed from waste plastic (LDPE) and fine aggregates are the subjects of the current effort.
The manufactured have excellent crushing strength, extremely little water absorption, smooth surfaces
and fine edges, no fractures, and are lightweight. Scrap plastic is heated to a temperature between 120
and 150 degrees Celsius and then combined with sand to form the bricks.
Keywords: Brick, Compressive strength, Water absorption, Environment, Plastic Waste.

1 INTRODUCTION
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is used to package a range of items, is the most widely used
packaging material in the world. Making bottles and containers using it is another usage. However,
because it is so difficult to effectively dispose of them, they constitute a serious hazard to the
environment. They take an average of more than 10 decades to degrade, making them difficult to break
down. They therefore choke drains, channels, and waterways. They cause the landfills to fill up more
quickly since they take a long time to degrade. Animals and aquatic life are harmed by polythene bags
and packing sheets because they might choke if consumed. Bricks made from low-density polythene
may be recycled. Bricks are essential building materials and are needed in large quantities.
The usage of plastic will lower the brick's total cost since leftover polyethylene will be reused. Brick
earth excavation is expensive and might cause some environmental harm. Therefore, utilizing plastic to
create bricks is not only affordable and environmentally beneficial, but also results in smooth-finish,
crack-free, low-water-absorption bricks that won't have future issues with efflorescence.
1.2 INDIA'S CURRENT WASTE GENERATION SCENARIO
As a consequence of technical advancements and population growth, our urbanization has risen, which
has led to an increase in the number and diversity of solid wastes produced by industrial, agricultural,
mining, and residential operations. Municipal solid waste (MSW) made up a total of 1.6 billion tons of
the projected 12 billion tons of garbage generated globally in 2002, of which 11 billion tons were
industrial wastes. By the year 2020, an estimated 19 billion tons of solid trash are anticipated to be
produced yearly. Asia produces 4.4 billion tons of solid waste annually, of which 795 million tons
(MSW)—or about 48 (6%) MT—are produced in India. In India, the production of MSW is predicted
to exceed 300 million tons, requiring 169.6 km2 of land for disposal, compared to the 20.2 km2 used in
1997 for the management of 48 million tons. According to research, organic wastes from agricultural
sources alone generate more than 350 million tons annually, excluding urban trash. However, it is
estimated that only from agricultural sources, India has produced over 600 million tons of garbage.
Sugarcane trash, paddy and wheat straw and husk, waste from food preparation, waste from tea and oil
manufacturing, waste from wooden mills, coconut husk, jute fiver, groundnut shell, cotton stalk, etc.
are among the types of waste produced by agricultural sources. In the industrial sector, organic solid
waste may include coal combustion byproducts, bauxite red mud, and tailings from the main extraction
procedures for aluminum, iron, copper, and zinc. An estimated 290 million Tons of inorganic industrial
waste are produced in India each year. Every year, 4.5 million tons of hazardous waste are produced in
India by various industrial processes such as electroplating, different metal extraction methods,
galvanizing, refineries, petrochemical industries, pharmaceutical, and pesticide sectors.

METHODOLOGY
1. Collection of Materials
2. Batched
3. Melted
4. Mixed
5. Molding
6. Cured
1. Collection of plastic material
Plastic garbage from factories, hospitals, and other businesses should be collected, and food packaging
and plastic bottles fall under the category of LDPE plastic.
2. Batches of plastic
Batching is the term for the measuring of brick-making materials. After the materials are gathered, we
sort the different types of plastic, take out any additional debris that was included, and verify the samples
to see whether there is any water present before burning them.
3. Burning of waste plastic
Once the batching process was complete, the plastic waste was gathered for burning, and the plastic
bags were inserted one at a time and allowed to melt. These would take place in a closed tank to prevent
the release of dangerous gases into the atmosphere. They will be between 120 and 150 degrees Celsius
to prevent harmful gases from escaping into the atmosphere.
4. Mixed
Materials must be mixed properly in order to produce bricks that are both consistent and strong. The
mass must be homogenous and consistent in both color and consistency after the mixing. Hand mixing
and mechanical mixing are the two main forms of mixing. In this project, hand mixing was used. until
all of the plastic content needed to make one mixed proportion of plastic brick has been included. Before
they solidify, these plastic liquids are properly blended using a trowel. The combination has very little
setting time; bags are heated until they are molten, and river sand is then added. Sand is added, and then
blended. Therefore, the mixing procedure shouldn't take too long.
5. Molding
After properly combining the ingredients, we pour the mixture into the necessary mold. These designs
make use of standard brick dimensions (19x9x9 cm). Remove the brick from the mold when two days
are up so that curing may begin.
6. Curing
After molding, the test specimens were given a 24-hour period of time to dry. The samples were
maintained in a curing tank for 28 days so they could be cured.

EVALUATION OF SPECIMEN
1. Compressive Strength Test:
This test is performed to determine the brick's compressive strength. It is also known as brick's crushing
strength. Three brick samples are typically brought to a laboratory for testing and examined one by one.
In this test, a brick specimen is placed on a compressive strength testing machine and subjected to steady
pressure until it breaks. Consideration is given to the maximum pressure at which a brick is crushed.
Each of the three brick specimens is tested individually, and the average result is used to determine the
compressive/crushing strength of the bricks. The formula used to determine the brick's compressive
strength is (maximum load sustained before failure/area of the brick surface) N/mm2.
2. Water Absorption Test:
In this, the bricks are weighed initially in a dry state before being submerged in water for 24 hours. After
that, they are removed from the water and cleaned with a cloth. After that, the percentage difference
between the dry and wet bricks is computed. The weight of the three plastic bricks has been measured,
and the average brick weight has been computed.

RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS

WATER ABSORPTION
This test is run to find out how much water the brick can hold before becoming saturated. According to
IS:3495-Part 2-1992, upon immersion in Water absorption must not exceed 20% for classes up to 12.5
and 15% of weight for higher classes during a 24-hour period in cold water. Five bricks and all the loose
particles were first removed. The bricks should be dried in a ventilated oven until the brick reaches
basically consistent weights, at a temperature of 110°C. The bricks were first cooled to room
temperature, and each sample was weighed at W1. The bricks were then submerged in clean water at a
temperature of 25 °C to 29 °C for 24 hours, and the specimen was taken out after that time. Clean our
water with a moist towel and weigh each sample using the W2 scale. The following formula was used
to determine the amount of water that was absorbed by each brick. Water Absorption equals [(W2-
W1)/W1)] x 100 where W2 is the weight of the brick after it has been submerged in water. The weight
of a dry brick is W1. When the specimen's water absorption was measured, it came back at an extremely
low 1.5%.
COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH
Bricks must meet a minimum compressive strength requirement in order to be utilized in construction
projects. The table below shows the specimens' compressive strengths as obtained using a compression
testing machine along with the associated data
Compressive Strength of Plastic Brick
(MPa)
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Avg Strength (MPa)

5.5 4.5 4.5 5

The specimen exhibited an average compressive strength of 5Mpa when it was tested for compressive
strength.
BALANCE OF SAMPLE
The average weight is determined after weighing the three dry samples.
Weight of Plastic Brick (gm.)

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Avg Weight (gm.)

2250 2195 2155 2200

The specimen weighed 2200 g on average.

CONCLUSION
The following conclusions may be drawn from the results:
1. Plastic bricks can be a very good substitute for conventional clay bricks.
2. Plastic bricks are acceptable for external and partition walls, but not for load-bearing walls.
3. Plastic bricks are a more affordable option since they cost less to produce per unit than
conventional clay bricks.
4. Plastic bricks may be utilized in underwater buildings since they are water resistant.
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