Study the effect of waste plastic bottle strips in improvement of soil quality: A case study in Raipur district
Abstract
With rapid advancements in technology globally, the use of plastics such as polyethylene bags, bottles etc. is also increasing. The disposal of thrown away wastes pose a serious challenge since most of the plastic wastes are non-bio degradable and unfit for incineration as they emit harmful gases. Soil stabilization improves the engineering properties of weak soils by controlled compaction or adding stabilizers like cement, lime etc. but these additives also have become expensive in recent years .In recent years, stabilizer such as lime, cement and fly ash have become prohibitively expensive for soil stabilization. In some circumstances, solid waste production, particularly garbage from plastic products, is increasing uncontrollably and continuously. Given the rapid increase in plastic waste and the rising expense of additives in recent years, the current study focuses on treating the soil with plastic waste as a soil stabilizer to enhance the soil's bearing capacity. This prospective study aimed to determine the index properties, review past research on the engineering properties and develop a hypothesis on the optimum proportion of plastic waste to be employed in the soil for engineering applications. This research paper examines the use of plastic waste from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle shreds as a stabilizer, which necessitates a review of previous research studies and several investigations following the British Standard (BS), many techniques are used to improve the Complexity of soil. This paper presents a detailed study on the behavior and use of waste plastic in soil improvement. Experimental investigation on reinforced plastic soil results showed that, plastic can be used as an effective stabilizer so as to encounter waste disposal problem as well as an economical solution for stabilizing weak soils. Plastic reinforced soil behaves like a fiber reinforced soil.
Full Text
Tables and figures are in the full-text PDF.
Introduction
Soil is a fundamental component in civil engineering andgeotechnical applications, serving as a base for most infrastructure projects. However, in many regions, the naturally occurring soil lacks sufficient strength and stability to support structural loads, requiring modification or stabilization. Traditional methods of soil stabilization often involve the use of cement, lime, or other chemical additives, which may have economic and environmental drawbacks. PET waste has become a major portion of plastic pollution (Kim et al., 2020) [11] , and is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyester. The bulk of the world's PET consumption is for synthetic polymers. PET is made up of a polymer matrix of ethylene terephthalate monomers with alternating (C10H8O4) units. PET bottles are commonly used for carbonated drinks. PET is very compact and can be semi-rigid or rigid. It is a strong gas and moisture blocker, and also a great deterrent to liquor and solvents. PET is steadily gaining market share as a garment fiber due to its reuse and recycling and the significant surplus of post-consumer waste in the form of bottles and cans. PET is produced from the polycondensation of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. PET can be processed using a common moulding method like injection moulding, blown moulding and extrusion. It is also suitable to be used to fabricate thin layer products like stretched film and thermo-forming, it was concluded that due to low specific gravity of plastic pieces there is decreases in MDD and OMC of the soil. The factors identified to have an influence on the efficiency of reinforcement material were the plastic properties (concentration, length, width of the strips) and the soil properties (gradation, particle size, shape). In recent years, the reuse of waste plastic in civil engineering has gained popularity due to its environmental and economic benefits. (Choudhary et al. 2010) [12] conducted experiments using plastic strips from waste polyethylene bags in sub-grade soil. They found that the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values increased significantly with 1.5% plastic content. (Khan and Sayyad 2014) [13] tested shredded plastic bottles mixed with black cotton soil and observed improved UCS and reduction in swelling potential. (Kumar and Saran, 2003) [14] noted that plastic strips enhanced the strength of sand, with the optimal results found at 1-2% strip content by weight. These studies confirm that plastic strips can serve as effective reinforcements, similar to conventional fibers, due to their tensile properties, lightweight nature, and non-degradable characteristics. The reuse of waste plastic in soil stabilization aligns with sustainable development goals. (Rokade et al. 2012) [15] highlighted the dual advantage of reducing plastic pollution and improving ground performance
Materials and Methods
Soil G Type: Locally available clayey soil (Yellow Black Alluvial Soil)
Collection Site: Excavated from IGKV Campus at a depth of 1-1.5 meters to avoid organic content and surface disturbances.
Plastic Strips
Source: Waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Collection site: We are collecting the plastic which is being used in any function in your locality, because these functions are the major source of plastic waste. We have collected these plastics bottles from a function which is organized in our college campus
Preparation
Bottles cleaned, labels removed, and cut manually into strips.
Dimensions: Constant width of 5 mm; varying lengths of 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm. Percentage by Weight of Soil: 0%, 2.0% and 4%.
Plastic Content Variations
The study examined different percentages of plastic strips: 0% (natural soil), 2% and 4% by weight of the soil. Sizes of plastic strips were tested: Uniform width of 5 mm and lengths of 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm, to determine the effect of strip dimensions on soil properties. 3. Cutting: Bottles were cut into strips with a uniform width of 5 mm and lengths of 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm using scissors or a cutting tool. 4. Weighing: Plastic strips were weighed 250gm and added to the soil in percentages of 0%, 2% and 4% by the dry weight of soil. From the above tables and graphs we find that As the percentage of plastic strips increases, the MDD decreases. The reduction in density is due to the lower specific gravity and higher void ratio introduced by plastic strips. The OMC increases because more water is needed to lubricate the plastic-soil mix during compaction
Plastic Content
Conclusion
This experimental study was conducted to evaluate the effect of incorporating waste plastic bottle strips into clayey soil (yellow black alluvial soil) to improve its geotechnical properties. A series of laboratory tests including Standard Proctor Compaction and were performed by varying the plastic strip content (0% to 4%) and lengths (
References
- Bureau of Indian Standards. Methods of test for soils: Determination of water content and dry density. IS 2720 (Part 7). New Delhi: BIS; 1980. p. 1-24.
- Bureau of Indian Standards. Methods of test for soils: Laboratory determination of California bearing ratio. IS 2720 (Part 16). New Delhi: BIS; 1987. p. 1-34.
- Choudhury D, Bhattacharya S. Use of waste plastics in soil improvement. J Environ Eng. 2019;145(3):1-10.
- Sharma A, Sahu AK. Plastic waste as reinforcement in soil stabilization: A review. Int J Geotech Eng. 2020;14(4):321-335.
- Mordecai MB, Lee DH. Effect of waste plastic on the strength properties of soil. Geotech Test J. 2018;41(5):987-998.
- Gupta S, Rani S. Sustainable soil reinforcement with recycled plastic materials: Experimental investigations and case studies. Constr Build Mater. 2021;275:122145-122158.
- Venkatesh R, Reddy KS. Reinforcement of clayey soil using waste plastic bottle strips. Geosynth Int. 2020;27(3):245-258.
- Sharma R, Sinha R. Geotechnical engineering: Principles and practices. 3rd ed. New Delhi: Pearson Education; 2017. p. 1-720.
- Kumar P, Singh R. Impact of plastic waste on soil properties: An experimental study. J Environ Sci Eng. 2018;60(2):145-156.
- Kim J, Lee S, Park J. Global trends and environmental impacts of PET plastic waste. Journal of Environmental Management. 2020;260:110-118.
- Choudhary AK, Jha JN, Gill KS. Utilization of plastic waste in improving the sub-grade in flexible pavement. Construction and Building Materials. 2010;24(5):767771.
- Khan TA, Sayyad MM. Improvement of black cotton soil by using waste plastic bottles. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications. 2014;4(4):157-162.
- Kumar R, Saran S. Reinforcement of sand with plastic waste strips. Journal of Geotechnical Engineering. 2003;129(2):155-159.
- Rokade S, Chavan V, Patil S. Use of waste plastic in soil stabilization. International Journal of Civil Engineering Research. 2012;3(2):121-128.
How this paper connects to the literature. Drag to explore, click any node to open that paper.