Assessment on the Effect of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Low-density Polyethylene Plastic Waste as an Additive in Bituminous Paving Mixes

Abstract

The continuous growth of the population also brings about an increase in traffic that traverse our roads. Due to this increase in the volume of traffic, pavements are subjected to more distress which can lead to its failure. Studies have been performed in order to address these issues on material properties. At present time, waste disposal has been a challenge for various industries. And of the wastes that are abundant in our surroundings, plastic is proving to be a major problem because it poses a major threat to the environment. As a possible solution to the growing problem of the disposal of plastic wastes as well as the constant pursuit to improve the properties of materials, recycling and incorporating plastic to construction materials has been explored in various studies. This study aims to assess the effects of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as an additive to Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) on the stability, flow and bulk specific gravity of the paving mix. A parametric study was conducted in order to investigate the effect of additive concentration (4%, 7% and 10% by weight of asphalt binder), particle size (2.36 mm, 4.57 mm, and 9.5 mm) and mixing temperature (145° C, 160 ° C, and 175 ° C) on the stability, flow and bulk specific gravity of Plastic Waste Bitumen Binder (PWBB). Results show that adding PET and LDPE as additive increases the stability by 36.82%, improves the flow by 22% and it also increases the bulk specific gravity by 2.36% compared to a traditional bituminous mixture.