Coating mortars produced with recycled PET aggregates: A technical, environmental, and socioeconomic approach applied to Brazilian social housing

Abstract

Plastic is one of the most used materials worldwide, and its final destination constitutes an environmental liability. Clean technologies aiming to reuse plastic waste are imperative from a socioeconomic and environmental perspective. In this sense, this work assesses a technical, thermal, and socioeconomic performance analysis of coating mortars produced entirely with recycled polyethylene terephthalate aggregates (PET), applied to a social housing prototype. The coating mortars’ bulk density was reduced by 30 %, and the compressive strength was impaired between 45 % and 65 % due to hydrophobicity, morphology, and specific gravity of PET aggregates. The PET-containing mortar that exhibited the most suitable properties for masonry coating was characterized in terms of thermal properties and adopted for building the energy simulation. In the sensitive analysis conducted for all bioclimatic zones in Brazil, the PET-containing mortar reduced the energy demand for home air conditioning by up to 12 %, which equals up to 92 % of the Brazilian minimum wage over one year. The socioeconomic analysis indicated that it is viable to use PET-containing mortars for masonry coating, with payback times between 2.4 months and 5.6 years, for one of the cities analyzed. The technical and economic feasibility of using PET-containing mortars for social housing internal and external masonry coating was also explored. This research highlights the benefits of reusing plastic waste in civil construction. This approach can contribute to developing other economic sectors, mitigate the housing deficit, and enhance the dignity of vulnerable populations worldwide.