Effect of NaOH Treated Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Plastic Bottle Strips on Stabilization of Soil

Abstract

Plastics such as polyethene bags, bottles, and so on are growing increasingly common as science progresses. The disposal of discarded material is a significant issue because most plastic wastes are non-biodegradable and unsuitable for combustion due to the emission of hazardous gases. By just using controlled compaction, soil stabilization enhances the engineering capabilities of weak sub-soils or the addition of stabilizing agents such as cement, lime, fly ash, bitumen, tar etc. But these additions have also been quite costly in recent years. This research report gives a thorough examination of the performance and effectiveness of waste plastic bottle strips in soil improvement. This waste plastic bottle is made of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The size of PET plastic strips used in this study is not more than 5 mm in length and 2 mm in width. These strips were treated with Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) to perform the proper dispersion of PET bottle fibres in soil. Although sodium hydroxide is a noncombustible solution, it is a highly reactive substance. It interacts with PET strips to exhibit changes in its properties. This work comprises replacement of soil by NaOH treated PET bottle strips in the varying percentage of 0.75%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 3% and 4% by dry weight of soil sample and to find out the optimum percentage mix of PET strips. The strength and geotechnical property of soil mixed with NaOH treated PET strips was evaluated and compared with the strength of soil and non-treated PET strips mix. The result shows the benefit of adding NaOH treated PET strips over non-treated strips by improving the maximum dry density (MDD), unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and California bearing ratio (CBR) value appreciably at an optimum mix of 1.5%. This soil stabilizing approach may be utilized efficiently to fulfil social and environmental problems. This exploratory inquiry would lead to the ecologically friendly management of this waste material.