Concrete Hollow Block Production Using Fine Aggregates of Polyvinyl Chloride and Polystyrene

Abstract

Population concurrently grows with demand for food and infrastructure, which are associated with plastic waste mismanagement and concrete hollow block (CHB) consumption, respectively. However, there is a dearth in the utilization of plastic pellets using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) in CHBs. Hence, this study aimed to characterize PVC and PS pellets, and evaluate and compare their potentials when incorporated as fine aggregates in CHBs in terms of workability and compressive strength. The pellets were characterized and used as a substitute to sand resulting in four batches of CHB specimen with 0, 10, 20, and 30% by volume of each pellet. Results revealed that PVC absorbed more and sank in the water while PS absorbed less and floated in water. The workability of both experimental groups increased as the substitution of pellets was increased. The compressive strengths of the PVC group dropped linearly with increasing pellet substitution and less than the minimum acceptable value. The batch with 30% PS pellets resulted in the highest compressive strength of 3.66 MPa among the experimental groups and greater than the minimum acceptable value of 3.45 MPa. Results implied that the incorporation of PS pellets in CHBs can be a promising solution to the plastic waste mismanagement and demand for stronger CHBs.