Development process of composite polymer tiles with an antimicrobial agent using plastic wastes as raw materials

Abstract

Plastic is a delinquent substance that affects all ecosystems. Unfortunately, plastic is being utilized more frequently than it was previously used. The bad dispatch is that they are thrown away in the wild once they have been used. Their buildup does not degrade, and it is harmful to the environment. An appropriate procedure for recovering plastic wastes and converting them into standardized material to produce composite tiles with their application can be a viable solution to this dangerous situation. The paper aims to find an effective means of disposing of plastic waste by designing and developing plastic tiles with the insertion of antimicrobial properties. At first, plastic waste was collected, cleaned, and shredded accordingly. Then the waste plastic is melted in a pyrolysis plant, mixed with sand, and poured into the prefabricated mold. As a walkway tile, the mold size was chosen as 12-inch length, 10-inch width, and 0.8-inch height. It has been found that 70 % sand and 30 % plastic exhibit better mechanical properties. For the insertion of antimicrobial properties into the tiles, ginger powder is added to the mixture of the composite tiles. An antibacterial study was performed against gram-positive S. aureus bacteria to evaluate their antimicrobial property. The analysis shows that the composite tiles could kill 40.58% gram-positive S. aureus in six hours.