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Chemical engineering Thesis and Dissertations
2018
Production, Characterization and
Feasibility Study of Road Tile from
Waste Plastic and Aggregate
Ale, Mulugeta
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/11114
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BAHIR DAR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
BAHIR DAR UNIVERSITY
FACULITY OF CHEMICAL AND FOOD ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Project On: Production, Characterization and Feasibility Study of Road Tile
from Waste Plastic and Aggregate
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor science in
chemical engineering
BSc Thesis Submitted by:
1. Mulugeta Ale ……….. 0601291
2. Kidane Mihret ………. 0601039
3. Nahom Melaku ……… 0601320
Advisor
Mr. Kefale Wagaw (MSc)
Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
June 15/2010 E.C.
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Declaration
We declare, hereby this project entitled on production, characterization and feasibility study of
road tiles from waste plastic and aggregate is our original work and performed by our effort with
the willing of God.
Name of students
Mulugeta Ale
Signature ---------------------
Kidane Mehret
Signature ----------------------
Nahom Melaku
Signature -----------------------
Approval of advisor
Mr. Kefale Wagaw
Signature ----------------------
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Acknowledgement
First and foremost we would like to acknowledge the Almighty God for giving the strength to
accomplish this work. None of the activity is done without the will of God.
Secondly we would like to express our deepest gratitude from the bottom of our heart to Instructor
Kefale Wagaw for his endless supporting and guidance during performing our work. We would
also like to thank Bahir Dar institute of technology for offering a free environment to perform or
task. In addition we would like to thank Ashraf agricultural and industrial PLC for giving us raw
material of waste plastics generously.
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Abstract
Plastic is one of the daily increasing useful as well as a hazardous material. At the time of need plastic is
found to be very useful, but after its use, it’s simply thrown away, creating many kind of hazards. This
paper presents the use of plastic waste as a binding material instead of cement in the manufacturing of road
tiles and changing of the waste plastic in to something beautiful and useful. The raw materials used in this
project are PE (polyethylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and aggregate. Waste plastic disposed to
the environment is highly composed of PET and PE. In this study the optimum proportions of plastics PE,
PET and aggregate ratio which gives optimal quality of the final tile is analyzed and also this optimization
considers the cost of raw materials. The process starts with collecting, sorting, chopping and crashing of
waste plastics. Then the plastic is melted in a metallic container, aggregate is then added gradually up on
vigorous mixing into the melting plastic. It has been found that a proportion of 80% of aggregate and 20%
of plastic (5% of PE and 15% of PET) resulting an optimal quality and cost effective product with
compressional strength of 11.14 MPa. This product has also water absorption of 1.17% of its total weight,
density of 1900 Kg/m3 and roughly efflorescent test of less than 10% of its original surface color.
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Table of Contents Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................................ ii
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ iii
CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Statement of problem .......................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Objective ............................................................................................................................................. 4
1.2.1 General objective ......................................................................................................................... 4
1.2.2 Specific objective ......................................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................................... 5
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................................... 8
MATERIAL AND METHOD ...................................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Material and Chemical ........................................................................................................................ 8
3.2 Method ................................................................................................................................................ 8
3.2.1 Method of tile production ............................................................................................................ 8
3.2.2 Product Characterization methods ............................................................................................. 13
3.2.3 Feasibility study Methods .......................................................................................................... 16
CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................................... 21
RESULT AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 21
4.1 Compressional strength ..................................................................................................................... 21
4.2 Percentage water absorption ............................................................................................................. 24
4.3 Density and Efflorescence test .......................................................................................................... 26
4.4 Financial feasibility result ................................................................................................................. 27
4.4.1 Man power requirement ............................................................................................................. 27
4.4.2 Purchased equipment cost .......................................................................................................... 27
4.4.3 Fixed capital investment (FCI) .................................................................................................. 28
4.4.4 Total capital investment (TCI) ................................................................................................... 29
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .......................................................................................... 31
5.1 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 31
5.2 Recommendation .............................................................................................................................. 33
REFERENCE .............................................................................................................................................. 34
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List of Figures
Fig 3.1 a) Waste PE plastic ........................................................................................................................... 8
Fig 3.1 b) Waste PET plastic ........................................................................................................................ 8
Fig 3.2 a) Red ash ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Fig 3.2 b) Natural river sand ......................................................................................................................... 9
Fig 3.2 c) Coarse aggregate .......................................................................................................................... 9
Fig 3.3 Waste plastic melting tank. ............................................................................................................. 10
Fig 3.4 Mixture preparation through melting. ............................................................................................ 12
Fig 3.5 Product............................................................................................................................................ 12
Fig 3.6 Compressional strength taste .......................................................................................................... 14
Fig 3.7 Water absorption taste of the sample .............................................................................................. 15
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List of Tables
Table 4.1 Result of compressional strength ............................................................................................... 22
Table 4.2 Result of percentage water absorption. ...................................................................................... 25
Table 4.3 Man power requirement ............................................................................................................. 27
Table 4.4 Purchased equipment cost .......................................................................................................... 27
Table 4.7 Fixed capital investment............................................................................................................. 28
Table 4.8 Fixed charges ............................................................................................................................. 29
Table 4.9 Direct production cost ................................................................................................................ 29
Table 4.10 General expense ....................................................................................................................... 30
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Plastics are durable and degrade very slowly; the chemical bonds that make plastic so durable make it
equally resistant to natural processes of degradation. Plastics can be divided in to two major categories:
thermoses and thermoplastics. A thermoset solidifies or “sets” irreversibly when heated. They are useful
for their durability and strength, and are therefore used primarily in automobiles and construction
applications. These plastics are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene, polyamide, polyoxymethylene,
polytetrafluorethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A thermoplastic softens when exposed to
heat and returns to original condition at room temperature. Thermoplastics can easily be shaped and molded
into products such as milk jugs, floor coverings, credit cards, and carpet fibers. These plastic types are
known as phenolic, melamine, unsaturated polyester, epoxy resin, silicone, and polyurethane.
Plastic waste is silent threat to the environment and their disposal is a serious issue for waste managers.
Now a day society does not have any alternative to plastic products like plastic bags, plastic bottles, and
plastic sheets etc. In spite of all efforts made to limit its use, unfortunately its utility is increasing day by
day. To circumvent this issue many efforts were made in the past to reuse the plastic waste but no significant
results were achieved. On contrary concrete being the widely used construction material is facing problem
due to unavailability of construction material (Cement, sand and coarse aggregate). Various attempts were
made through experimentation to check the feasibility of plastic waste to be use partially in concrete with
respect to various properties of strength, workability, durability and ductility of concrete.
Brick from kiln-fired clay or shale has been used as paving for thousands of years. The Romans used brick
to build their roads and since the colonial era, brick has been used in America for pathways, sidewalks and
as a building material. Until the mid-20s brick was the most popular street paving material in America,
thereafter, asphalt and concrete were widely used. Brick is a popular paving material because it is easy to
produce, easy to use in small, hard to reach areas, can be used with other paving materials, is flexible, and
is readily available in a variety of shapes and colors. Bricks come in all sizes. A survey conducted in 1973
by the brick industry association showed approximately 40 different size brick were being manufactured.
Brick texture can range from a highly finished smooth glaze to rough finishes. Brick can be colored and
installed in many different patterns, such as herringbone and basket weave. Brick is graded by its' weather
resistance, measured by porosity.
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When properly installed, brick pavement is stable and durable, however, it is generally more costly to install
than bulk paving materials such as concrete and asphalt. In northern climates there is concern that the bricks
may create an uneven surface making snow plowing difficult.
Now the time, new idea which is utilization of waste plastics for pavement purpose is introduced and is
feasible than other with little limitations.
Pavements are composite materials that bear the weight of pedestrian and vehicular loads. Pavement
thickness, width and type should vary based on the intended function of the paved area. Pavement thickness
is determined by four factors: environment, traffic, base characteristics and the pavement material used.
A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing
business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats present in the natural environment, the resources
required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest terms, the two criteria to
judge feasibility are cost required and value to be attained.
A feasibility study is used to determine the viability of an idea, such as ensuring a project is legally and
technically as well as economically justifiable. It tells whether a project is worth the investment because in
some cases a project may not be doable. There can be many reasons for this, including requiring too many
resources from performing other tasks but also may cost more than an organization would earn back on a
project that is not profitable.
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1.1 Statement of problem
Due to large demand for the use of plastics world uses huge amount of plastics for different applications.
And an economic dependency of the countries on plastics leads to the excessive increment on the demand
of plastics. On the contrary, after the use of this plastic materials, it generates excessive waste and this
plastic waste extremely affects the natural environment. Since plastic materials are almost non degradable
or it takes hundreds to thousands of year to be degrade, it seriously affects the soil fertility, water bodies
(both surface and underground water) and cause for different serious health problems and also strongly
affects aquatic life. It also pollutes air when burnt and takes large space for disposal. To overcome these
and other related problems waste plastics should be handled or recycle properly to use them again and
again. It can be used to produce a strong construction materials such as paving stones (road tile) by melting,
mixing it with aggregate and molding in the required form. This technique can reduce the problems that
comes as a result of huge plastic waste disposal to the environment. This paper presents recycling of waste
plastics to produce road tile and minimize pollution associated with waste plastic disposal.
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1.2 Objective
1.2.1 General objective
The general objective of this study is production, characterization and feasibility study of road tile from
waste plastic and aggregate.
1.2.2 Specific objective
Specifically under this study the following tasks are going to be accomplished;
To investigate the optimal proportion of waste plastics (PE to PET) which gives mechanically
strong tile.
To determine optimal ratio of plastic to aggregate based cost of raw material and compressional
strength.
Characterization of the product by different parameters like compressional strength, water
absorption, the presence of alkalis (efflorescence test) and density.
To perform feasibility study of the production process of road tile by replacing cement with waste
plastic.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
Polyethylene terephthalate commonly abbreviated PET, PETE or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is the most
common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibers for clothing.
Formula: (C10H8O4) n
Melting point: 260 °C
Density: 1.38 g/cm³
Molar mass: variable
Solubility in water: practically insoluble
Thermal conductivity: 0.15 to 0.24 W m−1 K−1
Depending on its processing and thermal history, polyethylene terephthalate may exist both as an
amorphous (transparent) and as a semi-crystalline polymer. The semi crystalline material might appear
transparent (particle size less than 500 nm) or opaque and white (particle size up to a few micrometers)
depending on its crystal structure and particle size.
Polyethylene (PE)
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name poly ethylene is the most common plastic. The
annual global production is around 80 million tones. Its primary use is in packaging (plastic bags, plastic
films, geomembranes, containers including bottles, etc.). Many kinds of polyethylene are known, with most
having the chemical formula (C2H4) n. PE is usually a mixture of similar polymers of ethylene with various
values of n.
The usefulness of polyethylene is limited by its melting point of 80 °C (176 °F) (HDPE, types of low
crystalline softens earlier). For common commercial grades of medium- and high-density polyethylene the
melting point is typically in the range 120 to 180 °C (248 to 356 °F). The melting point for average,
commercial, low-density polyethylene is typically 105 to 115 °C (221 to 239 °F). These temperatures vary
strongly with the type of polyethylene.
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Sand
The most common constituent of sand, in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal
settings, is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz, which, because of its
chemical inertness and considerable hardness, is the most common mineral resistant to weathering.
Construction sand and gravel is used to make concrete, for road construction, for mixing with
asphalt, as construction fill, and in the production of construction materials like concrete blocks,
bricks, and pipes.
Aggregate
Aggregate in building and construction, material used for mixing with cement, bitumen, lime,
gypsum, or other adhesive to form concrete or mortar. The aggregate gives volume, stability,
resistance to wear or erosion, and other desired physical properties to the finished product.
Commonly used aggregates include sand, crushed or broken stone, gravel (pebbles), broken blast-
furnace slag, boiler ashes (clinkers), burned shale, and burned clay. Fine aggregate usually consists
of sand, crushed stone, or crushed slag screenings; coarse aggregate consists of gravel (pebbles),
fragments of broken stone, slag, and other coarse substances. Fine aggregate is used in making
thin concrete slabs or other structural members and where a smooth surface is desired; coarse
aggregate is used for more massive members.
The following researches are conducted on the use of waste plastic for production of paving tiles brix.
A training manual on recycling of waste plastic in to paving stones, tiles and bricks prepared by the financial
support of European Union in Cameron has been proposed a method on how to produce these materials.
Based on this manual waste plastic was washed and sorted first and this clean and dry plastic is mixed with
sand then this mixture is heated until melting point of the plastic. Then this hot mixture of waste plastic and
sand is molded and allowed to be cooled in an open environment. In this project they use a sand to plastic
ratio of 50/50, 60/40, 70/30 and 80/20 w/w to determine the best proportion which gives mechanically
strong material [1].
Loukhamgerionsingh et al had produced a brick from waste plastic and sand after heating the mixture at
2000C. The bricks were produced from plastic water bottles and some physical and mechanical strength
tests has been also performed. After analysis they observed that bricks produced from waste plastic and
sand has low water absorption, low apparent porosity and high compressive strength than that of
traditionally produced bricks [2].
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C Gopu Mohan et al conducted an experiment to test water absorption and efflorescence test (presence of
alkalis) of the plastic-sand brick. To perform these tastes the mass of final product was measured and
immersed in a fresh water bass for about 24 hrs. After this the sample was taken off from the bass and
swiped by fabric to remove surface water and measured its mass. The difference in mass is the water
absorbed by the brick. The less water absorbed by the brick the greater the quality of brick. Based on this
they conclude that a good quality brick should not absorb more than 20% water of its own weight. The
presence of alkalis in brick is harmful were it form a gray or white layer on the brick surface by absorbing
moisture. To find out the presence of alkali in bricks they inspect the brick surface and they conclude that
the color change of the brick surface into whitish color should not be greater than 10% to be a quality brick
but a result up to 50% is tolerated [3].
LairenlakpamBillygraham Singh et al had produced a road tile by mixing waste plastic and sand. The
collected waste CDs (compacted disc) and plastic water bottles were cleaned in water and dried properly
before being cut into small pieces to enable easy heating. The plastic pieces and sand was taken in a
proportion of 1: 1.5 by weight and were heated in separate containers at approximately 2000C. The heated
materials are then mixed to get a homogenous mix and then poured into cube molds of 70.7 x 70.7 x 70.7
mm size. After cooling it for 10 hours in the mold, the specimens were demolded and immersed in water
for 24 hours before being removed for testing. The results of sand plastic bricks were compared with those
of traditional local bricks. It was observed that sand plastic bricks have low water absorption, low apparent
porosity and high compressive strength [4].
P.Tharun Kumar et al had been produced a tile from waste plastic and sand. they were set plastic to sand
ratio from 1:2 to 1:5 and examine and characterize their product with different test like mechanical strength
test, water absorption test, efflorescence test, fire resistance, hardness test and etc, finally they conclude
that as the plastic ratio increases the compressional strength (which is the major parameter that determine
the quality of tile) of the tile was increased [5].
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CHAPTER THREE
MATERIAL AND METHOD
3.1 Material and Chemical
Material used in this study are waste plastic (PE and PET), natural river sand, aggregate, manual metallic
cutter (to reduce the size of waste plastics), mass balance (to measure the mass of plastic and aggregate),
metallic pan equipped with electrical power source (for melting of the plastic), molding equipment (to give
the desire shape of the product), spade (to give a uniform mixture of melted waste plastic and aggregate
and take the mixture out of the tank). Mechanical strength testing machine (to measure mechanical strength
of products) and molding equipment.
Chemical
Water (for washing of sand in silt content test and used to measure the percentage water absorption of
product).
3.2 Method
3.2.1 Method of tile production
Waste plastics (PE and PET) can be collected from the environment and sorted by their type. Plastic waste
is basically composed of PE and PET. This plastics are simply accessible in the environment. In this case
all the crashed waste plastics have been collected from Ashraf industrial and agricultural PLC. Waste
plastics have been reduced to small pieces to facilitate melting process. Sand to aggregate in a proportion
of 1:2 has been prepared. After preparing the raw materials, the next step was determining the proper
proportion or ratio of raw materials for mixing (ratio of PE to PET and aggregate to plastic).
The following pictures show waste plastics that are used in this project.
Fig 3.1 a) Waste PE plastic Fig 3.1 b) Waste PET plastic
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The general experimental process is described as follows;
1, Pretreatment and mixture preparation; The silt content of Natural river sand and red ash was
measured by first measuring the dry mass of sand and washed with plenty of water so that water soluble
components (silt) of the sand has been removed from the sand. Then after it was allowed to dry by sun for
two days. The silt content of sand can be calculated as;
[(m1-m2)/m1]*100%
Where; m1 is initial dry mass of sand before washing.
m2 is final dry mass of sand after washing.
Silt affects the strength of the product and the sand need to have lower silt content as much as possible. The
silt test of red ash and natural river sand was measured and we have gained the silt content of red ash 11.4%
and that of natural river sand was 8.3% by mass. From this result we select Natural River sand as our raw
material because it has lower silt content.
Coarse aggregate of a recommended size of 10 mm were used. This size of aggregate is highly dependent
on the size of the product. The thickness of commercial tile is 5 cm and we proposed the thickness of the
final product is 3 cm because averagely, the strength of tile produced from plastic is twice greater than that
of the tile produced from cement (commercial tile). So for our proposed tile size 10mm size of coarse
aggregate is more suitable.
Fig 3.2 a) Red ash Fig 3.2 b) Natural river sand Fig 3.2 c) Coarse aggregate
By selecting the sand that results with lower silt value and measuring sand and plastic with known value, it
has been proceeded to the next step.
Recommended proportion of coarse and fine aggregate has been selected at a ratio of 1:2 of fine to coarse
aggregate and mix together. This mixture of fine and coarse aggregate called as simply “aggregate”
throughout this paper.
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Then the mass of plastic and aggregate was measured. It has been fixed the aggregate content at 60%, 70%,
and 80% by mass to see the effect of aggregate to plastic proportion on the compressional strength of the
product. The remaining 40%, 30% and 20% by mass was waste plastics composed of PE and PET. We had
also vary the ratio of PE to PET in each experimental runs. Finally, the proportion results with optimal
compressional strength was selected as best point and compare with commercially produced tile.
2, Melting the mixture; the plastic mixture is gradually heated in a tank under vigorous mixing. First the
plastic was melted and aggregate was added. The mixture has been mixed until it become homogenous
mixture. Due to large heat capacity of aggregate, the process takes extra energy than the energy demands
for melting of plastic alone. So that first the plastic melts alone then aggregate is gradually added to the
melted plastic and mix by supplying more energy to the mixture.
In order to perform this study in better way, a metallic tank has been constructed which is equipped with
electrical power source to melt the plastic mixture. The tank has an internal diameter of 0.4m, height of
0.3m and its volume is 0.038m3. In addition to its dimension, the tank is constructed from sheet metal with
a thickness of 2 mm and it consists 2 electrical coils with a total capacity of 2000 wt placed over perforated
clay plate. Also there is fiber glass insulator at the bottom of the clay plate and in the gap between the two
concentric cylindrical sheet metals to reduce the heat loss and it has a single breaker so we can roughly
control the melting temperature of the mixture better than using direct open tank firing or we can
significantly reduce burning of plastic due to high elevated temperature.
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Fig 3.3 Waste plastic melting tank
The temperature of the mixture has been measured after the plastic is fully melted and become homogenous.
At the condition were the plastic becomes a viscoelastic liquid and homogeneously mixed with the
aggregate, it is considered to be ready for molding.
Literatures shows that the melting temperature of waste plastic and aggregate mixture to be held in between
180 to 200oC. But it has been found that the best melted plastic and aggregate mixture at the temperature
between 240 to 250oC when PET plastic is added. At this temperature the mixture is relatively good enough
for the process of making tile.
50 cm
40 cm
35 cm
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Fig 3.4 Mixture preparation through melting.
3, Molding; after melting and mixing the mixture to the desired uniformity it should be filled immediately
to the molding equipment. The dimension of the molding equipment was 10 cm * 10 cm * 10 cm cube.
Prior to molding the interior surface of the molding equipment was lubricated lubricating oil.
Fig 3.5 Product
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4, Cooling; the tiles should then be cooled in ambient environment. There are cooling mechanisms such
as water cooling and air cooing. The sample that we produced was cooled by air by exposing it to the
environment. Water cooling can also be used which results rapid cooling but this has an effect on the
strength as a result of quenching effect which is not recommended.
5, Removal from the mold; after the tile was cooled, we have removed it from the mold and measures
its density %water absorption and compressional strength.
3.2.2 Product Characterization methods
After producing samples at different proportion, each sample was characterized by compressional
strength, %water absorption, and density and efflorescence test (presence of alkalis).
Compressional strength
Compressive strength or compression strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads
tending to reduce size, as opposed to tensile strength, which withstands loads tending to elongate. The tile
that we produced has a size of 10*10*10 cm having an area of 100cm2. The sample were exposed to a
compressional load and its maximum strength was measured.
Compressional strength = applied load (N) / area (m2).
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Direction of applied load
Fig 3.6 Compressional strength taste
Percentage water absorption
Water absorption is the measure of how much water is absorbed with in the material when it is immersed
in water. This have also a clue on the internal morphology i.e. porosity of the material. Which mean
materials with higher water absorption are relatively porous than materials having lower water absorption.
This characteristics has also an effect on the strength of the material. Materials with high porosity (higher
water absorption property) have relatively low compressional strength than that of less porous materials.
To study the amount of water absorption of the product, first we had measure the initial dry mass of the
samples and then we immerse samples into water for 24 hours. Finally, we take the sample out from water
and measure its mass. The difference of its final and initial mass is equal to the amount of water absorbed
by the sample.
Water absorption ratio = [(M2 – M1)/M1] * 100%
Where; M1- mass of sample before immersion.
M2- mass off sample after 24 hour immersion.
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Fig 3.7 Water absorption taste of the sample
Efflorescence test
The presence of alkalis in tile is harmful were it form a gray or white layer on the tile surface by absorbing
moisture. To find out the presence of alkali inspection of tile surface by naked eye is possible, so that the
surface of the tile will be changed to another gray or white color. This change in color is observed after the
product is immersed in a water bath for about 24 hours. When there is a presence of too much alkalis the
tile will be mechanically weak and will not be recommended for use. It is advisable that the color change
of the tile surface into whitish color should not be greater than 10% to be a quality tile but a result up to
50% is tolerated.
Density
The density of a material is a ratio of mass to its volume. This tells how much mass is occupied with in a
certain volume of that material. This has a clue about the internal morphology of a material. A product with
higher density is very useful because as the density of product increases the mass of tile per given dimension
is increases. Thus it becomes more stagnant when it is paved over roads.
Density = mass / volume
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3.2.3 Feasibility study Methods
Market study
Currently in Ethiopian tiles are sold in to differentiated product rather than as a commodity product. There
is also high demand of road tiles in cities like Bahir Dar where alternative road paving mechanisms are not
available as asphalt is very expensive for such purpose. Currently the market usage and supply is covered
by micro and small enterprises and private sectors. Because the enterprise has a contribution towards the
green economy of the country the enterprises is hoped to gain different incentives like getting purchased
by different government offices. There is also an open opportunity for branded product since the product is
new product on which its raw materials have not been previously adopted for use.
The enterprise will participate at every market where road tile is required. The following are areas where
our product is to be sold mostly for
Governmental and private institutions
Newly constructed gardens
Municipal roads
Plant capacity
The size and scope of the industry depends on the number of employees, demands of the customer, capital
investment, and vision. Manufacturing industry today is not growing as demand of the government and
costumer in the country. This means that there is much to be done to satisfy.
The size of the company is a plant having a capacity of producing 1000 tiles per day at the early stages. At
the start the enterprise will be small having 6 numbers of permanent workers. But latter the scope of the
business extends up to establishing a large company which uses a huge amount of waste plastic from all
over the country.
Site selection
The major factors in selection of most plant sites are raw material, market, energy supply, climate,
transportation facility and water supply. Because a site cannot fulfill all the above prerequisites
priorities should be given to the major first four factors described. Based on this the plant site is
selected to be in Ethiopia, Amhara region, Bahir Dar city.
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Availability of labor
There is no need for highly qualified personals for the enterprise. Total of 8 man power can handle the
operation of the enterprise. Extra man power requirement will not be as such difficult because there a lot of
peoples who are looking for a job. All the management system is to be handled by the team.
Estimation of Capital requirements
Fixed capital investment (FCI)
The fixed capital investment is estimated by using purchased equipment cost as a basis. And the plant is a
solid processing plant.
Total direct plant cost
Purchased equipment cost (PEC)
Purchased equipment installation 45% of PEC
Instrumentation and controls (installed) 9% of PEC
Piping 16% of PEC
Electrical (installed) 10% of PEC
Building 25% PEC
Yard improvement 13% of PEC
Service facility 40% of PEC
Land 6% of PEC
The total direct plant cost is the summation of the above costs.
Indirect plant cost
Engineering and supervision 33% of PEC
Construction expenses 39% of PEC
Therefore indirect plant cost is the sum of the above two costs
Contractors fee (5% of the direct and indirect plant cost)
Contingency (10% of the direct and indirect plant cost)
These the fixed capital investment is the sum of plant direct cost, plant indirect cost, contractor’s fee and
contingency.
Total capital investment (TCI)
The working capital (WC) is 15% of fixed capital investment for solid processing
And the total capital investment (TCI) is the sum of fixed capital investment and working capital.
TCI = FCI + WC
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Manufacturing cost
Manufacturing cost is the sum of direct production cost, fixed charges and plant overhead.
Fixed charges
Depreciation 10% of FCI
Local tax 1% FCI
Insurance 0.5% FCI
Rent 8% of land cost
Therefore the total cost of fixed charge is the sum of the above four costs
And 15% of the total production cost is fixed charge. Thus
Total production cost (TPC) = fixed charge / 0.15
Direct production cost
Raw material 10% TPC
Direct supervisory and clerical labor 15% of operating labor
Utility 10% of TPC
Maintenance (M) 6% FCI
Operating supplies (OS) 10% of maintenance
Labor cost (OL)
Therefor direct production cost is the sum of the above costs and the plant overhead cost is 50%
(OL+OS+M)
General expense
Administration cost 40% of OL
Disruption and selling costs 2%TPC
Research and development 3%TPC
Therefore cost of general expense is the sum of the above three costs.
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3.2.4 Profitability Analysis methods
In the process of making an investment decision, the profit anticipated from an investment must
be judged relative to some profitability standards. A profitability standard is a quantitative measure
of profit with respect to the capital investment required to generate that profit. Several methods
are used for project evaluation among them we can use payback period, rate of return, profitability
index and net present value.
Before a profitability analysis is made the annual sells, and annual gross profit must be determined.
Thus;
Annual sells = selling price per one product * production capacity per year
Gross profit = annual sells – total production cost
Payback period (PBP)
The payback period is the time required for the amount invested in an asset to be repaid by the net
cash flow generated by the asset.
PBP= TCI / average net annual cash in flow
Where TCI, total capital investment
And average net annual cash inflow = gross profit – profit after task
Rate of return (ROR)
The annual income from an investment expressed as a proportion (usually a percentage) of the
original investment.
ROR = (annual net profit (earning after tax and depreciation) / TCI) * 100%
Where depreciation is 10% of fixed capital investment
Net present value (NPV)
NPV may be defined as the difference between the total present value of the cash inflows and the
total present value of the cash outflows considering the time value of money.
NPV = - CF0 + Ʃ(CFin/(1+i)n)
Where;
i, is interest rate
CF0 is the summation of cash out flows.
Ʃ(CFin/(1+i)n) summation of cash inflow considering the time value of money.
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Profitability index (PI)
The PI is the ratio of present value of after-tax cash inflows to the present value of the
cash outflows for capital items.
PI = PV of cash inflows / PV of cash outflows.
Where, PV is present value of cash flows.
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CHAPTER FOUR
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
After conducting all experimental runs, the following results are found and discussed as follow. In this part
the product is characterized by its compressional strength, water absorption, efflorescence test and density.
4.1 Compressional strength
Compressive strength or compression strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads
tending to reduce size, as opposed to tensile strength, which withstands loads tending to elongate. The tile
that we produced has a size of 10*10*10 cm having an area of 100 cm2.
Compressional strength = applied load (N) / area (m2)
The following result of compressional strength data at different proportions of plastic to plastic and plastic
to aggregate ratio has been recorded.
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Table 4.1 Result of compressional strength
Run Percent by mass Compressional strength
(MPa)
PE PET Sand
1 20 20 60 14.33
2 25 15 60 15.09
3 30 10 60 15.71
4 35 5 60 16.14
5 15 25 60 13.83
6 10 30 60 13.27
7 5 35 60 11.63
8 15 15 70 11.45
9 20 10 70 17.82
10 25 5 70 18.39
11 10 20 70 14.36
12 5 25 70 12.96
13 10 10 80 13.7
14 15 5 80 13.35
15 5 15 80 11.14
16 Commercial tile 6.74
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Amount of aggregate has been fixed at 60% (from literature [1]) to see the effect of variation on plastic
composition on the strength of the material. This variation of waste plastic has a substantial effect on the
strength of the material because the materials has different properties. When poly ethylene (PE) raw
material is melted, it has better sticking/binding property than Polyethylene terephthalate (PET). As it is
listed above the table the strength of the tile increases with increasing the amount of PE. This is due to the
reason that the Polyethylene plastic is able to bind up the aggregate fully, so that it can form a stagnant solid
structure which can resist the applied load in the indicated amount.
Even though PE has quit excellent sticking property its strength is not that much satisfactory when it is used
alone with aggregate. In the same case the tile will not have a stagnant structure or it fractures easily when
PET alone is used with aggregate. PET is less recyclable plastic type than PE and is more accessible in the
environment. Due to this reason, the cost of PET is much chipper than that of PE. So an optimal combination
of the two plastics that gives a good tile with better mechanical property should be investigated in order to
be economically feasible. The task here was determination of the optimal proportion of these two plastics
which results a tile with good mechanical properties. Fifteen runs has been made to do this. From these runs
80 % of aggregate and 20% of plastic (15% PET and 5% PE) resulted a tile with an optimal compressional
strength of 11.14 MPa.
This result shows that in tile making sticking of the raw materials (the contribution of plastic) is very vital
to bring better mechanical property of tile. That is why a strong tile is resulted when PE amount is higher
than that of PET.
In this step we have been determined aggregate to plastic proportion resulting an optimal mechanical
strength of the product. The contribution of plastic is binding fine and coarse aggregates all together and
gives some value in resisting the direct load when some load is applied to the sample. The contribution of
aggregate is carrying the applied load to the sample. The majority of the load distribution is supported by
aggregates.
In fact, sand aggregates are used to fill the gap between the coarse aggregates of stone to overcome the
mechanical breakage of the material. Sand enhances the strength of the material by filling and reducing the
void space between coarse aggregates, as a result the porosity is diminished and the material attains better
compactness and strength.
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The optimal proportion of aggregate to plastic used in the production of tile should precisely be determined
for the effective use of raw material and better quality of the product. If the amount aggregate used is
increasing from 80% by weight of the sample, plastic cannot properly bind aggregate particles and fracture
occurs on the material and is the material has poor mechanical property and if the proportion of aggregate
is less than 80% by weight of the sample, the mechanical strength of sample may increases.
But the production cost is increased because plastic is more expensive than aggregates with in the same
mass but there is better binding of aggregates. This is due to the reduction of amount of aggregates that
carries external applied load. In this case only the amount of plastic is larger than the expected value.
Because of proportion of aggregate to plastic significantly determines the mechanical property of the final
product, so the basic aim of this paper is to investigate an optimal proportion of plastic to plastic and
aggregate to plastic proportion and we got that at 80% of aggregate to 20% plastic by weight of the sample
with compressional strength equal to 11.14 MPa.
4.2 Percentage water absorption
Percentage water absorption of products have been measured by immersing the products into water and
analyzing of its mass difference.
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Table 4.2 Result of percentage water absorption.
Run Percent by mass % Water absorption
PE PET Sand
1 20 20 60 1.43
2 25 15 60 1.36
3 30 10 60 1.31
4 35 5 60 1.41
5 15 25 60 1.76
6 10 30 60 1.58
7 5 35 60 1.54
8 15 15 70 1.4
9 20 10 70 1.13
10 25 5 70 1.27
11 10 20 70 1.5
12 5 25 70 1.39
13 10 10 80 1.05
14 15 5 80 1.12
15 5 15 80 1.17
Commercial tile
8.2
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Researches has shown that water absorption of materials should not exceed 20% of their initial mass.
Water absorption has been made for all the samples and it has been found lower water absorption property
of the whole samples (all the samples have less than 2% by mass). The sample mass was measured first and
then it was fully immersed in a water bath for 24 hours on which it is assumed to take water on its porous
structure. And its mass is recorded again after immersion. The water absorption test result of the selected
sample has shown that it has 1.17% by weight of the initial mass.
The percentage water absorption of selected sample was 1.17% and that of the commercial tile was 8.2%
of its initial mass. Even though, the two tiles are constructed from different materials, the percentage water
absorption shows the porosity of a material. As the percentage water absorption of the material increases,
correspondingly its porosity or void space also increases and this results in decreasing of mechanical
strength of the product.
In this paper the percentage water absorption of commercial tile was compared with sample produced from
waste plastic and the percentage water absorption of commercial tile has about 8.2% water absorption which
is by far much greater than our samples water absorption. The reason why product constructed from plastic
and aggregate and has lower water absorption but the commercial tile is constructed from cement and
aggregate as a result it has higher water absorption.
4.3 Density and Efflorescence test
By rough inspection, about less than 10% of our samples surface was changed to whitish color which is
acceptable by the given limit. This indicates that the tile has very low alkalis and has good quality. Because
if there is much alkalis present in the tile, it leads the tile to absorb water and results fracture and finally the
tile is going to fail easily.
Density of the product were calculated by dividing its mass to its volume and the density of the selected
product has found that 1900Kg/m3. In addition to the above properties the color of selected sample was
semi blackish.
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4.4 Financial feasibility result
4.4.1 Man power requirement
Table 4.3 Man power requirement
Job title Number Monthly salary in birr Annual salary in birr
General manager 1 10,000 120,000
Melting tank operator 2 4000 96,000
Plastic shredding
machine operator
2 4000 96,000
Mold operator 2 4000 96,000
Marketing and sales
man
1 4500 54,000
Grand Total 462,000
Thus annually the plant will cost 462,000 birr per year for man power.
4.4.2 Purchased equipment cost
The total cost needed to purchase all the necessary Equipments of the plant is described below.
Table 4.4 Purchased equipment cost
Number Equipment Capacity Amount in
number
Cost in birr
1 Melting tank 1 m3 1 40,000
2 Plastic shredding
machine
500 Kg / hour 1 275,000
3 Temperature
controller
1 2750
4 Mold 25cm*25cm*25cm 100 30,000
Total equipment cost 347,750
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4.4.3 Fixed capital investment (FCI)
The fixed and total capital investment is estimated by using purchased equipment cost as a basis. And the
plant is a solid processing plant.
Based on this purchased equipment cost fixed capital investment and total capital investment is
made.
Table 4.7 Fixed capital investment
Item Percentage for solid processing
plant
Cost in birr
Purchased equipment cost (PEC) 347,750
Purchased equipment installation 45% PEC 156,487
Instrumentation and controls
(installed)
9% PEC 31,297
Piping (installed) 16% PEC 55,640
Electrical (installed) 10% PEC 34,775
Buildings 25%PEC 86,937
Yard improvement 13%PEC 45,207
Service facility 40%PEC 139,100
Land 6%PEC 20,865
Total direct plant cost 918,060
Engineering and supervision 33%PEC 114,757
Construction expense 39%PEC 135,622
Indirect costs 250,339
Total direct and indirect plant
cost
1,168,439
Contractors fee (5% of direct and
indirect plant costs)
5% direct and indirect plant cost 58,422
Contingency 10% of direct and indirect plant
cost
116,844
Fixed capital investment (FCI) 1,343,706
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4.4.4 Total capital investment (TCI)
TCI = FCI + WC, WC (working capital)
WC = 15% FCI = 201,555 birr
TCI = 1,545,262 birr
Manufacturing cost
Manufacturing cost is the sum of direct production cost, fixed charges and plant over head
Fixed charges
Table 4.8 Fixed charges
Item Solid processing plant Cost in birr
Depreciation 10%FCI 134,370
Local tax 1%FCI 1,437
Insurance 0.5%FCI 6718
Rent 8% land cost 1669
Fixed charges 156,194
Direct production cost
Table 4.9 Direct production cost
Item Solid processing plant Cost in birr
Raw material 10% TPC 104,129
Direct supervisory and clerical 15% operating labor 15%FCI
Utility 10% TPC 104,129
Maintenance (M) 6% FCI 80,622
Operating supplies (OS) 10% maintenance 8062
Labor cost (OL) 462,000
Direct production cost 819,242
Plant overhead cost (50% OL+OS+M) = 275,342 birr
Thus;
Manufacturing cost = 1,269,846 birr
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General expense
Table 4.10 General expense
Item Solid processing plant Cost in birr
Administration cost 40% OL 184,800
Distribution and selling costs 2% TPC 20,825
Research and development 3%TPC 31,238
General expense 236,863
4.4.5 Profitability
The plant will have a capacity of producing 1000 tiles per day. And the selling price of one tile is
8 birr. Assuming 300 operational days per year, the gross annual sells is
Annual sell = 8 birr/tile * 1000 tiles/day * 300 days/year = 2,400,000 birr
And
Gross profit = annual sell – total production cost
Total production cost = manufacturing cost + general expenses = 1,209,846 + 212,864 = 1,422,710 birr
There for
Gross profit = 2,400,000 – 1,422,710 = 977,290 birr
And TCI = 1,545,262 birr
Production capacity = 300,000 tiles/year
Selling price = 8 birr/ tile
Total annual sells revenue = 2,400,000 birr
Gross profit = 977,290 birr
Net profit = 684,103 birr, assuming tax rate 30%
Payback period (PBP) = 2.26 year
Rate of return (ROR) = 35.57%
Net present value (NPV) = 2,577,470 birr, net present value after 10 years
Profitability index = 2.47
As indicated in the above results the plant will be economically feasible if. And the results are at
an acceptable range of recommended values. The plant will took about 2 years and 3 months to
pay back the capital invested gaining 35.57% of the invested money each year. The net present
value and profitability index are also acceptable which give a promise for the project to be
implemented.
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CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion
This project comes up with a tile having better optimized compressional strength which is the basic
parameter to determine the quality/ grade of certain tile. Different proportion of sand and plastics have been
mixed and measured the compressional strength of each sample at the end of melting and molding. We also
optimize the quality and cost of the final product to ensure that the quality of the product and feasibility of
the production process. After all, at 15% PET, 5% PE and 80% aggregate by mass results compressional
strength of 11.14 MPa and this strength is the optimal point according to this study.
In determination of aggregate to plastic proportion, 80 to 20 percent by mass of aggregate to plastic
results a compressional strength equal to 11.14 MPa (which is at the optimal proportion of raw
materials). Since the binding ability of plastic vary according to plastic variety, the strength of tile
is majorly depend on the plastic proportion. In the experiment it have been seen that as the
proportion of PET gets greater, the strength of the tile is reduces. This comes from the glassy
property of PET and lower recyclable value when compare to PE plastic type. As a result it has
relatively poor binding ability. But as the percentage proportion of PE increases, the strength of
tile is also increases. In the contrast, the cost of the product becomes more expensive as the amount
of PE plastic type increases in the mixture. So there should be some optimization to be performed
that results a good quality of product with a possible minimum cost. As a result, it have been
reduced the cost by increasing the amount of the cheapest waste plastic (PET) and by reducing the
use of total amount of waste plastic up to 20%. We also found that the best melted plastic and aggregate
mixture at the temperature between 240 to 250oC.
Finally, sample resulting better compressional strength is compared with commercially produced
tile. The compressional strength of commercially produced tile is 6.74 MPa and that of our product
is 11.14 MPa. The percentage water absorption of our final sample is 1.17% and that of the
commercial tile is 8.2% of its initial mass and the selected sample was semi blackish with a density of
1900Kg/m3. Thus, in addition of higher binding ability of plastic than cement and the low water
absorption capacity of tile that made from waste plastic makes the product stronger than that of
commercially produced tiles.
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Production of road tiles from waste plastic and sand is shown that it is economically feasible
business. The results of economic analysis shows that having capacity of producing 1000 tiles per
day, the business will have a payback period of two years and three months with 35.57% rate of
return and profitability index of 2.47. These results gives a promise to implement the business idea
practically. There will also be a support from the government because the business have a
contribution towards green economy policy of Ethiopia. And the focus of governmental policy
towards such creative entrepreneurial activity will be as an incentive to implement the business.
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5.2 Recommendation
During the time we conduct the project it was hard to find appropriate equipment (equipment that
can melt and mix aggregate and plastic simultaneously) and control temperature. Literature shows
that the melting temperature of plastic and aggregate mixture is held between 180 to 200o C. it has
been tried to solve this problem by constructing metallic tank equipped with electrical power
source and also try to control the temperature roughly using electrical breaker. But this is not
effective method of controlling the temperature. Since, we had performed our project without the
aid of appropriate equipment (temperature controller) and it was really difficult to control
temperature at its desired point. As a result one of our process parameter (temperature) may not be
set at its desired range. It is recommended that for further researches in related topics appropriate
melting Equipments with proper temperature control and mixer should be constructed first to
conduct a success full research.
Appropriate protective Equipments should be used while conducting such experiments because
the final mixture is hot and there is a gas that escapes out during melting of the plastic. So
protective equipment should be considered first before conducting the experiment.
The heat requirement to melt plastic mixture is depend on plastic size. Proper size reduction should
be used for effective energy utilization. So reducing the size of waste plastic to possible minimum
size has tremendous advantage in utilization of minimum energy and for easier mixing. Further
studies can be made to produce a better tile with better mechanical properties by using appropriate
Equipments (plastic chopper and crasher, plastic melter, temperature controller…).
Generally Government and different stockholders such as university research centers can work
cooperatively to bring a better solution for improper waste plastic disposal.
One of the ways to overcome this is producing different construction materials such as paving by
mixing of these waste plastics and aggregates.
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1, European union, “ training manual on recycling plastic waste in to paving stones, tiles and bricks”,
London.
2, LoukhamGerion Singh et al “ manufacturing of bricks from sand and waste plastic” , march 2017, India
college of manupur university.
3, C Gopu Mohan et al, “Fabrication of Plastic Brick Manufacturing Machine and Brick Analysis”, IJIRST
–International Journal for Innovative Research in Science & Technology| Volume 2 | Issue 11, April 2016,
Saintgits College of Engineering.
4,Lairenlakpam Billygraham Singh et al, “Manufacturing Bricks from Sand and Waste Plastics”, 2 Days
National Conference on Innovations in Science and Technology (NCIST-17), Sponsored by AICTE-
NEQIP), march 2017, India.
5, P.Tharun Kumar et al, "Manufacturing and Testing of Plastic Sand Bricks", International Journal of
Science and Engineering Research (IJ0SER), April -2017, Shree Venkateshwara Hi Tech Engineering
College, Othakuthirai, Gobi.
6. Alibaba.com
7. Text book of Plant Design and Economics for Chemical-Engineers Timmerhaus.
8 Steven H. Kosmatka, Design and control of concrete mix, 2003.