Physio-Mechanical Characterization of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate and Soda-Lime Glass Waste Composite for Roof Tile Application

The research paper focuses on manufacturing composite materials from waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) reinforced with soda-lime glass to provide a lightweight, less brittle, and high rust resistance when exposed to hazardous environment. In developing nations such as Nigeria, there is a significant surge in the volume of bottled water and other packaging materials used in households, leading to a rapid accumulation of biodegradable waste, that presents concerns such as the creation of landfills and health issues. PET are thermoplastic polymer that can be melted and shaped into various objects. This study involves the incorporation of soda lime glass with recycled PET with various weight proportions to create a composite for roof tile application. The processing phases encompass the gathering of discarded PET and glass, purification, fragmentation, glass treatment, composite fabrication, and physio-mechanical and microstructural characterization. The utilization of soda lime glass in the recycling of plastics led to the creation of cost-effective and efficient roof tile composites, while also decreasing environmental pollution. The density of the composite tile varied between 1.000242-1.600259 g/cm3 with 20 wt.% filler having the lowest density. The water absorption ranged from 0.12%-0.79%. Mechanical characterization results revealed that the hardness and tensile strength increased with increasing wt.% of reinforcement (soda-lime glass) with the highest values being 271 HBN and 12 N/mm2 (peak) at 60 and 50 wt.% filler (soda-lime glass), respectively. The composite samples had similar impact strength which varied between 70-74 J. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis reveals the occurrence of chemical and mechanical improvement during the recycling process. The composites exhibited promising properties from the research and revealed that the addition of the reinforcement largely improves the properties.