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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.

Production, characterization and feasibility study of road tile from waste plastic and aggregate

i

Bahir Dar University, BiT June 2010 E.C.

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.


20


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.


21


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.


22


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.


24


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.


25


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.


27


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


28


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


29


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


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


30


General expense

Table 4.10 General expense


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.


31


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.


32


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.


33


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.


34


REFERENCE

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.

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