Mineralogical Study of Polymer-Mortar Composites with PET Polymer by Means of Spectroscopic Analyses

Abstract

The sheer amount of disposable bottles being produced nowadays makes it imperative to identify alternative procedures for recycling them since they are non-biodegradable. Experimental investigation on the effects of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer, which is a waste material obtained by crushing of used PET bottles, on the mineralogical composition of composites after 28 days of casting are presented in this paper. Various weight fractions of cement 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% were replaced by the same weight of PET plastic; they were then moulded into specimens and cured. The fine powder samples obtained from broken specimens were subjected to X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis and the composites were also observed by optical microscope. Thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) were used to study the interaction between polymers and cements. Differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction and FT-IR were also used to investigate the cement hydration according to the additions. The results showed that an increase in polymer-cement ratio meets with a decrease in the quantity of Ca(OH)2; in terms of bonding, the rough surface of particle favours greater contact between PET and cement matrix and doesn’t seem to have chemical interaction between the mineral species and the organic molecules which could lead to the formation of new compounds. The present study highlights the capabilities of the different methods for the analysis of composites and opened new way for the recycling of PET in polymer-mortars.