Aplicando economia circular: incorporação do resíduo poli (tereftalato de etileno) / polietileno em pó na obtenção de blocos de concreto para vedação

Abstract

This work aims to use poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polyethylene (PET/PE) powder waste, accumulated in the filters of scrap mills during the extrusion process of multilayer films, to replace natural sand in the production of concrete blocks. PET/PE was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), laser granulometry, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Sand was evaluated by granulometry and SEM. Subsequently, cylindrical concrete specimens were prepared with 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50% replacement of sand by PET/PE, based on volume. After 7 days of curing, specific mass, water absorption, and axial compression tests were conducted. It was found that the 10% PET/PE formulation achieved the best compression result compared to the standard. Therefore, this substitution percentage was selected to repeat the tests after 28 days of curing. Finally, reference concrete blocks and 10% PET/PE blocks were produced and subjected to the same analysis sequence, as well as SEM-EDS and EDS mapping. The results were compared with the requirements of the ABNT NBR 6136:2014 standard, classifying the blocks as non-structural sealing blocks, class C. Thus, the use of PET/PE helps reduce the consumption of natural fine aggregate by incorporating multilayer film powder waste, promoting a more sustainable and responsible economic model by connecting different sectors.