Building materials from recycled plastic, and methods thereof

Abstract

A method for producing various types of building materials using recycled plastic materials and adding natural and chemical materials, this approach leverages untapped potential in discarded plastic waste, while also mitigating environmental pollution caused by plastic waste. The proposed method outperforms traditional approaches in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity.

Description

BUILDING MATERIALS FROM RECYCLED PLASTIC, AND METHODS THEREOFField of the invention[1] This invention discloses a method for recycling plastic waste and adding natural and chemical materials to produce a variety of building materials.Background of the invention[2] The invention is an alternative to two categories of products available in the market:- Building materials made of cement, which are criticized for their short lifespan and low technical specifications, especially when exposed to various weather conditions and their inability to be recycled after the end of their lifespan, in addition to polluting the environment during their production stages due to their reliance on cement, which involves environmental and health risks during its production stages and their waste of large quantities of water that enters into the manufacturing composition.- Building materials manufactured by recycling plastic bags, which are criticized for polluting the environment and negatively impacting climate change due to burning plastic bags to manufacture products other than producing one type of building materials and limited production resulting from the slow production process in addition to the need for a large number of workers to operate the production line and the lack of cohesion of the composition and mixture of materials well, which affects the technical specifications of the final product.Summary of the invention[3] Through a short, fully automated industrial process, waste generated from plastic waste recycling plants is recycled, as well as recycling a variety of plastic waste to produce a variety of building materials.[4] A group of natural materials are added to reach the desired density and texture of the final product, and a group of chemicals and polymers are added to speed up theproduction process, double productivity, extract moisture from the mixture, and improving the degree of cohesion and bonding between the components of the mixture to obtain a more cohesive and solid product, and chemical additives and polymers to maintain the dimensions of the final product under different conditions and weather conditions.[5] The final shape and dimensions of the product are easily controlled during the final production stages, allowing for a wide variety of products to be produced. Additionally, some chemicals can be added to color the final product as desired by the customer.[6] Low technical efficiency of products available in the markets, whether made of cement or from recycling plastic bags, especially with the impact of weather conditions and the inability to recycle building materials made of cement and the inability of traditional industrial systems available to recycle some types of plastic waste or deal with a variety of plastic waste in the same industrial process, but rather one type of waste is recycled.[7] Limited productivity of industrial systems capable of recycling some types of plastic waste and converting them into building materials.[8] The limited range of products that current systems produce and the presence of technical defects in the final product, such as the degree of hardness, cohesion, density, texture, and change in the dimensions of the products after exposure to various weather conditions.[9] The different aspects of this invention provide for shortening some stages and developing the remaining stages to be fully automated, adding natural and chemical materials and polymers to the mixture, and fully controlling the production stages to obtain a more technically efficient product and duplicate productivity.

[0010] The present invention has the ability to deal with a large number of types of plastic waste other than the basic waste of production resulting from recycling factories.

[0011] The present invention provides for duplicating the productivity over available systems as a result of shortening some stages and automating the remaining stages, in addition of adding chemical additives to the mixture that help speed up production.

[0012] The present invention provides a group of chemical additives and polymers improves the quality of the mixing and merging process between the mixture elements, which improves the technical specifications of the final products in terms of hardness, cohesion, texture, and maintaining dimensions in different weather conditions.

[0013] The present invention provides comfort in producing a variety of products and controlling the shape and dimensions of the final product through various stamps.

[0014] The present invention provides for the possibility of completely coloring the final product with fixed colors.

[0015] The present invention for reducing the cost of production compared to current systems as a result of accelerating the production process and shortening some stages.Brief description of the drawings

[0016] The figures of the present invention provide the results of tests carried out by laboratories accredited in accordance with the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials, as well as results of other additional tests carried out on samples of products manufactured by the industrial method mentioned in the invention.

[0017] Figure 1 shows the results of the tests from the National Research Center, the density of the production model samples is 1.789 gm / cm3, the flame propagation velocity of the samples is 0.042 cm3 / second, while the absorption coefficient of the samples of the products manufactured according to the subject patented industrial process is 0.991 % of the sample volume, as the maximum percentage according to the standard specifications of the American Society for Testing and Materials is 7% of the sample volume, as for the sample's abrasion rate, it is 0.93 mm, which is within the very safe limit according to the specifications, as it should not exceed 3 mm.

[0018] Figure 2 shows the results of the compression test at the Plastic Technology Center. The maximum compressive capacity of the product samples is 63 MPa, and according to the standard specification, the minimum is 50 MPa.Detailed description of the invention

[0019] The manufacturing method comprises more than one stage, as follows:First: The plastic waste manufactured from one of these polymers is spread out in the air:[Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), polyurethane (PU), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene (PE), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyethylene oxide (PEO), polyethylene glycol (PEG), polybutylene (PB), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyamide (PA), polylactic acid (PLA), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyether ketone (PEEK), polyimide (PI), Polyvinyl butyral (PVB), Polyethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE), Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), Polypropylene carbonate (PPC), Polyethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), Polyoxymethylene (POM), Polyethylene terpolymer (PETP), Polyoxyethylene (POE), Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), Polycaprolactone (PCL), Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), Polysulfone (PSU), Polyvinyl sulfide (PPS), Polyetherimide (PEI), Polyvinyl chloride / Nitrile butadiene rubber (PVC / NBR), Polycarbonate / Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC / ABS)] and sand (silica sand or yellow desert sand) in a solar drying frame (solar airer)Second: The sand is prepared and sifted well with a special machine.Third: The plastic waste is sorted according to type and color.Fourth: If the waste is intact, not chopped, it is crushed and chopped into small pieces in the size of a fingertip.Fifth: Through an automatic mixer with an automatic scale, natural and chemical additives and polymers are added to the plastic waste in specific proportions and mixed for a specific period of time (PG 55 POLYESTER - WAX STEARIC ACID - Quicklime (Calcium Oxide CAO) - Carbon black CaCo3 - Pigment colors - Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic (ABS) plastic recycled from plastic waste)Sixth: The previous mixture passes through a special machine through which the mixture is mixed in a different way from the previous stage, with a temperature of 180 to 250 degrees Celsius.Seventh: Parts of the product of the previous stage are weighed automatically according to the weight table required for each product.Eighth: The mixture is put into molds according to the shape of the product requested by the customer.Ninth: The product is pressed inside the mold in a special press for a specific time and with a specific pressing force according to the size of the final product, its weight, and the type of plastic waste used in manufacturing.Tenth: The product comes out of the mold and passes through a basin of cooling water to be ready for shipment to the customer's site.

[0020] Through the invention, two categories of plastic waste are used. The first category: Waste from factories working on recycling plastic waste, which produces two types of waste: either non-recyclable plastic waste that the factory is unable to recycle due to the difficulty of classifying it or technical problems in this waste that make it difficult to be recycled, and the second type is plastic waste that has gone through a number of stages in these factories and is considered rejected by the production line, either because its materials differ and are diverse from the original material that the factory specializes in, or because there are chemical compounds and polymers that are difficult for the production line to deal with. All the above types of waste are polymer plastic waste such as (Polyethylene LDPE, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene PP, polyethylene terephthalate PET, polyvinyl chloride PVC and any other type of polymers and plastic materials). All of the above can be in two forms: either intact waste, such as plastic containers, or chopped waste.

[0021] The second category: is single-use plastic waste that is used once and cannot be recycled, such as chemical containers and agricultural fertilizer containers that are not recycled due to concerns about health effects and plastic tableware such as plates, spoons and plastic cups, other than single-use plastic bags. These wastes are usedthrough the invention and recycled to reduce the cost of the final product (building materials). To achieve a positive environmental impact by cleaning the environment from non-biodegradable and recyclable plastic waste, natural additives (silica sand) are added at a rate ranging from 70% to 80% to achieve the required final product density and the required final texture as needed, whether very smooth or rougher, through the percentage of silica sand in the mixture and the size of the sand grains, as the size of the grains ranges from zero microns to 4 mm.

[0022] First, the waste and sand are spread out in a solar drying area to remove moisture and achieve the best cohesion between the components. Then, using an automated method, the plastic waste, after being chopped (if not already chopped), is mixed with silica sand, along with other chemical additives and polymers. These additives make up between 1 % to 8% of the total mixture, and this percentage is divided between the plastic waste and silica sand. The minimum amount of additives is:0.150 % GP 55 POLYESTER which works to create bonds between the components of the mixture and maintains the dimensions of the final product0.100 % WAX STEARIC ACID which is crucial for facilitating the movement of the mixture during the production process within the thermal melting machine and the molding press0.600 % Quicklime - Calcium Oxide (CaO) is an additional element used to absorb the residual moisture in the mixture, which helps to achieve a strong bond between the different elements of the mixture0.025 % Carbon black is one of the most important elements for achieving solid cohesion between the mixture's elements and can be replaced by wood sawdust or chopped car tires(depending on the desired color and texture) Pigment colors are used to color the final product according to the customer's preference0.125% acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic, recycled from plastic waste which helps the final product to keep its shape and dimensions in different environmental conditions and after a long period of production, which works to increase the shelf life ofthe final product. The recycled is reused as an alternative of using pure high-cost materialInside a special machine, and after completing the mixing process, a melting process of the mixture takes place by heat ranging from 180 to 250 degrees Celsius, so that a mixture similar to a dough is produced which then goes through the stage of compression with the press, so that it is formed according to the shape and dimensions required by the final shape, and then to the final stage of cooling.Examples:

[0023] Through the invention, a variety of building materials are produced, namely:Example 1 :Tiles of various shapes and dimensions for use in constructing pedestrian walkways. Some are solid, while others are hollow, and they can be directly laid on sand without the need for a cement base layer. Alternatively, a cement base layer can be used with hollow designs to increase strength and withstand heavy weights, such as in car paths.

[0024] Example 2:Semi-circular roofing materials are characterized by their lightweight and resistance to various weather conditions, with a variety of shapes and colors.

[0025] Example 3:High-strength tiles with a high resistance to water absorption, used in factories, power plants, and various industrial and service facilities.

[0026] Example 4:Small-sized tiles with uneven surfaces used in certain exterior walkways, garage paths, or garden paths.

[0027] Example 5:Materials used for cladding the exterior walls of buildings to protect the structure from weather conditions while giving the building an aesthetic exterior appearance. Thesematerials may have either a flat or corrugated surface, and they come in various dimensions and shapes.

[0028] Example 6:Panels used for flooring, especially in outdoor areas exposed to water, such as the areas surrounding swimming pools in hotels and clubs.

[0029] Example 7:Bricks for use in constructing fences around different establishments without the need for any adhesives or painting. They can also be used for building houses after being treated with fire-resistant materials.

[0030] Example 8:Covers for sewage manholes in various shapes and dimensions.

Claims

Claims

1. A recycled polymer product for building materials comprising;• polymer products• mineral• Polycarbonates• Fatty acids• carbon nanoparticles• organic and inorganic pigments• metal oxides• Polymer blends

2. The building materials of claim 1 , wherein a polymer products comprises; Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyurethane (PU), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polyethylene (PE), Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC), Polyethylene Oxide (PEO), Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), Polybutylene (PB), Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT), Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA), Polyamide (PA), Polylactic Acid (PLA), Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA), Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK), Polyimide (PI), Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB)

3. The building materials of claim 1 , Wherein minerals comprises Silica Sand;

4. The building materials of claim 1 , wherein polycarbonates comprises GP 55 polyester;

5. The building materials of claim 1 , wherein fatty acids comprises wax steric acid;

6. The building materials of claim 1 , wherein carbon nanoparticles comprises carbon black;

7. The building materials of claim 1 , wherein organic and inorganic pigments comprises Pigment colors;

8. The building materials of claim 1 , wherein a metal oxides compromisesCalcium oxide;

9. The building materials of claim 1 , wherein polymer blends comprises thermoplastic elastomers;

10. The building materials of claim 9, wherein thermoplastic elastomers comprises Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene;

11. A method for formation of building materials comprises;• polymer products• mineral• Polycarbonates• Fatty acids• carbon nanoparticles• organic and inorganic pigments• metal oxides• Polymer blends wherein the the polymer products comprising the steps of shredding polymer products using fragmenting means, mixing the shredded polymer products with chemical additives comprising minerals; polycarbonates; fatty acids; carbon nanoparticles; organic and inorganic pigments; metal oxides and polymer blends; the mixture is then blended with a thermal processing, the blended materials is processed with a thermal treatment and by means of hot forming the material to produce a shaped product;

12. The building materials of claim 11 , wherein a polymer products comprises;Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET;); High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE);Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE); Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC);Polypropylene (PP); Polystyrene (PS); Polycarbonate (PC); Polyurethane(PU); Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS); Polyethylene (PE);Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC); Polyethylene Oxide (PEO); PolyethyleneGlycol (PEG); Polybutylene (PB); Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT);Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA); Polyamide (PA); Polylactic Acid (PLA);Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA); Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF);Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK);Polyimide (PI); Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB);

13. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , Wherein minerals comprises Silica Sand;

14. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein polycarbonates comprises GP 55 polyester;

15. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein fatty acids comprises wax steric acid;

16. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein carbon nanoparticles comprises carbon black;

17. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein organic and inorganic pigments comprises Pigment colors;

18. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein a metal oxides compromises Calcium oxide;

19. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein polymer blends comprises thermoplastic elastomers;

20. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 19, wherein thermoplastic elastomers comprises Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene;

21. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein means of hot forming comprising a forging method;

22. The method for forming building materials as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the thermal treatment comprises annealing;^

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