Students invent a recipe to 'turn' plastic waste into lightweight, high-strength bricks

Lac Dan Hy and a group of students from the University of Science and Technology (HCMC) have "turned" plastic waste into light bricks that bring economic value.

In July 2020, a group of friends including Dan Hy, Nguyen Phuong, Thanh Dat, Thien Tu and Minh Tuan, students of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology (VNU Ho Chi Minh City) founded the Octoplastic group with the desire to bring knowledge The knowledge learned and applied to the practice of recycling waste to protect the environment.

Bricks are made from plastic waste of the Octoplastic group. (Photo: NVCC)

Failure is not discouraged

According to statistics, every year around the world, about 8 million tons of plastic waste is dumped into the sea. Particularly in Vietnam, each year, 0.28 to 0.73 million tons of plastic waste is discharged into the ocean, accounting for 6% and ranking 4th in the world (according to the representative of the United Nations Environment Program).

Single-use plastic items including plastic cups, plastic spoons, plastic containers, etc. are popular today because of their convenience and compactness. However, their persistence has caused a heavy impact on the environment, especially the marine environment.

The amount of plastic waste (including PS - Polystyrene plastic) discharged into the sea makes collection and treatment difficult, unsightly and negatively affects the marine ecosystem. Therefore, the Octoplastic team came up with the idea to create a model of 'Production of light bricks from waste materials' with the desire to be able to solve this problem.

"The reuse of non-recyclable plastic materials will help reduce waste overload as well as limit soil and water pollution caused by improper waste treatment. At the same time, the group's idea to use garbage as construction materials helps raise people's awareness about recycling waste, "Dan Hy said.

Embarking on work from July to November 2020, young people who are still sitting in school work "forget about time", always struggling to find a recipe to recycle plastic, helping to reduce the "burden" heavy' for the ocean.

Materials selected by the group are Polystyrene plastic products such as plastic boxes, rice foam, foam boxes, plastic cups. Polystyrene plastic is considered difficult to recycle, so at first, the team had great difficulty finding research materials to refer to. The team had to embark on many different experiments to find the optimal result.

Dan Hy shared that, during the implementation process, the team encountered many difficulties in the design phase of the process of synthesizing the product, because it was not possible to find the desired reference because the production process of this material is still very difficult. has not been widely applied in practice. Therefore, the team had to test more than 30 times over many months, encountering many errors before finding the most suitable parameters for the product.

Interestingly, during the experiment at the school's lab, the team used the lunch boxes that were thrown in the trash to make the product. After identifying the ingredients, all together wash, dry, cut and grind. Next, the plastic will be mixed with a mixture of adhesives. The final stage is to dry and dry.

'When the first bricks were formed, the team was delighted, but disappointed that the bricks did not live up to expectations. The brick is not strong, can be broken by hand. However, the whole group encouraged each other, tried together, did not get discouraged but continued to focus on research. In the end, the team found the "golden ratio" which is a 50-50' polystyrene adhesive and resin, Dan Hy shared.

The group uses discarded lunch boxes to make bricks. (Photo: Lam Dong Radio and Television Station).

Both economic and beneficial for the sea

According to Dan Hy, the sample of group bricks made at the present time has met Vietnam's M50 compression standard (TCVN 1450: 2009). Bricks are made from available materials such as waste products such as Polystyrene and fly ash, so the production cost is very economical along with the simple process leading to high maintainability.

With this process, many households can do it themselves without complicated equipment, creating high economic benefits. The important thing is that if more people take advantage of plastic waste to make bricks, rivers, lakes and seas will not have to "wear" plastic waste and the ecosystem will be cleaner, greener, people's lives will be better, limited exposure to natural disasters due to climate change.

'Although bricks are made of plastic, they are lightweight, soundproof and heat-insulating higher than ordinary bricks. It contributes to solving plastic waste at the source, replacing the old waste treatment methods with many limitations, bringing both economic benefits and benefits to the sea and the environment, "Dan Hy said.

In addition, the product is aimed at many practical values ​​such as for lining the yard, lining the house on the sea or lining the soundproof wall in the studio, hotel. Depending on the application and characteristics, the product has many shapes. shape (square, round, hexagon,.) as well as corresponding color.

"The current formula is optimal, but the team will continue to improve the quality of bricks. In the near future, the team will register the copyright and test it on an industrial scale, and research the novelty of the product." Dan Hy said.

5 Octoplastic members with the group's products.

The efforts for the environment of the Octoplastic group were well rewarded when the group's project won the second prize of the contest "Searching for creative ideas for a plastic-free ocean" 2020 organized by UNESCO.

Through their activities, 5 Octoplastic members wish to join hands in building a clean and blue ocean. Besides, it is possible to spread messages and ideas closer to the community.