TN college’s green tech innovation gets patent

The technology can help save sand, the second most used natural resource, while simultaneously helping to cut down the landfills from growing taller with waste plastic bottles. 

A team of researchers from Sona College of Technology, Salem, has patented a unique method of replacing up to 70 per cent sand in concrete with shredded plastic in the process cracking two of the biggest environmental issues faced by the world in the 21st century. The technology will help save the second most used natural resource, sand, while simultaneously helping cut down the landfills from growing taller with waste plastic bottles. 

India consumes 70 million tons of sand annually  

India consumes nearly 70 million tons of sand annually to meet its infrastructure demands and this usage is growing at 7 per cent per annum. At the same time, over five million tons of plastic are consumed each year, with only about a quarter being recycled and the rest ending up in landfills. 

Sand is the basic building block of construction and forms a big chunk of the concrete used in the structures we see in modern cities – be it malls, offices or residences. The invention converting plastic waste into useable construction material can be used to partially replace the traditional concrete ingredient. 

“Our invention utilises recycled plastic waste as partial replacement for fine aggregate or natural sand in making paver blocks and precast bricks,” says R Malathy, Department of Civil Engineering and lead inventor of the technology that has just been awarded the patent by India’s Patent Office. 

Waste PET (poly ethylene terephthalate) bottles collected from Salem and around are crushed to less than 4.75 mm size in large machines.  

Environment friendly 

“By utilising plastic waste and dramatically reducing use of natural sand our patented technology offers significant environmental and cost advantage,” said SRR Senthil Kumar, Principal, Sona College of Technology. 

The team worked on the invention that earned them the patent “Effect of recycled plastic wastes as partial replacement for fine aggregate in manufacturing paver blocks” in 2019. The final patent was assigned in early 2022. 

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