PRESENT-DAY PATENT- A PREVIEW

Recycle Plastic into Rooftop Tiles…

Tonnes and tonnes of plastic are dumped on earth every day, as its plasticity allows it to be overused, especially in packaging. But this plastic overuse would not have turned out to be a pollution crisis, if it was biodegradable and non-toxic. Unfortunately, the shedding of plastic into oceans or lands as incinerated or direct landfills have begun to question the existence of life on earth. The reason is the direct consumption of the highly toxic and suffocation-causing non-biodegradable plastic by animals or birds and the indirect consumption by the humans, which have resulted in numerous incurable cancer types. Hence, plastic recycling can be the only solution. However, various plastic types like, thermosets or thermoplastics are difficult to be sorted out of waste and melted together for recycling and reuse because each of their thermal resistance properties are totally different. Besides these controversial facts, in recent years, the recycled materials from thermoplastics have gained greater utilization in creating transportation and constructional infrastructures, since thermoplastics have less moisture absorption property and biodegradability. Plastile- The plastic tile is one such invention used for roofing purposes. Plastile is usually made with melted and hardened plastic layers blended with metal oxide layers or applied with ceramic coating to render increased abrasion resistance, thermal stability and electrical resistivity.  A recent invention from a group of four members from Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kerala involve a three- layered plastile. In this plastile kind, the outer two layers were composed of compressed pelletized hybrid plastic mix with an inner porous oxide core to restrict thermal transfer. The advantage in this invention is that no sorting of plastics is required before melting them, in addition to ensuring a roof tile with increased leakproof ability, durability and thermal resistance with recyclable nature. Future inventors should take responsibility in finding an alternative for plastic usage and propose similar other approaches for plastic disposal and plastic recycling or reusability without toxic gas release, so as to safeguard lives. Image courtesy: www.vecteezy.com