UB Students Turn Plastic Waste into Paving Blocks

JAKARTA – The endless problem of plastic waste is certainly a real challenge. Responding to the problem, four students of Universitas Brawijaya (UB) create an innovative plastic waste destruction system by output material paving block and environmentally friendly air.

The students consisted of Ariz Wahyu Sampurna, Caroline Nugroho, Melisa Adam Jasmine, and Muchammad Zuhri Ramadhani Abanan. The four students agreed to give the system the name Sierra.

This system uses the concept of efficient recycling of plastic waste by reducing its volume into two forms. First, it is discharged into the air as a gas. Then, plastic slurry is used as a complementary material paving block.

“This Sierra is a plastic waste disposal system with output environmentally friendly air and paving blocks. There are three stages of the working mechanism of this system, namely: burning, filtering, and forming,” said Ariz Wahyu Sampurna, a representative of Sierra team, quoted from UB’s official website, Friday (27/8).

The way the system works begins with the following steps: burning, namely the collection of plastic waste in large quantities. Then, the collected waste will be burned in a combustion chamber equipped with a burner. The burner has a temperature of 500-800ºC.

Next, there is a process filtering of this garbage. Usually, the process of burning plastic will cause dirty smoke that pollutes the air. Different from usual, the Sierra system actually produces smoke that goes through the filtration process through the electrostatic precipitator.

“We carry out this filtration process so that the smoke turns into clean air,” said the student from the Faculty of Business Economics.

Electrostatic precipitator itself is a device used to collect dust or ash from gas. With this tool, they managed to produce cleaner air than dirty air from burning unprocessed plastic.

Similarly, Melisa said, the last stage of Sierra is forming or the formation of waste from burning plastic waste. The remaining waste in the form of plastic slurry will be used as a mixed material for manufacturing paving block.

“The plastic waste is intended as a substitute for cement which is used to bind other materials,” he added.

With the Sierra system, the waste can be turned into a plastic slurry that is easily shaped as paving block. In addition to the slurry, they also prepare oil that has been heated to 80ºC. The goal is to change the structure of the plastic slurry from a solid texture to a slightly liquid one.

The two ingredients are stirred until dissolved in a ratio of 1,100 g of plastic slurry and 200 ml of oil. When both have dissolved, added 500 grams of coral and 200 grams of sand. After all the ingredients are dissolved, then poured into the mold paving block.

After the material is dry, remove it from the mold and continue with the drying process for 3-4 days. As a result, paving block from plastic waste it becomes stronger, not easily broken, and durable.

“Through this innovation of the Sierra system, we have succeeded in destroying waste by producing environmentally friendly air. Then, use plastic waste into building materials. In the future, we will expand this campaign to the wider community through social media,” he concluded.

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