Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai has received patent for manufacturing tiles and blocks from waste plastic, college chairman Karumuttu T Kannan said here on Monday.
ommending the team headed by R Vasudevan, Mr. Kannan said the patent was filed in 2017. Getting the patent would help in enlarging the scope of using waste plastics, particularly multi-layered and metallised plastic sheets. The tiles could withstand heavy loads and could be used as paver blocks for indoor and outdoor use. It could also be used as a construction material.
Mr. Vasudevan was assisted by A .Ramalinga Chandra Sekar and B. Sundarakannan. Since 2001, the college laboratory had been making several innovations for use of plastic waste in road laying. More than one lakh km of roads had been laid across different parts of India using this technology.
The TCE holds seven patents, out of which five were US registered.
Mr Vasudevan said plastics should not be banned, but planned for reuse. It could be used in construction of low-cost houses and canal lining. It could withstand a load of 300 tonnes.
