I know that plastics (polyurethane, polystyrene, polyethylene, etc) are very different from one another.
What I’ve been thinking about is, would it be possible to make some sort of powder with a mix of all these plastics, that could then be mixed with a binding agent to make bricks, plates and other, well, plastic things?
For anyone wondering “why”, this is a recycling idea, one that, if simply mixing in some binding agent (glue) works, or some glue + another plentiful material (dirt? sand?), wouldn’t need heat to give reuse to the plastics, thus eliminating a possible source of toxic fumes and allowing PVC to be thrown into the mix.
I know it is possible to do something like this with heat. You need to heat the mixture, usually to ~300º C, so once the molten plastic cools, most everything is stuck together. Such examples are plentiful around the internet. That’s why I wanna know if there’s a way to do it without using heat
What other additives would you suggest? Cement, sand, gypsum? I know it would depend on “desired application”, but having a small list of options to start with could be helpful
Yeah definitely depends on the application. I’d suggest something inert, heat, and moisture resistant, so fiberglass and sand would be good ideas.