Design, analysis and fabrication of pet bottle rope maker

Abstract

Plastic contamination is a terrible issue nowadays. The oceans are flooded with plastic waste, which even causes its entering into our food chain. Such bottles are constructed from high density plastics that are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. They are non-biodegradable and the improper disposal of such products will definitely have a huge impact on our environment. Advances in technologies and systems for the collection, sorting and reprocessing of non-recyclable plastics are creating new opportunities for converting such bottles into useful products. This work is an attempt to figure out a solution to the disposal of plastic bottles that are usually dumbed into open environment. Bottles that commonly arrive at disposal sites are Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET). In this work, PET bottles are cut into strips, twisted and heated into a rope using an automated machine which consist of a cutting unit, temporary plastic strip storage unit and a strip joining unit. The rope thus produced is tested for strength and is found to be suitable for several applications. The work thus aids not only in solving the ill effects caused by disposed plastic bottles but also helps our society move towards sustainability.