The Effect of the Addition of Synthetic Braiding Hair on the Compressive Strength of Adobe Bricks

School Name

Spring Valley High School

Grade Level

11th Grade

Presentation Topic

Environmental Science

Presentation Type

Non-Mentored

Abstract

The uncertainty of the Earth’s sustainable future has been brought to the attention of the global community in recent years. One factor that has become an increasingly dangerous threat to Earth’s sustainable future is plastics. There have been many efforts to reduce the amount of plastic that is used and disposed of every day. Such efforts include, but are not limited to, the adoption of metal straws and reusable grocery bags. The intention behind these replacements is to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and incinerators, thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Although those efforts have shown promise, climate change organizations continue to search for new methods of recycling plastics in the environment. The aim of this experimental study is to recycle microplastics, specifically synthetic hair, by reusing hair that would be thrown away in adobe bricks. To test the viability of this idea, synthetic hair was incorporated into two different types of clay bricks: with and without cement. Descriptive statistics and a t-test were run on the compressive strength testing results. T-test analyses revealed that synthetic hair does have a positive and significant effect on the compressive strength of the bricks, t(4)=-7.57, p<0.01. From that analysis, it can be concluded that the synthetic hair bricks with no cement are the most cost-efficient bricks because they have higher compressive strength (M=512.06, SD=38.12) but do not require the additional assistance of cement, t(4)=-0.31, p=0.77. The null hypothesis can be rejected based on the findings meaning that adobe bricks with synthetic hair can be a constructive method of synthetic hair waste disposal.

Location

BS 355

Start Date

3-25-2023 11:15 AM

Presentation Format

Oral and Written

Group Project

No

COinS
 
Mar 25th, 11:15 AM

The Effect of the Addition of Synthetic Braiding Hair on the Compressive Strength of Adobe Bricks

BS 355

The uncertainty of the Earth’s sustainable future has been brought to the attention of the global community in recent years. One factor that has become an increasingly dangerous threat to Earth’s sustainable future is plastics. There have been many efforts to reduce the amount of plastic that is used and disposed of every day. Such efforts include, but are not limited to, the adoption of metal straws and reusable grocery bags. The intention behind these replacements is to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and incinerators, thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Although those efforts have shown promise, climate change organizations continue to search for new methods of recycling plastics in the environment. The aim of this experimental study is to recycle microplastics, specifically synthetic hair, by reusing hair that would be thrown away in adobe bricks. To test the viability of this idea, synthetic hair was incorporated into two different types of clay bricks: with and without cement. Descriptive statistics and a t-test were run on the compressive strength testing results. T-test analyses revealed that synthetic hair does have a positive and significant effect on the compressive strength of the bricks, t(4)=-7.57, p<0.01. From that analysis, it can be concluded that the synthetic hair bricks with no cement are the most cost-efficient bricks because they have higher compressive strength (M=512.06, SD=38.12) but do not require the additional assistance of cement, t(4)=-0.31, p=0.77. The null hypothesis can be rejected based on the findings meaning that adobe bricks with synthetic hair can be a constructive method of synthetic hair waste disposal.