Chennai:
With his plastic tar technology put to use in laying roads in the country, the man behind the project today claimed he has developed plastic monoblocks that can replace traditional bricks.
"Plastic monoblock technology is similar to plastic tar technology. While in roads, it is plastic, gravel and bitumen, in monoblocks, it is only stone and plastic heated at high temperatures," Professor R Vasudevan of Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai told PTI.
These monoblocks are strong enough to hold 300 tonnes of weight and a major benefit is it checks water penetration.
These blocks can stand firm even if an elephant is standing on top of them, he claimed, adding, it can be used in building construction.
A teacher in Chemistry department, Vasudevan had in 2002 got a patent for his 'plastic tar technology', in which the gravel is coated with a thin film of molten plastic generated by heating waste plastic materials.
After a test trial in his college campus in 2002, the technology has been put to use in many places across the country. Many towns in Tamil Nadu had been benefited and around 200 km of plastic roads was laid in Shimla and a little over 100 km in Kerala last year.
Latest in the list is Chennai Corporation, which has roped in Vasudevan to lay plastic tar technology roads in the city after trying it in Jambulingam Street of Nungambakkam in 2002.
"Chennai Corporation has invited me for the inauguration on January 4. There I am planning to launch the plastic monoblock," the doctorate in Chemistry said.