Reinforcing Crushed Abandoned Fishing Nets and Ropes Makes Concrete Stronger... KIOST Presents Research on Using Waste Fishing Nets

Concrete reinforced with cut fishing nets (left) and concrete reinforced with crushed ropes.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) announced research results showing that simply cutting and crushing waste fishing nets and ropes collected from Korea's coastal areas and aquaculture farms and using them as concrete reinforcement materials improves the durability of structures.

According to the research, crushing waste fishing nets and ropes into fiber form to reinforce concrete reduces concrete damage and decreases length changes, which are the cause of crack formation.

In particular, applying this reinforcement material to marine port concrete structures exposed to corrosion due to marine salt is expected to increase the durability performance and extend the service life of the structures.

In the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' national coastal debris monitoring, waste fishing gear and buoys account for about 54% of the annual marine plastic waste generation (estimated about 67,000 tons), causing problems such as marine environmental pollution and ship accidents.

The government established the "1st Basic Plan for Marine Waste Management" last year to respond to the rapidly increasing marine plastic waste and aims to reduce marine waste.

Additionally, to strengthen the management of fishing gear and buoys, plans are underway to introduce a deposit system for fishing gear buoys and a real-name system for fishing gear.

Senior Researcher Park Jun-gil and his team at KIOST's Coastal Development and Energy Research Center have developed key technologies for marine waste pretreatment and recycling structural materials and methods since 2020.

Noting that the material of waste fishing nets is similar to plastic fibers used for concrete reinforcement, they also developed reinforcing fibers that enhance concrete strength using waste fishing nets.

The research team designed and manufactured a crusher capable of cutting and crushing waste fishing nets, produced composite materials of recycled fiber-reinforced cement, and is conducting studies on mechanical behaviors such as compression, tension, and bending.

KIOST President Kim Woong-seo stated, "Developing technology to recycle marine waste, which severely impacts the marine environment, into high value-added resources is essential," adding, "In the future, we will strengthen our research capabilities to recycle not only waste fishing nets and ropes but also various marine wastes into useful resources to contribute to extending the lifespan of port structures."

KIOST's research results were published under the title "Experimental study on strength and flexural toughness properties of waste fishing net hybrid fiber-reinforced cementitious composites" in the September issue of Composite Structures.