Production of alumino-borosilicate foamed glass body from waste LCD glass

A foaming process for waste LCD glass is presented, in which waste LCD glass is recycled to produce alumino-borosilicate foamed glass, which can eventually be used as a heat-insulating material, a light-weight aggregate for civil engineering applications, or a carrier for sewage treatment. The effects on waste LCD glass foaming of a variety of carbon foaming agents, metal salt foaming agents, and bonding agents are examined, as well as other factors such as chemical composition, foaming temperature, and grain size of the raw materials from the waste LCD glass. After examining all the variables that influence the foaming process, it was confirmed that the waste LCD glass is suitable as a raw material for producing alumino-borosilicate foamed glass. The alumino-borosilicate foamed glass has excellent physical properties, with density less than 0.14 g/cm³, heat conductivity less than 0.054 W/(mK) @20 °C, bending strength more than 35 N/cm², compressive strength more than 39 N/cm² and a coefficient of linear thermal expansion less than 4.5 × 10^?6 m/m °C. This clearly shows that the lightweight alumino-borosilicate foamed glass could be useful for various applications.     

Effect of calcium carbonate on the preparation of glass ceramic foams from water-quenched titanium-bearing blast furnace slag and waste glass

ABSTRACT

Glass ceramic foams were fabricated with powder sintering technology at a low temperature (900°C), using water-quenched titanium-bearing blast furnace slag (WTS) and waste glass as the primary raw materials. Additionally, calcium carbonate, sodium borate and sodium phosphate were chosen as sintering aids to form excellent performance products. The effects of calcium carbonate additions on foaming process, crystal content, morphology and properties of the prepared samples were systematically researched. The research indicates that increasing the calcium carbonate content made the foaming process harder and the pore size got more uniform. Consequently, the compressive strength and bulk density increased, while the porosity and water absorption decreased. The homogenous porous structures and optimal comprehensive properties were achieved with 5–7?wt-% CaCO₃ addition, including a bulk density of 0.79–0.82?g?cm^–3, porosity of 73.13–75.28%, water absorption of 3.29–3.75% and compressive strength of 13.13–13.85?MPa.     

Properties of concrete containing waste glass

In our study, in which waste glass (WG) is considered as coarse aggregates in the concrete, WG was used reduced to 4-16 mm in proportions of 0-60% in the production of PKÇ/B 32.5/R type cement. The effects of WG on workability and strength of the concrete with fresh and hardened concrete tests were analyzed. As a result of the study conducted, WG was determined not to have a significant effect upon the workability of the concrete and only slightly in the reduction of its strength. Waste glass cannot be used as aggregate without taking into account its ASR properties. As for cost analysis, it was determined to lower the cost of concrete productions. Our study was an environmental one in consideration to the fact that WG could be used in the concrete as coarse aggregates without the need for a high cost or rigorous energy.     

Lightweight aggregate based on waste glass and its alkali-silica reactivity

The possible use of waste glass for the production of lightweight aggregate has been studied. The aggregate, in the form of highly porous granules, was produced by mixing together finely ground waste glass and an expansive agent and firing this mixture at a selected temperature. The expansive agent was chosen on the basis of the results of DTA/TGA experiments, which were carried out on some selected agents and confirmed by using a hot-stage microscope, where the temperature interval of the expansion was also determined. Pilot production of about 0.5 m³ of the aggregate was performed in a rotary kiln, and the water absorption and bulk density of the aggregate so obtained were determined. Special emphasis was placed on the determination of the alkali-silica reactivity of the aggregate, and the results of initial tests for alkali-aggregate reaction were encouraging, given the high potential reactivity of the material. However, before such aggregate can be considered safe for general use in concrete, longer-term concrete prism tests need to be carried out, which would cover the range of mixes in which the aggregate is likely to be used.     

Influence of additives on the crystallization and thermal conductivity of container glass cullet for foamed glass preparation

Foamed glass preparation is a complex combination of reactions, greatly influenced by the composition of the used glass and often hindered by simultaneous crystallization. The crystallization phenomenon is undesirable in foamed glass production since it decreases the quality of the final product. In this work the influence of different types of additives (foaming agents, flux agents, crystallization inhibitors and nucleating agent) on the crystallization of waste container glass and properties of the sintered samples (density and thermal conductivity) was studied. Results of our study confirmed partial crystallization during sintering stage. We found that waste container glass manifests complex crystallization with the formation of four main crystalline phases, which can be inhibited with the addition of fluxing agents (B₂O₃ and borax). Moreover, here we show that prevention of the crystallization can lead to a significant decrease of the thermal conductivity.     

Key factors governing alkaline pretreatment of waste activated sludge

Alkaline pretreatment is an effective technology to disintegrate sewage sludge, where alkali dosage and sludge concentration are two important factors. pH value or alkali concentration is usually adjusted in order to deter-mine a proper dosage of alkali. Our work has found that this is not a good strategy. A new parameter, the ratio of alkali to sludge (Ra/s), is more sensitive in controlling the alkali dosage. The sludge concentration Cs and reten-tion time t are two other important factors to consider. The validity of these arguments is confirmed with model-ing and experiments. The individual effect of Ra/s, Cs and t was studied separately. Then the combined effect of these three factors was evaluated. The sludge disintegration degree of 44.7%was achieved with the optimized factors. Furthermore, an alkaline-microwave combined pretreatment process was carried out under these optimized conditions. A high disintegration degree of 62.3%was achieved while the energy consumption of microwave was much lower than previously reported.     

Reuse of glass waste in the manufacture of ceramic tableware glazes

Today, various studies are carried out to spread the understanding of sustainability. The sustainability of production processes gains importance in corporate areas. In this study, the use of glass waste instead of frit used in glaze compositions in the ceramic industry was evaluated. The chemical and physical properties of glass wastes on samples were examined. The glaze formulations were prepared using 3%, 5%, and 8% by weight of glass waste instead of frit. Glass wastes were added to glaze compositions and 12 different glaze formulation studies were carried out. Transparent, Opaque, and Matte test glazes were prepared with glass waste added glaze formulations, and these glazes were applied to ceramic bodies. SEM (scanning electron microscope) analysis of standard glaze and glass waste added glazes was performed to determine the microstructural and morphological characterizations. Also, surface whiteness, brightness, L*a*b values, glaze flows, harcort test results, and final water absorption values were compared. As a result of the studies, it has been determined that it is appropriate to use 3% glass waste by weight instead of the frit in the production of ceramic tableware.     

Mechanical,microstructural and mineralogical evaluation of alkali-activated waste glass and stone wool

Mineral waste wool represents a significant part of construction and demolition waste (CDW) not yet being successfully re-utilized. In the present study, waste stone wool (SW) and glass wool (GW) in the form received, without removing the binder, were evaluated for their potential use in alkali activation technology. It was confirmed that both can be used in the preparation of alkali-activated materials (AAMs), whether cured at room temperature or at an elevated temperature in order to speed up the reaction. The results show that it is possible to obtain a compressive strength of over 50 MPa using SW or GW as a precursor. A strength of 53 MPa was obtained in AAM based on GW after curing for 3 days at 40 °C, while a similar compressive strength (58 MPa) was achieved after curing the GW mixture for 56 days at room temperature. In general, the mechanical properties of samples based on GW are better than those based on SW. The evolution of mechanical properties and recognition of influential parameters were determined by various microstructural analyses, including XRD, SEM, MIP, and FTIR. The type of activator (solely NaOH or a combination of NaOH and sodium silicate), and the SiO₂/Na₂O and liquid to solid (L/S) ratios were found to be the significant parameters. A lower SiO₂/Na₂O ratio and low L/S ratio significantly improve the mechanical strength of AAMs made from both types of mineral wool.     

Preparation and properties of foam ceramic from nickel slag and waste glass powder

The utilisation of nickel slag and waste glass powder as raw materials for preparing foamed ceramic was studied. The influences of the mixture design and foaming-agent dosage on the properties and microstructures of foamed ceramic were investigated in terms of the density, flexural strength, phase composition and micromorphology. Results showed that incorporating nickel slag improved the flexural strength and uniformity of the pore structure. However, owing to the high density of nickel slag, its excessive usage may impact the development of foamed ceramic density and porosity as a side effect. The Na₂CO₃ dosage was another crucial factor determining foamed ceramic properties. A nickel slag content of was 20% and a Na₂CO₃ content of 7% decreased the foamed ceramic density to 0.498 g/cm³, with a corresponding flexural strength of 2.66 MPa and a higher porosity of 80.06%.     

Effect of sonolysis on waste activated sludge solubilisation and anaerobic biodegradability

Activated sludge processes are key technologies in wastewater treatment. These biological processes produce huge amounts of waste activated sludge (WAS) or otherwise biosolids. Mechanical, thermal, and/or chemical WAS conditioning techniques have been proposed to reduce the sludge burden. Among the WAS treatments, the pre-treatment with ultrasound (US) is one of the most innovative processes. In many anaerobic digestion processes for the treatment of the sludge produced in wastewater treatment plants, the hydrolysis of the organic matter has been identified as the rate limiting step.This study is focused on the effect of US pre-treatment of WAS to the anaerobic digestion. Particle size reduction, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) solubilization and biodegradability by anaerobic digestion were monitored in order to find the optimal dose in US pre-treatment.The results show the better sonolysis conditions (US density, sonication time, specific energy) which can significantly improve the COD solubilisation and the anaerobic biodegradability.     

Sintering and reactive crystal growth of diopside-albite glass-ceramics from waste glass

Diopside-albite glass-ceramics were fabricated by sintering the powder mixtures of crystallization promoters and waste glass. Two kinds of promoters were synthesized using kaolin clay, talc and chemical reagents. The crystalline phases were formed by a reactive crystallization between promoters and glass during sintering. The effect of promoter components, additions and sintering temperatures on the crystallizing and densifying behavior, microstructures and mechanical properties of glass-ceramics was investigated. The results showed that the higher densities and better mechanical properties were obtained for the glass-ceramics with 12-15% crystallization promoters sintered at 950 °C for 2 h.     

Performance of glass-ceramic-based lightweight aggregates manufactured from waste glass and muck

Lightweight aggregates (LWAs) with microcrystalline diopside as the main constituent were prepared in this study. Waste glass and waste muck were used as the main raw materials, and the formula was designed according to the chemical composition of diopside, rather than using the Riley scheme. The effects of the glass content and nucleating agent on the mechanical properties, mineral composition, and microstructure of LWAs were studied. The results indicated that the presence of diopside crystallites can significantly improve the mechanical properties of LWAs. With an increase in the glass content from 0 wt % to 70 wt %, the strength of the LWAs increased from 12.21 MPa to 19.31 MPa with similar densities in the range of 1.667–1.687 g/cm³. The addition of a nucleating agent has a fluxing effect and promotes the formation and growth of diopside, which provides aggregates with high strength and low density. For example, the addition of CaF₂ decreased the density of the LWAs from 1.687 g/cm³ to 1.461 g/cm³ and increased the strength from 17.59 MPa to 20.81 MPa under the same calcination regime. The effect of the pore structure on the mechanical properties of the LWA in this experiment was far less than that of the crystal phase composition. With the addition of a nucleating agent, the diopside was co-precipitated from both the muck and glass. If no nucleating agent is added, diopside mainly precipitates from glass, and muck mainly forms a glass phase.     

The sintering kinetics of porcelain bodies made from waste glass and fly ash

Porcelain is a material produced from kaoline, quartz and potassium-feldspar. Recently, research of new materials, for example non-hazardous wastes, that are able to replace traditional fluxing agents without changing the process or quality of the final products has been realized. The aim of this work is to study the possibility of the use of glass powder waste and fly ash together for manufacturing porcelain. Instead of quartz, fly ash was used at the selected porcelain composition. The waste glass was added partially and fully in replacement of potassium-feldspar. Samples were fired in an electric furnace with a heating rate of 10 °C/min at 1100, 1150 and 1200 °C for a period of 1, 2, 3 and 5 h. The sintered samples were characterised by XRD (X-ray diffraction) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy). Sintering activation energies were determined based on the bulk density result. At 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt.% glass waste addition, the apparent activation energies were calculated to be 145, 113.5, 70.4 and 53.74 kJ/mol, respectively. It was found that the sintering activation energy decreased with increasing waste glass addition.     

Experimental study on foam glass prepared by hydrothermal hot pressing-calcination technique using waste glass and fly ash

Foam glass is a lightweight and high-strength building and decoration material with superior performance in heat insulation, sound absorption, moisture resistance and fire protection. The use of waste glass powder and fly ash to prepare foam glass is one of the most important ways to utilize solid waste as a resource. In this study, waste glass powder and fly ash were used as raw materials to prepare foam glass by a hydrothermal hot pressing–calcination method. The effects of fly ash content (0 wt%, 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%), heating rate (1 °C/min, 3 °C/min, 5 °C/min, 8 °C/min, 10 °C/min) and calcination temperature (600 °C, 700 °C, 750 °C, 800 °C, 850 °C, 900 °C) on the microscopic morphology, density, compressive strength, porosity and other properties of the foam glass samples were studied. Their microstructure and morphology were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis–mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. At a fly ash content of 10 wt%, the heating rate was 5 °C/min, the calcination temperature was 800 °C, the foam glass density was 0.3 g/cm³, the compressive strength was 1.65 MPa, the total porosity was 75.5%, and the effective thermal conductivity was 0.206 W/m·K. The effective thermal conductivity models of the composite materials were used to verify the experimental data. The relationship between the thermal conductivity of foam glass materials and the related influencing factors was investigated.     

Reuse of mineral wool waste and recycled glass in ceramic foams

Novel ceramic foams have been prepared by high temperature sintering of waste mineral wool and waste glass using SiC as a foaming agent. The aim of the research was to understand the effects of composition and sintering conditions on the properties and microstructure and produce commercially exploitable ceramic foams. Optimum ceramic foams were formed from 40 wt% mineral wool waste and 2 wt% SiC, sintered at 1170 °C using a heating rate of 20 °C/min with a 20 min hold at peak temperature. The ceramic foams produced had a bulk density of 0.71 g/cm³ and a uniform pore size distribution. The research shows that ceramic foams can be formed from waste mineral wool and these can be used for thermal insulation with associated economic and environmental benefits.     

Preparation and characterization of foam glass from waste container glasses and water glass for application in thermal insulations

Glass foams are modern developed building materials which are now favorably competing with conventional materials for applications in thermal insulation. In this study, glass foams are synthesized solely from waste container glasses of mixed colors using sodium silicate (water glass) as foaming agent. Several glass foams of 150 × 150 × 30 mm were prepared from waste glasses of 75 μm, 150 μm and 250 μm size with addition of 15 wt % sodium silicate respectively and pressed uniaxially under a pressure of 10 MPa. The prepared glass foams were then sintered at temperatures of 800 °C and 850 °C respectively. Tests such as bulk density, estimated porosity, flexural strength, compressive strength and microstructure evaluation were used to assess the performance of the developed glass foams. The results showed that with increasing temperature and grain sizes, the percent porosity of the developed foams increased while the bulk density decreased. The microstructure evaluation showed that the finer the grain sizes used, the more homogenized are the pores formed and the higher the temperature, the larger the pores but are mostly closed. Both compressive and flexural strength were found to decrease with grain sizes and higher temperatures. The thermal conductivities of all the developed foam glasses satisfy the standard requirement to be used as an insulating material as their thermal conductivities did not exceed 0.25 W/m.K.     

Durability of concrete with addition of dry sludge from waste water treatment plants

This paper evaluates the use of dry sludge as an additive for concrete, for which it must be guaranteed that the resulting concrete has the appropriate mechanical strength and durability.In earlier work on the subject, it was shown that the addition of sludge reduces the mechanical strength of concrete. With the addition of 10% sludge in proportion to the amount of concrete, the mechanical strength decreases significantly, making it unsuitable for medium- to high-strength reinforced concrete.One possible area of application would be in the preparation of low-strength mass concrete that could be used for bases and subbases of roads with light traffic, as filler, etc.We subjected the concrete specimens to different types of accelerated attack in order to evaluate long-term performance and compare them with the reference concrete (not containing sludge).The following tests were made:

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Combined wet-dry cycles using fresh water, seawater and water containing 5% sulphates

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Accelerated ageing in an autoclave

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Accelerated carbonation

The performance of the concrete containing sludge was acceptable and comparable to the results obtained for the reference concrete not containing sludge.     

Optimisation of low temperature sinter crystallisation of waste derived glass

Abstract

Abstract

Mixtures of inorganic waste materials are commonly converted into glasses, in turn to be transformed into glass ceramics. Specific composition designs may lead to glasses with a low crystallisation temperature, useful for low cost ceramisation by bulk nucleation. This feature, however, may be disadvantageous if the same glasses are subjected to sintering, since intensive crystallisation hinders the viscous flow. This paper illustrates the optimisation of simultaneous sintering and crystallisation of a waste derived glass, originally intended for bulk nucleation, when coupled with recycled glasses, at a very low temperature (800°C). The mixing with secondary glasses did not merely enhance the densification (residual porosity of ～3%) but modified the crystallisation. Owing to the mechanical properties (e.g. Young’s modulus and bending strength exceeding 80 GPa and 90 MPa respectively), the obtained sintered glass ceramics may find profitable applications in the building industry.     

Powder sintering and gel casting methods in making glass foam using waste glass: A review on parameters,performance, and challenges

The application of insulation materials in buildings and energy storage facilities is gaining global attention to reduce energy consumption, heat loss, and CO₂ emissions. Given the high insulation performance, glass foam is gaining popularity replacing combustible, high energy-consuming, and costly conventional insulation materials. The industrial process of glass foam manufacturing is an energy-consuming and non-ecofriendly process which requires the annealing of glass around its melting temperature. Therefore, researchers have developed powder sintering and gel casting methods to sinter glass foam mix at a temperature slightly above its glass transition point. However, research findings on these two methods are scattered because of the different parameters being used by researchers. The properties and performances of glass foam depend on the processing parameters, especially on the materials design and sintering conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive review on the key parameters for material selection and sintering of glass foams and provide necessary guidelines for the best practice and a direction for future research. Moreover, this review covers the current strategies and challenges associated with the powder sintering and gel casting methods including their sustainability and environmental performance.     

Synthesis of colloidal nanosilica from waste glass powder as a low cost precursor

Waste glass powder was used as a low cost precursor for production of colloidal nanosilica for the first time. The process includes production of wet silica gel and thermal peptization of the wet gel. Purification of the glass powder and wet gel production were initiated by acid washing. The obtained powder was reacted with sodium hydroxide to produce wet silica gel. Type of the applied acid was examined in one factor at a time route. Temperature of the alkaline step and concentrations of the applied acid and base were investigated using Taguchi design of experiments. After finding the best combination of the investigated factor levels in production of the wet gel, time of the stabilization in thermal peptization was studied. Characterizations of the wet gel and colloidal silica were performed by XRF, DLS, FESEM, TEM, FTIR and N₂ sorption evaluation. Accordingly pure and stable colloidal nanosilica (98.50%) with average particle size of 21.9?nm was produced from the glass powder successfully. Specific surface area of the dried porous optimum sample was 83.63?m²/g.