Recycling of flat glass for glass foam production

Abstract

Open loop glass recycling is a process where the glass is recycled into a new product. Glass recycling helps reduce landfill waste. Glass takes up significant space in landfills and does not decompose. In many countries, landfills are filling up faster than we can create new ones. Recycling glass reduces the volume of waste, and increases the lifespan of landfills. One of examples of open loop recycling of glass is glass foam produciton. Glass foam production is a process that involves the creation of a light-weight glass material with a foam-like consistency. This type of glass is made by mixing a foaming agent with glass powder and heating to temperatures where decomposition of a foaming agent and sintering of glass happens. This results in the creation of a material that is light, strong, and has thermally-insulating properties. Milled flat glass was mixed with sugar beet factory lime, a CaCO3 – rich waste wich has role of a foaming agent, in order to enter 5% CaCO3 in mixture and pressed at 20 MPa in hydraulic press. Raw pellets were sintered at 800 °C for 30 min. In obtained glass foam phase composition, pore size distribution, compressive strength and thermal conducitivity were determined. Glass foam is emerging as a flexible, cost-effective, and sustainable material that can be utilized in numerous applications to promote sustainable development. Its features such as high insulation capacity, lightweight, and durability make it an ideal material for a wide range of industries.