Production of Cement Blocks and New Ceramic Materials with High Content of Glass Waste
Virgin raw materials can be partially replaced by glass waste in order to reduce the environmental impact being its recycling a significant problem for municipalities worldwide. In Italy in 2013, approximately 1,600,000 tons of container glass have been collected but it was not possible to recycle all of them in the glass melting process.This work is focused on the valorization of glass waste as raw material in new cement and ceramic products, to convert it from an environmental and economic burden to a profitable, added-value resource in the formulation of new mixes. Several parameters, such as grinding, forming, firing, etc. have been studied.It has been optimized the grinding and the reclaiming step of waste to obtain an alternative raw material for hot and cold consolidation processes. Chemical, physical and mechanical properties of products were carried out. The results show new real possibilities to use high amounts of glass waste as an alternative raw material in products consolidated either by hot or cold techniques, reducing the management problems of the glass waste.