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Vitrification of Iron Oxide Rich Sludge Resulted from the Groundwater Treatment as New Glass Ceramic Materials
Abstract
This paper offers a new solution to vitrify the sludge resulted from washing the filters used for iron removal phase of the groundwater treatment process. The new glass ceramic materials, obtained after heat treatment at three different temperatures: 800, 900 and 1000 oC were characterized in terms of dimensional stability after firing, apparent density and porosity, hydrolytic stability and iron ions immobilization capacity. The effect of the calcined sludge amount upon the mentioned properties was analysed.
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As the emerging versatile waste forms for immobilizing actinide-rich radioactive wastes, glass-ceramic composite materials based on some durable ceramic phases are being developed. They have apparent advantages over the conventional borosilicate glasses and multi- or single- phase ceramics as they essentially combine the chemical and processing flexibilities of glasses to accommodate processing impurities and excellent chemical durability of ceramic phases to host actinides. More recently, some new advances have been made on scientific and technological aspects including new glass-ceramic systems; improved understanding of ceramic phase evolution in glass; actinide validation studies and simplified processing techniques. This review is intended to cover the current advances on the development of glass-ceramic composite waste forms focusing on titanate ceramic phases (zirconolite, pyrochlore and brannerite) for immobilizing various actinide-rich radioactive wastes arising from the nuclear fuel cycle.
Glass foams were successfully produced from discarded glass bottles (GB) and pine scales (PS) as pore former agent in contents between 1 and 50 vol%. Samples containing glass and pine scale wastes in powder form were homogenized and uniaxially pressed (20 MPa). The obtained powder compacts were dried (room temperature/24 h and 110 ºC/24 h), fired at 850 ºC/30 min/10 ºC/min and characterized according to their chemical, structural, mechanical, and thermal properties. The results (porosities between 78 and 86% with thermal conductivities between 0.072 and 0.093 W/mK and compressive mechanical strength between 0.2 and 3.4 MPa) indicated that the obtained foams produced from low-cost starting materials have potential for being used in applications where thermal insulation and non-flammability are the main technical requirements.
Graphic Abstract
The growing use of carbon and glass fibres has increased awareness about their waste disposal methods. Tonnes of composite waste containing valuable carbon fibres and glass fibres have been cumulating every year from various applications. These composite wastes must be cost-effectively recycled without causing negative environmental impact. This review article presents an overview of the existing methods to recycle the cumulating composite wastes containing carbon fibre and glass fibre, with emphasis on fibre recovery and understanding their retained properties. Carbon and glass fibres are assessed via focused topics, each related to a specific treatment method: mechanical recycling; thermal recycling, including fluidised bed and pyrolysis; chemical recycling and solvolysis using critical conditions. Additionally, a brief analysis of their environmental and economic aspects are discussed, prioritising the methods based on sustainable values. Finally, research gaps are identified to highlight the factors of circular economy and its significant role in closing the life-cycle loop of these valuable fibres into re-manufactured composites.
The construction industry requires the extraction of natural aggregates and cement in large quantities for new developments and maintenance of buildings and engineering infrastructures. However, extraction of these large quantities of natural resources has resulted in continuous depletion of earth’s natural resources which may lead to environmental degradation. Waste glass can be recycled as a replacement for natural aggregates and cement, therefore, reducing the amount of waste glass dumped in the landfill, and making exploration of natural aggregates unattractive and also reducing the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Conversely, perception on using recycled waste glass for construction is that an increase in cost will be witnessed and may not be as effective as natural aggregates but with more sophisticated research this perception is declining. This paper reviews recycled waste glass, the standards, and sustainable uses of waste glass as a construction material. As the world population continues to increase, including an increase in the standard of living, the volume of generated glass waste will only continue to increase. However, it is important that we need to understand more about the use of recycle waste material such as glass in construction. The use of recycled waste materials in building construction is viewed as a sustainable way of managing wastes and preserving the environment from further degradation.
This study involves the chemical characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) bottom ash (BA) produced at a combustor facility in Rimini (Italy), and vitrification experiments, performed at lab scale under atmospheric conditions, maximum temperature of 1100 °C, for different durations (2–16 h). LA-ICP-MS analyses of the glasses obtained revealed that the overall volatility of metal elements increases with the time but it cannot be simply predicted by element boiling point. Elements have been here categorized into three different groups depending on their volatility comparing the glass product with the BA starting sample- high, medium or low, respectively- (1) Cu, W, Cl; (2) Pb, Zn, Sr; (3) Mo, Cr, V, Ni. The behavior of Cs, Rb, Ag, Ba, Ga, Co, U, Zr, Hf and Ta in the glassy slag is not defined because we did not observe statistically significant changes in their volatility behavior.
Vitrification allows us to produce chemically stable glassy materials and immobilize potentially harmful elements, thus producing from waste new vitreous materials that are relatively inert and suitable for potential re-utilization in new products and/or applications for building and construction industries. Moreover, the samples show REE chondrite-normalized patterns indicating relative enrichments in Light-Rare Earth Elements (LREE), in particular La and Nd which may be interesting from an economic point of view in terms of waste recovery.
Thus, the results obtained show how to treat bottom ashes from incinerator in order to provide more chemically inert and economically useful resources for recycle and reuse of solid waste BA.
Glass manufacturing is a high-volume process, during which large substance quantities are transformed into commercial products, and significant amounts of non-renewable resources and energy (i.e., thermal fuels and electrical power) are consumed. The main purpose of this study is to give a critical explanation of the performance of the Italian container glass industry from the perspective of cullet being recycled, to outline the opportunities for transition towards circular business models that stimulate innovation in new sectors based on reverse-cycle activities for recycling. In 2015, disparate performances have been achieved as regards the container glass recycling rate in northern, central, and southern Italy, accounting for around 73%, 64%, and 55%, respectively. In fact, only northern Italy is in line with European targets, as by 2025 it will only need to increase its current performance by two percentage points, unlike central and southern Italy that will have to increase performance by, respectively, 11% and 20%. This shows a need to improve the efficiency of municipal waste collection systems in central and southern Italy, where undifferentiated waste still holds appreciable amounts of glass. Consequently, we propose several improvement channels, from the revision of waste legislation to the re-engineering of waste management supply chains.
Various alkali-activated binders (AABs) incorporated with different industrial wastes emerged as useful environmental affable materials in the construction sectors as alternative to the traditional cement due to their lower CO2 emission and landfill problems mitigation. The sustainability of concretes is the major global concern in the construction sectors. In this view, the effects of waste glass bottles-derived nanopowder (WGBNP) on the durability characteristics of five batches of alkali-activated mortars (AAMs) with the inclusion of fly ash (FA) and ground blast furnace slag (GBFS) were evaluated. These AAMs were designed via the replacement of GBFS at various WGBNP contents (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20%). Analytical tests were performed to determine the mortars compressive strength, porosity, drying shrinkage, and resistance to aggressive environments. Microstructures characteristics were assessed using XRD measurements. Replacement of GBFS by WGBNP was found to remarkably improve the durability traits of the produced AAMs, solving the environmental and landfill problems. The results indicated that the inclusion of 5% of WGBNP in alkali-activated matrix led to the reduction of porosity and enhancement of the strength and durability performance. Additionally, the replacement of GBFS by WGBNP was found to improve the durability performance in terms of reduced drying shrinkage and increased resistance to sulphuric acid, wearing, and freeze-thaw cycles. The obtained AAMs were demonstrated to be environmentally beneficial regarding the lowering of global warming.
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.
Incineration is the most common way to reduce the mass and the volume of municipal solid wastes. One of the most dangerous by-products of the incineration process is fly ash that contains a considerable amount of heavy metals. Therefore, its treatment is crucial to prevent the leaching of heavy metals into the environment. In the present work, two different sources of municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash have been vitrified in order to inhibit the release of potentially toxic heavy metals. Two different sources of silica, i.e. silica sand and glass cullet, have been added to each type of fly ash in an attempt to obtain vitrifiable batches. The standard leaching test on vitrified products was performed according to EN12457-2 confirming no heavy metal leaching and, therefore, they all pass waste acceptance criteria to be classified as an inert material. Furthermore, the previously reported data for vitrification of fly ash was combined with the present work and their compositions were presented in the SiO2-Al2O3-CaO, and SiO2-ΣM2O3-Σ(MO + M2O) ternary phase diagrams to identify the region in which successful compositions are concentrated. This analysis could facilitate the attempt to find the right composition for vitrification of fly ash.
Fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration is considered as a hazardous waste, which would raise great threats on environmental safety due to the inherent toxic heavy metals and organic pollutants. In this study, we applied the life cycle assessment to evaluate the thermal plasma vitrification process for stabilization of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration. We established four scenarios: (i) plasma vitrification, including centralized and off-site plasma treatment, (ii) fuel-based vitrification, (iii) water-washing treatment followed by a rotary kiln, and (iv) conventional solidification and landfill. We found that the environmental impacts, especially toxicity to ecosystem quality and human health, could be significantly reduced by deploying plasma vitrification technology. We also found that centralized plasma vitrification facilities possessing larger treatment capabilities with clean electricity could further reduce the environmental impacts. In contrast, the water-washing treatment exhibited the highest environmental impacts due to the emissions of vaporized heavy metals. Based on the LCA and sensitivity analysis, we confirmed that the thermal plasma vitrification should be considered as an environmentally-friendly solution to sustainable treatment of fly ash from municipal solid waste incineration. Lastly, we provided several perspectives and prospects of plasma vitrification for realizing the sustainable materials management.
Reducing the use of natural resources and ensuring proper reuse of industrial wastes are among the most practical potential solutions for sustainable development and a cleaner environment. The generation and disposal of waste materials that cause severe ecological impacts must be inhibited. Based on these ideas, we propose the utilisation of ceramic waste, which is inexpensive, abundant, and environmentally friendly, as a partial replacement for cement and fine aggregates in the preparation of some new types of mortars. This study investigates the long-term performance, mechanical properties, and durability of a mortar comprising ceramic waste as supplementary cementitious material and ceramic particles as fine aggregates. In addition, the environmental benefits of sustainable mortar are assessed. The structure, morphology, and thermal traits of the designed mixes are characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements. The results of this study indicate that the utilisation of ceramic waste as both a binder and a fine aggregate source significantly improved the compressive strength of the mortar and provided higher resistance against adverse environmental conditions. The positive interaction between ceramic waste and fine aggregates enabled a higher level of crystalline formation and, therefore, a reduction in porosity and cracking. In summary, it was demonstrated that ceramic waste blended mortars displayed enhanced performance and energy-saving qualities, which are both technically and environmentally useful and may lead to lower construction costs and increased sustainability.
The present review paper examines the essential stages in the developments of the innovative category of eco-friendly inorganic Geopolymer concrete throwing lights on the Waste of Glasses valorisation concerning their amalgamation in producing Geopolymer concrete particularly pertaining to its durability properties. The process of Geopolymerization is capable enough to produce diverse GPC in the field of sustainable infrastructures and constructions industries. Nevertheless, more advanced investigations with respect to its durability viz., Drying shrinkage behaviours, Sulphate Attack, Leaching Test, Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity and thermal properties as well as heavy metals immobilization along with micro-structural attributes like porosity, XRD and SEM analyses will altogether prove to be worthy to people related to construction industries, researchers, engineers, etc. Though, the literature in this novel sector is little and isolated and found mostly on their blending with other profuse wastes. Until now, their character is not fully outlined and not broadly accepted in contrast to Ordinary Portland Cement based building composites. For this reason, a review of its literature to focus on the valorisation of incorporating of Waste of Glasses in production of Geopolymer concrete emphasizing on its durability characteristics to promote it as durable and sustainable large-scale construction material along with cost-effectiveness too. When GPC is produced employing accessible precursors, activators blending with glass wastes under the standard quality control of principally durability properties and low carbon footprints of alkali activators, valorisation of these types of GPCs are vital approaching part of the future toolbox of durable and sustainable as well as cost-effective building materials. Ultimately, the manuscript categorizes its endorsement as durable structural materials for widespread applications as a promising new-fangled kind of edifice material.
Adhesion of residual packed materials to waste glass bottles, as well as particle size, pozzolanic activity and alkali-silica reaction (ASR) of waste glass powder, are important indexes to choose waste glass bottles to be utilized as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Five different sources of waste glass bottles were selected, characterized and tested to be used as supplementary cementitious materials. The pozzolanic behavior of waste glass powders was examined by different methods. The compressive strength development of mortars containing uncolored, green or brown soda-lime ground glass types exhibited good pozzolanic behavior confirmed by a chemical test. The formation of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) was demonstrated by XRD and TGA-DTA analysis. The alkali-silica reaction was monitored for the five glass powders. The results of pozzolanic activity, as well as the expansion results due to ASR, show that the powder of uncolored, green and brown soda-lime glass types is acceptable to be used as SCMs and the ions responsible for the color have no effect on the performance.
Glass recycling can help reduce resource consumption, waste, energy use, and air and water pollution. Recycled glass products are figuring more prominently in global environmental policy trends. However, glass recycling product design is confronted with uncertainty of market demands. Manufacturers of various glass recycling product types such as glass art, glassware, and building materials face challenges of better understanding the needs of users and connecting user demand to product design prototypes, resulting in product design and user barriers. This study aimed to define a user experience-based product design approach from a people-oriented perspective. The proposed smart production approach to empowering industry 4.0 in the circular economy of the glass recycling industry explores product decision-making information systems and data-driven innovation. To understand user preferences for products, this study focused on key product factors and crucial user characteristics. Decision-making information systems were employed to identify the user experience for product and service design to provide useful information for smart production. This study was conducted in cooperation with a leading glass recycling company in Taiwan to enhance recycling incentives and empower industry 4.0 in the circular economy.
Glass-ceramic composite materials have been investigated for nuclear waste sequestration applications due to their ability to incorporate large amounts of radioactive waste elements. A key property that needs to be understood when developing nuclear waste sequestration materials is how the structure of the material responds to radioactive decay of nuclear waste elements, which can be simulated by high energy ion implantation. Borosilicate glass-ceramic composites containing brannerite-type (CeTi2O6) or zirconolite-type (CaZrTi2O7) oxides were synthesized at different annealing temperatures and investigated after being implanted with high-energy Au ions to mimic radiation induced structural damage. Backscattered electron (BSE) images were collected to investigate the interaction of the brannerite crystallites with the glass matrix before and after implantation and showed that the morphology of the crystallites in the composite materials were not affected by radiation damage. Surface sensitive Ti K-edge glancing angle XANES spectra collected from the implanted composite materials showed that the structures of the CeTi2O6 and CaZrTi2O7 ceramics were damaged as a result of implantation; however, analysis of Si L2,3-edge XANES spectra indicated that the glass matrix was not affected by ion implantation.
In the paper process of sintering of hospital incineration ash as a counterpart of low-level active waste with borosilicate glass frit is presented. It is shown that low porosity glass-ceramic waste-form can be obtained at a temperature range of 850-900. °C. In the sinter, the main crystal phases are wollastonite and aegirine-augite pyroxenes which have a large isomorphous capacity of binding hazardous elements. The crystal phases are fully encapsulated by the glass that provides additional protection against environmental influence. Thus, multibarrier material can be obtained at a temperature considerably lower than vitrification. This, in turn, can improve the economics of immobilization process.
This paper presents a literature review relating to the potential waste glass collection and processing as
glass cullet for its use as raw material in secondary markets. Emphasis is given to the application of glass
cullet in the construction industry, other than as construction aggregate, especially in ceramic-based
products, including ceramic bricks, tiles and their glazing, glass-ceramics, foam glass-ceramics, and
porcelain. These applications also include the use of glass cullet as a filtration medium, constituent in
epoxy resins, in the production of glass fibres, elastomeric roof coatings, aesthetic finishing materials,
abrasive material for surface cleaning, and paint filler. The analysis and evaluation of the vast amount of
experimental research showed that glass cullet is a potentially valuable resource for the manufacture of
ceramic-based products, where it can be used as substitute for expensive natural resources, improving
the products’ physical, mechanical and environmental performance.
The aim of this research was to determine the impact of the use of a recycled crushed glass finish coat on flat roofs to reduce the transmission of heat from sun radiance to indoor spaces in the buildings. This research forms part of previous studies carried out by LiTa on the application of cool roof products to reduce the energy required for air-conditioning inside buildings.
In this study, we reported the studies on a glass–ceramic foam with wollastonite and cristobalite micrometric crystals prepared by sintering a borosilicate glass waste with organic binder as foaming agent. The waste glass, coming from the dismantling of washing machine, was characterized by high CaO content and low-temperature sinterability. The effect of the temperature on the sinter-crystallization ability of the borosilicate glass waste was followed with thermal analysis, heating microscopy, and electron scanning microscopy (ESEM) observations. Additionally, the effect of temperature on the evolution of crystalline phases and density variation was monitored with XRD and density measurements. The softening started at 800°C and crystallization at 845°C to be completed at 900°C with a linear expansion of 38–40% in the range 850–900°C. Wollastonite and cristobalite were identified as crystalline phases in variable proportions dependently upon temperature. No crack evidence was found at high ESEM magnification even though cristobalite crystals were present. The final products showed a total porosity around 78–79% and an apparent density of about 0.5 g/cm3, in line with common porous closed-cell glass foams used for thermal insulation.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to recycling of glass waste were assessed from a waste management perspective. Focus was on the material recovery facility (MRF) where the initial sorting of glass waste takes place. The MRF delivers products like cullet and whole bottles to other industries. Two possible uses of reprocessed glass waste were considered: (i) remelting of cullet added to glass production; and (ii) re-use of whole bottles. The GHG emission accounting included indirect upstream emissions (provision of energy, fuels and auxiliaries), direct activities at the MRF and bottle-wash facility (combustion of fuels) as well as indirect downstream activities in terms of using the recovered glass waste in other industries and, thereby, avoiding emissions from conventional production. The GHG accounting was presented as aggregated global warming factors (GWFs) for the direct and indirect upstream and downstream processes, respectively. The range of GWFs was estimated to 0-70 kg CO(2)eq. tonne( -1) of glass waste for the upstream activities and the direct emissions from the waste management system. The GWF for the downstream effect showed some significant variation between the two cases. It was estimated to approximately -500 kg CO(2)-eq. tonne(- 1) of glass waste for the remelting technology and -1500 to -600 kg CO(2)-eq. tonne(-1) of glass waste for bottle re-use. Including the downstream process, large savings of GHG emissions can be attributed to the waste management system. The results showed that, in GHG emission accounting, attention should be drawn to thorough analysis of energy sources, especially electricity, and the downstream savings caused by material substitution.