Foam glasses made from green bottle glass and sugar beet factory lime as a foaming agent

Veljko Savić; Vladimir Topalović; Jelena Nikolić; Sanja Jevtić; Nebojša Manić; Mirko Komatina; Srđan Matijašević; Snežana Grujić

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17664

Foam glasses made from green bottle glass and sugar beet factory lime as a foaming agent

Heliyon. 2023 Jul 3;9(7):e17664. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17664. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Authors

Veljko Savić¹, Vladimir Topalović¹, Jelena Nikolić¹, Sanja Jevtić², Nebojša Manić³, Mirko Komatina³, Srđan Matijašević¹, Snežana Grujić²

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Bulevar Franš D'Eperea 86, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
² University of Belgrade, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Karnegijeva 4, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.
³ University of Belgrade, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kraljice Marije 16, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia.

Abstract

Great waste production alongside limited natural resources represents huge environmental and economic problems worldwide. Sustainable waste management and industrial production can reduce pollution and gain some economic benefits. Eco-friendly thermal insulators such as foam glasses can be produced using secondary raw materials in open-loop recycling. Foam glasses were successfully produced using green bottle glass and sugar beet factory lime (SBFL), CaCO₃-rich waste as a novel foaming agent. Glass powder was mixed with different amounts of SBFL, uniaxially pressed at 20 MPa, and sintered at different temperatures. The influence of sintering temperature and the addition of a foaming agent was examined. Obtained samples were mechanically, thermally, and microstructurally characterized. Results showed that samples sintered at 800 ^°C have the best properties. Obtained foam glasses can be used in a variety of industries where thermal insulation, non-flammability, and non-toxic materials are required.

Keywords: Foam glasses; Foaming; Recycling; Sintering; Thermal insulation.