Glass Micro Balls Based on Glass Domestic Waste for Road Construction

Abstract

The glass micro balls based on glass domestic waste for road construction were obtained. Glass micro balls will reduce the contamination of road marking and increase its light-reflective ability at night. Colorless and colored container glass, as well as lead crystal, was chosen as the starting material for producing glass micro balls. An electric arc plasmotron UPU-8M was used to produce glass micro balls. Pre-crushed fractionated glass together with plasma-forming gas – argon was fed to the powder feeder and from the feeder to the plasma burner. Under the influence of high plasma temperatures, about 9000-12000K, the particles were melted, followed by cooling in the outgoing flow of plasma-forming gases. Due to high-temperature plasma exposure, partial evaporation of alkaline oxides and lead oxide occurred. Glass micro balls were enriched with the oxides of silicon, aluminum and calcium. This helped to increase the acid and alkali resistance of glass micro balls. The micro hardness, density, and refractive index of glass micro balls were studied. It is shown that glass micro balls have an ideal spherical shape and are x-ray amorphous. Glass micro balls are recommended for use in road construction as a reflective element of road marking.