Glass powder mortar – A study on alkali-silica reaction and environmental impact

Abstract

Reuse and recycling of generated waste is a crucial step in achieving sustainability in the construction sector. Among various types of construction and demolition wastes, the amount of waste glass is huge, which can be recycled and reused as a partial substitute of cement. The alkalis present in the cement reacts with reactive silica content in the recycled glass and deteriorates the concrete by undergoing expansion induced by alkali-silica reaction. In this study, alkali-silica reaction of a mortar bar is tested to analyze the effect of glass powder used as a substitute of silica powder. Two different colors of glass powder blue and green were used in the study and compared with the reference mix consisting of silica powder (which is a substitute for cement by 27%). The result shows that on replacing 100% of silica powder by glass powder the expansion induced by alkali-silica reaction reduces. Along with finding the durability properties, the benefits and impacts of waste glass on the environment becomes an important aspect. To understand the consequence of waste glass powder on the environment, life cycle assessment is conducted. The result shows that glass powder has lower environmental impact in comparison with silica powder.