Performance of waste glass powder (WGP) supplementary cementitious material (SCM) – Workability and compressive strength

Abstract

Ecological and environmental benefits support the use of waste glass powder (WGP) as supplementary cementing material by the decrease of the amount of landfills, by the reduction of non-renewable natural resource consumption, by the reduction of energy demand for cement production (less cement is needed), and the reduction of greenhouse gas emission. Laboratory tests were carried out on cement paste specimens, in which waste glass powder (WGP) addition was used as a supplementary cementitious material. Cement was substituted with WPG at levels of 20% or 30% per mass. It was demonstrated that the WGP addition improves the workability of fresh pastes, and can be effectively used as cement replacement for compressive strength. It was also demonstrated that the particle size of the WGPs (specific surface area) has a stronger influence on the effectiveness of the cement replacement than the chemical composition. The effectiveness of the cement replacement increases as the specific surface area increases.