Recycling of CRT glass in plastering mortars

Abstract

Landfilling of end-of-life CRT (cathode ray tube), from computers and other electric or electronic equipment, is an emerging environmental issue which require immediate actions. CRT glass waste represents over 50% of the weight of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment). However, recycling techniques for CRT glass represent a major problem due to the different compositions of the glass used in CRT manufacturing, in particular due to the presence of lead in various amounts in the panel, funnel and neck tubing. The present paper investigates an alternative method for CRT glass recycling by using it as a substitute for natural fine aggregates in plastering mortars. Research has been carried out for both: analysis of glass chemical stability (assessing the interaction with water to simulate the behaviour of CRT glass in landfills or discarded WEEE in inappropriate areas), and leaching behaviour of the binding mortars with CRT glass as fine aggregate substitute. The results showed that the obtained mortars presented a good chemical stability, the concentration of lead being under the detection limit.