Use of resource-recovered glass in structural clay products

Abstract

Five different recovered glass samples were evaluated as additions to a commercial brick mix in amounts of 10, 15, and 20 wt %. Based on the results, a large scale plant test run of full-size brick containing 0, 10, and 15 wt % minus 100-mesh (150 μm) ground glass was carried out. It was determined that the cost of crushing (or grinding) the waste glass amounted to about $3.85/Mg and that a 10 wt % addition of the ground glass reduced the firing temperature of the building brick about 40°C. Scumming, due to sulphates present in the ground glass, could be a problem and may require the addition of barium carbonate to a brick mix.