Reuse Of Glass Research Articles

Glass a Scarce Commodity

The adoption of glass reuse in construction faces challenges due to higher costs and more perceived risks compared to new glass. This conflicts with the goal of a circular economy. To challenge this status quo, this article explores a hypothetical scenario where glass becomes a scarce commodity. What if the float glass production process ceases to exist due to energy resource depletion, raw material scarcity, or carbon budget constraints? In such a context, glass reuse will be crucial. This article discusses the design, logistics and quality related challenges of reusing float glass, including structural integrity and energy performance considerations. Additionally, this article investigates the potential for glass reuse by analysing ongoing and future research, supply-demand dynamics, innovative building design, the concept of the future glass factory, and the re-evaluation and promotion of regulatory frameworks. To promote glass reuse, the article emphasizes customization over standardization. Considering the diverse dynamics of projects, from high-rise buildings to terraced houses, and varying regional construction requirements, solutions must be specific and adaptable, rather than standardized.

Case Study on the Re-use Potential of Insulated Glass Units

Glass is an energy intensive material that is essential to buildings and their energy consumption. Its transparency allows for natural daylighting and the use of solar heat gains. In the context of the refurbishment politics of the EU as a result of the Paris Agreement on climate goals, significant amounts of glass waste in form of windows and façades are to be expected. In order to minimize the environmental impact of glass by preserving the embodied carbon and substitute newly produced glasses, the Re-use of glass is considered to be of highest potential. When reusing panes, energy and raw material can be saved that otherwise would be consumed for the production of new glass. This way, the common principles of sustainability - sufficiency, efficiency and consistency - can be realized for the life cycle of flat building glass. The following case study estimates the potential of different scenarios for circular waste treatment of glass panes by applying the 9R Framework to insulating glass units (IGUs). The scenarios are defined and presented. A life cycle assessment (LCA) using identical system boundaries for these scenarios was executed and the results are compared to producing IGUs entirely with new glass. Finally, the feasibility of the strategies is evaluated and recommendations for the processing of glass in stock are derived.

Structural Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Beams Made of Selected Waste Glass and Ceramic Tiles

Worldwide, construction and demolition wastes contribute the most wastes. Hence, environmental concerns have been raised, and more investigations have been recommended for recycling potential. Glass and Ceramic wastes are currently disposed of in landfills. This paper aims to study the structural behaviour of non-conventional concrete made of waste glass and ceramic tiles. A comparison is conducted between the normal and non-conventional concrete beams. The non-conventional concrete is made by replacing normal sand and gravel at 25% and 50% percentages. Both glass and ceramic tiles are used separately and blended in three different types (A, B, & C) of concretes. The laboratory experiments are verified with a Finite Element model for the three reinforced concrete types using ANSYS software. The results of conducted comparison shown that the non-conventional reinforced concretes have acceptable consistent with the normal reinforced concrete, and the reuse of glass and ceramic waste is technically feasible.

Re-use of laboratory utensils reduces CO2 equivalent footprint and running costs.

Laboratory-based research is resource intensive in terms of financial costs and its carbon footprint. Research laboratories require immense amounts of energy to power equipment, as well as large volumes of materials, particularly of single-use item consumption. In fact, many laboratories have essentially become reliant on single-use plastics. Understanding the full carbon footprint of consumable usage is increasingly important as many research institutes commit to carbon neutrality. To date, no carbon footprint assessment has been conducted to detail the differences between single-use plastics, and reusable glass in a laboratory setting. Here, we analyse the CO2 equivalent (CO2e) footprint of utilising single-use plastics, and re-use of glass or plastic items within laboratory environments. We focused our assessment on four commonly utilised consumables for mammalian cell and bacterial culture, and found that re-use scenarios resulted in substantial reduction in CO2e footprint up to 11-fold. In addition, we estimated the long-term financial costs of re-use and single-use scenarios, and found that re-use had either similar or much lower running costs even when including technical staff wage. We concluded that research facilities must foster re-use in laboratory consumables, while reserving single-use items for select, defined cases. Our study highlights the need to account for indirect CO2e footprint in designing a carbon-neutral lab and promotes circular economy principles.

Reuse of glass in concrete: a study of the production and mechanical performance of resistance

The glass incorporated into the concrete contributes to the conservation of the environment, as it will have a correct destination and is an easily found material. This work had the objective of analyzing the mechanical performance of the concrete produced with glass waste from non-returnable packaging. Since glass is a residue that is easily found, it is justified to incorporate it into concrete in partial replacement of small aggregates, thus avoiding its disposal inlandfills and also in an irregular way. The concrete produced was made with the addition of “51” and “Long Neck” ground glass. A standard trace of 25 MPa was defined, with partial substitutions of 5%, 15%, 25% and 35% in the small aggregate. The individual strengths of the test specimens were submitted to the Tukey test for statistical analysis and it was verified that the trait with the percentage of 35% substitution is statistically different from the other traits. The concrete had a mean Fck of 32,37 MPa, higher than the established minimum of 25 MPa. It can be concluded that theconcrete with the use of ground glass presents technical feasibility for execution and contributes to the preservation of the environment.

A Life Cycle Assessment of a recovery process from End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels

As a consequence of the photovoltaic (PV) market expansion in the last 20 years, the cumulative global PV waste is expected to exponentially grow. A proper disposal of decommissioned PV panels is crucial for avoiding environmental risks and for recovering value-added materials. In this study, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was performed in order to assess the environmental performance of a new recycling process for crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV panels, at the End of Life (EoL). The process was developed in the framework of the ReSiELP (Recovery of Silicon and other materials from the End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels) project, aiming at recovering valuable resources from EoL PV c-Si modules and making the recovered materials readily available for different supply chains, in line with the principles of Circular Economy. A “gate to gate” approach was used to investigate two lines of activities: (i) the Recovery line, dedicated to the recovery of secondary raw materials from EoL c-Si PV panels, namely aluminium, copper, glass, silver and silicon, and (ii) the Glass reuse line, for the employment of the recovered glass in prefabricated building components (predalles slabs). The results highlight energy consumption, chemicals and transportation as the main hotspots of the ReSiELP process. For a comprehensive evaluation, the generated loads were compared with the potential environmental benefits gained thanks to the recovery of aluminium, at the largest extent. Overall, the LCA analysis showed that the investigated process is environmentally favorable, also when compared to other EoL PV panels recycling scenarios reported in literature.

Strength studies on effect of glass waste in concrete

Glass waste is a perfect recycled material. The increased familiarity with the reuse of glass improves the study of the utilization of glass waste in different compositions in large variety of fields. The major commitments focused on construction in which waste glass has been utilized as construction material. The use of glass in construction material also needs to improve. In addition, the testing facility experiments were aimed at exploring the usage of glass wastage in place of fine aggregates & coarse aggregates replacement in concrete. The analysis showed that five per cent of glass waste utilization is reliably mixed as a fine & coarse aggregates replacement with no tampering in values.

Waste Glass Reuse in Foamed Alkali-Activated Binders Production: Technical and Environmental Assessment

Waste glass is a type of construction and demolition waste (CDW), which carries significant environmental burdens and can be recycled. In this study, a foamed alkali-activated glass (FAAG) via the use of milled waste glass was synthesized in low-temperature (i.e., 80 ⁰C). The influence of foaming agent (i.e., aluminum powder) content on the foaming process of samples was investigated and optimized in view of their performance. The optimum mix formulation, which is FAAG with 10% aluminum powder was then selected, and followed by the measurement of the water-resistance and absorption, impact resistance and thermal conductivity of the prepared FAAG. X-ray diffraction was also involved to identify the phase formation within the samples. Finally, the environmental impacts related to the preparation of 1 kg FAAG were obtained. Results shows that a type of more sustainable FAAG compared with the commercial product was successfully developed in low-temperature, revealing the low thermal conductivity of ~0.13 W/(m∙K) with a density of ~0.59 g/cm3 and compressive strength of ~5.52 MPa, which is 97% higher than the commercial product. Meanwhile, in addition to a foaming agent, aluminum powder is also acting as a key component in the geopolymerization of samples, facilitating the formation of aluminosilicate that provides strength.

Durable Remains

Bulgarian Roma living in the capital city of Sofia rely on glass for EU-era survival becauseof its role in food-jarring practices and its ability to be repeatedly used and reused withoutbreaking down. The durability of glass emerges as a salient material quality for ensuringa means of preservation in the face of everyday economic precarity. Glass's durability ismaterial and temporal: temporal in that it transcends political and economic upheavals,and material in that, unlike plastic, metal and paper, glass does not naturally decomposeover time. Instead, it enables structurally disadvantaged urbanites, like the Roma, touse homegrown food packaging technologies in order to survive in the era of EU "free"markets, plastic packaging and neoliberal discardability. The temporal and materialdurability of glass juxtaposes the precarious circumstances of those most engagedwith its contemporary reuse for whom glass enables both survival and a form of EU-eramaterial citizenship. However, EU regulations focused on recycling fail to acknowledgethe widespread practice of glass reuse in Bulgaria. This paper analyzes how EU policy,recycling company officials and Romani and non-Romani Sofia residents reconfiguredurability through different temporal materialities - and practices - of recycling and reuse.

Reuse of glass in concrete analysis with minimizing impact of solid waste on environment

Reuse of glass in concrete analysis with minimizing impact of solid waste on environment

Investigation and evaluation of methods for the reuse of glass from lamps recycling

Waste from Electric and Electronic Equipment is one of the most rapidly developing waste streams worldwide. The aim of this paper is to investigate and evaluate the reuse methods of glass derived from electric lamp recycling. A detailed record of the various reuse methods of recycled glass is given, focusing on the use of glass in concrete industry, ceramic building materials and asphalt. Also, the necessary prerequisites, in order to produce final products within specifications, are highlighted for each case. The glass-cullet used in the research was produced in Oikokiklios S.A. lamp recycling company, where lamps are collected for recycling from all over Greece. Moreover, in order to investigate each case study, production data of three different companies (asphalt, cement, bricks) within close distance from Oikokiklios S.A. were used. As a result, three scenarios were studied in order to describe the glass-cullet reuse options and examine the benefits of introducing glass in each production process. More precisely, each scenario was evaluated concerning energy, environment and economic impact. The main conclusion of the research was that introducing glass is beneficial for all the above production processes leading to an important reduction of the released carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption.

Apportioning blame in the North American hepatitis C virus epidemic.

'...reuse of glass and metal syringes was common medical practice.'

Energy Conservation Via Greywater Reuse for Power Plant Cooling and Wastes Minimization

Sustainable engineering brings about multidisciplinary solutions to environmental, sociocultural, and economic needs. Sustainable methods and technologies ensure the effectiveness of products, designs, and infrastructure, and minimize waste. Managing waste is critical in the successful practice of sustainable engineering. Success in the implementation of a waste management program must consider a very important strategy, namely, waste reduction which is highly dependent on social stewardship, education, and waste conversion. A sustainable program mix must include public policy, health management, and engineering. This paper presents a number of proven sources and techniques for wastes minimization and conversion and a discussion about the development of effective decision-making tools to implement the most feasible and cost-effective applications. Specifically, the conversion of waste as a resource is presented including the use of wastewater (greywater) for condenser cooling in a power plant; conversion of restaurant grease into biodiesel; the use of phosphate mine tailings as a road surface material; recycling and reuse of glass, metal, and plastics; reuse of rare metals from discarded computers; and the use of cattle waste as building materials. In all of these, the conservation of energy is realized practically. More emphasis has been focused on the use of greywater because it has direct impact on the energy–water nexus.

Utilisation of imploded glass in structural concrete

Land-filling waste has become a problem and a waste in itself. A lot of material that is being land-filled can be reused with minimal processing reducing demand on natural resources and landfills. Concrete is an ideal material for the reuse of glass and other waste materials. Crushed glass has been used as aggregate replacement resulting in a poor bond and concrete exhibiting alkali–silica reaction (ASR). Reduction to finer particles and use as cement replacement produced good quality concrete that did not exhibit ASR. The implosion technology results in waste glass that is easier to handle and of a much better quality to reuse and is thus an improvement over glass crushing. The aim of this study was to compare concretes using waste glass that had been either crushed or imploded replacing the cement in 10–50% proportions.

NUEVO MÉTODO PARA EL DISEÑO OPTIMIZADO DE PLANTAS SEMI-AUTOMATIZADAS DE TRATAMIENTO DE RAEE: CASO DE TV Y MONITORES.

Waste coming from electric and electronic appliances is an increasing environmental problem. Their present recycling and reuse ratio are far from the targets defined in the European Directive for “Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment”, WEEE, which tries to reduce the waste going to landfills. This research proposes a new method for selection and design of automated and semi-automated operations of a recycling plant for electronic appliances. An improved recycling of the obtained materials is expected, with a more pro? table process for small or medium enterprises. An example of its applicability is proposed, focused on the separation of the materials of TVs and monitors. Because of the difficult reuse of glass coming from the cathode ray tubes, a specific solution is proposed. Economic, legal and technical issues concerning the level of the automation applied to a recycling line are studied, covering from the full automation of all the disassembling tasks, to a manual dismantling. This know-how is used by the proposed method as the input to a decision support system for optimization purposes. The parameters used by this system are: previous expertise of recycling companies, WEEE regulations and economic aspects (materials pricing, recycling costs, etc.). The simulation of the solution has been analyzed, with an economical assessment of the recycling process, to show the feasibility of the method. Finally the work is complemented with a real setting up of the proposed design in a recycling company, and with a new application of the obtained glass in a secondary market related to construction

Reuse of ground waste glass as aggregate for mortars

This work was aimed at studying the possibility of reusing waste glass from crushed containers and building demolition as aggregate for preparing mortars and concrete. At present, this kind of reuse is still not common due to the risk of alkali–silica reaction between the alkalis of cement and silica of the waste glass. This expansive reaction can cause great problems of cracking and, consequently, it can be extremely deleterious for the durability of mortar and concrete. However, data reported in the literature show that if the waste glass is finely ground, under 75 μm, this effect does not occur and mortar durability is guaranteed. Therefore, in this work the possible reactivity of waste glass with the cement paste in mortars was verified, by varying the particle size of the finely ground waste glass. No reaction has been detected with particle size up to 100 μm thus indicating the feasibility of the waste glass reuse as fine aggregate in mortars and concrete. In addition, waste glass seems to positively contribute to the mortar micro-structural properties resulting in an evident improvement of its mechanical performance.

Convergent and Divergent Validity of Three Measures of Conservation Behavior

Observations of the amount of reuse of glass, clothing, and metal were conducted at households of 130 individuals, and those direct observations were contrasted with the self-report of reuse of the same products. Two kinds of self-report were obtained: frequency of reuse self-reports and quantity of reuse self-reports. Thus, patterns of reuse of each particular type of material were assessed using the three methods of measurement. A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrix of correlations between the reuse of these three materials, using these three methods of measurement, was analyzed. This matrix revealed the convergent and discriminant validities for the assessments of reuse. Higher correlations between direct observations and quantity self-reports were obtained than between observations and frequency reports. A confirmatory factor analysis of the MTMM matrix confirmed those results, adding significance testing to the validity assessment and to the partitioning of trait and method variance, modeled as latent factors.