ECOLOGICAL CONCRETE BY USE OF WASTE GLASS

References: 13th SGEM GeoConference on Nano, Bio And Green – Technologies For A Sustainable Future, www.sgem.org, SGEM2013 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7105-06-3 / ISSN 1314-2704, June 16-22, 2013, 411 - 418 pp

ABSTRACT

The need to scale back the use of non-renewable materials at a global scale is obvious. Using recycled materials in construction, such as waste glass, leads to a reduced impact on the environment and a lower carbon footprint.
Glass has become indispensable to everyday life. As the need for glass increased over time, due to its many uses, the amount of waste glass also increased [1]. Glass is an inert material, indestructible by natural processes and thus extremely harmful to the environment. In landfills it occupies space which could be used for biodegradable materials.
This paper presents eco-friendly concrete mixes containing waste glass, crushed to standard particle sizes ranging between 0/16mm. Aggregates of size 4/8mm and 8/16mm are replaced with crushed glass of the same size. Glass powder (particle size 0/0.250mm), which exhibits pozzolanic behavior, partially replaces the cement.
The use of waste materials and the decrease in the amount of cement needed confer the status of green concrete to the studied mixes.

Keywords: green concrete, recycled waste, glass aggregates