abstract
Nowadays the stunning volume of generated wastes, the exhaustion of raw materials, and the disturbing greenhouse gases emission levels show that a paradigm shift is mandatory. In this context, the possibility of using wastes instead of virgin raw materials can mitigate the environmental problems related to wastes, while reducing the consumption of the Earth's natural resources. This innovative work reports the incorporation of unexplored waste glass coming from end-of-life fluorescent lamps into geopolymers. The influence of the waste glass incorporation level, NaOH molarity and curing conditions on the microstructure, physical and mechanical properties of the geopolymers was evaluated. Results demonstrate that curing conditions are the most influential factor on the geopolymer characteristics, while the NaOH molarity is less important. Geopolymers containing 37.5% (wt) waste glass were successfully produced, showing compressive strength of 14 MPa (after 28 days of curing), suggesting the possibility of their use in non-structural applications. Porous waste-based geopolymers for novel applications were also fabricated. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
keywords
METAKAOLIN-BASED GEOPOLYMERS; ASH-BASED GEOPOLYMERS; FLY-ASH; MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES; THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY; MICROSTRUCTURE; STRENGTH; ACTIVATION; HYDROXIDE; RECOVERY
subject category
Engineering; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
authors
Novais, RM; Ascensao, G; Seabra, MP; Labrincha, JA
our authors
Guilherme Ascensão
Research Fellowship
João António Labrincha Baptista
Full professor
Maria Paula Seabra
Assistant Professor
Rui Miguel Novais
Assistant Professoracknowledgements
This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (FCT Ref. UID /CTM /50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. The authors acknowledge the assistance of Dr. R.C. Pullar with editing English language in this paper.