ABSTRACT
Foam glass is an increasingly popular material that is applied mainly in the construction and building industry. The aim of the research is to investigate the production of glass foams from different glass wastes according to the Life Cycle Assessment method. This method was chosen because the lifecycle approach to waste management and the circular economy are in the focus of the EU. Their goal is to reduce emissions and move towards a resource-efficient society. The new circular economy package of the EU sets out ambitious recycling targets for the member countries. The package envisaged is a common EU target for recycling 65% of packaging waste by 2025 and 70% by 2030. The targets for glass waste are 70% and 75%, respectively. Since the glass is recyclable in 100%, the glass waste is the target material of this study. After the separation phase - from metal and paper – the shredded and milled glass powder is mixed with SiC as a foaming agent and fired for 10 minutes in a laboratory furnace between 835 – 955°C. The following waste glasses were used for the laboratory experiments:
1. packaging (container) glass
2. float (flat) glass
3. ampoule glass
Both the properties of the glass (density, thermal conductivity, strength, and microstructure) and the total life cycle of glass waste are examined. For Life Cycle Analyses, Gabi 8.0 thinkstep software is used. As a result of this study, the waste preparation process can be optimized and the best foam glass type can be determined.
