TITLE:
Recycling of Glass Fibers from Fiberglass Polyester Waste Composite for the Manufacture of Glass-Ceramic Materials
AUTHORS:
Felix Antonio López, Maria Isabel Martín, Irene García-Díaz, Olga Rodríguez, Francisco Jose Alguacil, Maximina Romero
KEYWORDS:
Valorisation; Waste Composite; Thermolysis; Gasification; Glass Fiber; Glass-Ceramic
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.3 No.8,
August
21,
2012
ABSTRACT: This work presents the feasibility of reusing a glass fiber resulting from the thermolysis and gasification of waste composites to obtain glass-ceramic tiles. Polyester fiberglass (PFG) waste was treated at 550℃ for 3 h in a 9.6 dm3 thermolytic reactor. This process yielded an oil (≈24 wt%), a gas (≈8 wt%) and a solid residue (≈68 wt%). After the polymer has been removed, the solid residue is heated in air to oxidize residual char and remove surface contamination. The cleaning fibers were converted into glass-ceramic tile. A mixture consisting of 95 wt% of this solid residue and 5% Na2O was melted at 1450℃ to obtain a glass frit. Powder glass samples (