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Recipe for success: Recycled glass and cement

Recipe for success: Recycled glass and cement
MSU researchers have found that concrete is more durable when crushed聽glass is added聽to the cement used to make the concrete. The MSU campus has several test sites where the concrete-glass mix was tested. Credit: G.L. Kohuth

(麻豆淫院Org.com) -- Michigan State University researchers have found that by mixing ground waste glass into the cement that is used to make concrete, the concrete is stronger, more durable and more resistant to water.

In addition, the use of glass helps reduce the amount of glass that ends up in and helps to reduce which are common due to the needed to create .

The , in which about 20 percent of the cement that is used to produce the concrete is replaced by milled, or finely ground, glass, is being tested at a number of sites on the MSU campus. And, so far, the results have been pretty positive.

鈥淢illed glass enters a beneficial reaction with cement hydrates, so basically the chemistry of the cement improves with the glass,鈥 said Parviz Soroushian, a professor of civil and environmental engineering who has been studying the glass-concrete mix. 鈥淚t makes it stronger and more durable and doesn鈥檛 absorb water as fast as regular cement.鈥

The test sites, which have been in existence for about three years, are located on sidewalks outside of the MSU Surplus Store and Recycling Center, south of the Breslin Student Events Center and near Fee and Hubbard halls on the east side of the campus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 satisfying to see research done in MSU laboratories have very beneficial applications right here on our campus,鈥 said Lynda Boomer, energy and environmental engineer with the MSU 麻豆淫院ical Plant.

The concrete doesn鈥檛 look too much different than standard concrete, Boomer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little lighter in color, but, for the most part, pretty indistinguishable.鈥

Soroushian and colleagues recently had two papers published on the durability of the mixture, including in the Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management, and the Journal of Construction and Building Materials.

鈥淐ement is processed at a very high temperature,鈥 Soroushian said. 鈥淯sing milled glass significantly reduces the amount of energy used, as well as CO2 emissions.鈥

鈥淲e anticipate that this novel practice of partially replacing cement in concrete with mixed-color waste , which is based on sound chemical principles and the pioneering laboratory work conducted at MSU, will yield significant environmental, energy and cost benefits,鈥 said Roz Ud-Din Nassar, a doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering who also worked on the project.

Citation: Recipe for success: Recycled glass and cement (2012, February 21) retrieved 2 May 2025 from /news/2012-02-recipe-success-recycled-glass-cement.html
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