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Ceramics International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ceramint

Review article

Recycling of industrial wastes in ceramic manufacturing: State of art

and glass case studies
Fernanda Andreola n, Luisa Barbieri, Isabella Lancellotti, Cristina Leonelli,
Tiziano Manfredini
Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via P. Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena, Italy

ar t ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Nowadays, ceramic tile are manufactured at zero emissions permitting to recycle all by-products and part
Received 24 March 2016 of residues derived from depuration treatments (exhausted lime, glazing sludge and polishing sludge). In
Received in revised form addition to this environmentally friendly tendency, in the last years an increasing number of scientific
13 May 2016
studies demonstrated the feasibility to use alternative raw materials in substitution of different com-
Accepted 31 May 2016
ponent of the ternary clay-feldspar-quartz system. In the first part of the paper is reported the state of
the art of industrial waste recycling in the ceramic sector, with the focus on review studies related to
Keywords: both ceramic tiles and bricks..
D. Traditional ceramics In the second part of the work are reported two case studies conducted by the authors with the aim
D. Glass
to formulate ceramic bodies using alternative raw materials. New tailored compositions were obtained
Recycling
replacing clays, flux and/or inert compounds (higher than 60 wt%) by scraps from packaging waste glass
Industrial waste
in tiles, and cathode ray tube glasses and packaging waste glass up to 20 wt% in the brick compositions.
& 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Contents

1. State of the art of industrial waste recycling in ceramic sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. Case studies on glass recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1. Use of high amount of glass ( 460 wt%) in tiles manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2. Use of waste glass in brick manufacturing ( o20 wt%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1. State of the art of industrial waste recycling in ceramic
sector
The amount of inorganic wastes (derived from Construction &
Demolition and Mining & quarrying activities) in Europe is esti-
mated to be more than 1,500 million tonnes [1]. The continuous
increase of waste amount requires not only measures that reduce
its generation, but also recycling and recovery. In this regard, the
European directives concerning waste, Directive 2006/12/CE and
Directive 2008/98/CE, are oriented to transforming the European
n
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: andreola.fernanda@unimore.it (F. Andreola).
Union into a “recycling society” that attempts to avoid generating
waste and that uses its waste as a resource [2,3]. Traditionally, non
hazardous inorganic wastes have been disposed off in landfills and
often dumped directly into ecosystems without adequate treat-
ment but possible recovery or recycling alternatives should be
investigated and implemented [4].
On the other hand, the world production of bricks and ceramic
tiles requires massive amount of natural raw materials, since, until
now, it is based mainly on the traditional clay-silica-feldspar
system.
Natural raw materials used in the fabrication of clay-based
ceramic products show a wide range of compositional variations
and the resulting products are very heterogeneous. Therefore, such
products can tolerate further compositional fluctuations and raw

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.205
0272-8842/& 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Please cite this article as: F. Andreola, et al., Recycling of industrial wastes in ceramic manufacturing: State of art and glass case studies,
Ceramics International (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.205i
2 F. Andreola et al. / Ceramics International ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
material changes, allowing different types of wastes to be in-
corporated into the internal structure of ceramic tiles and bricks as
part of their own matrix.
Regarding ceramic tiles processing, several studies made in the
last decades are related to the substitution of conventional raw
materials by other natural resources as zeolites [5,6], volcanic
rocks [7,8] and nepheline syenite [9]. Besides, the quartz sub-
stitution by Si-rich waste as rice husk ash and silica fume was
studied in whiteware compositions with good results concerning
the reduction of sintering temperature (∼50 °C) [10].
Other works have investigated the use of different alternative
fluxing agents (soda–lime glass cullet [11], cathode ray tube of TV
or PC monitor (CRT glass) [12,13] and granite cutting sludge [14])
substituting partially the feldspars to obtain sintering behaviour
and mechanical characteristics similar to the industrial composi-
tions. It is well known that the excessive addition of fluxes leads to
an increase of amorphous phase in the final product with a ne-
gative effect on the mechanical properties. Research on the use
CRT glass as fluxing agent highlighted that 5 wt% is the optimum
amount of glass that it is possible to replace for Na-feldspar [12]. A
complete substitution of Na-feldspar by glass (35–40 wt%) is not
feasible because of the relatively low viscosity of parent glass
(soda lime or CRT glass) at firing temperatures, particularly en-
riched in alkali and alkali-earth oxides [11–13]. According to these
studies [12,13], the composition containing CRT glass starts the
sintering process already at 850 °C, temperature lower than the
traditional one, and at 1150 °C the open porosity is practically
eliminated. The formation of closed porosity, however, starts at
1100 °C when open porosity still has a too high value of 14%. Then
closed porosity increases with the temperature reaching 18% at
1200 °C; as a result, the total porosity remains always very high.
However, due to the intensive formation of closed pores, the
shrinkage rate significantly decreases, the final shrinkage is too
low (3.5%) and at 1200 °C the deformation without a complete
densification begins. The high amount of alkali glass in substitu-
tion of Na-feldspar in porcelain stoneware bodies provokes an
unusual densification behaviour which leads to a not fully densi-
fied product [11–13].
More recent works have studied alternative fluxes character-
ized by a high crystallization trend, in this way the crystallinity of
final ceramics is increased. This effect can be obtained using glass-
ceramic frits [15] or waste residues with high crystallization ten-
dency (as slag and bottom ashes) [16,17]. In this case, due to re-
crystallization processes during the sintering and cooling steps,
the amount of residual amorphous phase decreases, leading to an
improvement in the mechanical properties [15].
Other possibilities to use non traditional raw materials within
the ceramic body formulation is offered by ceramic tiles with in-
sulation properties. With the increasing emphasis on environ-
mental protection and energy conservation, these ceramic pro-
ducts have now a considerable market as building materials. These
tiles have a porous body, with a bulk density of about 0.6–
1.0 g cm
3, while the surface is glazed so both insulation energy-
saving effect of porous material and also the surface cleanability of
glazed tiles are ensured. For these applications several compounds
with pore forming properties can be use: inorganic residues con-
taining calcium carbonate, as egg shell or glass cutting sludge, or
wastes with organic nature, as agro waste or char pyrolysis [18–
20].
With the aim to formulate ceramic bodies using high amounts
of alternative raw materials, new tailored compositions can be
obtained replacing clays, flux and/or inert compounds ( 460 wt%)
using scraps from packaging glass waste [21–23].
Regarding brick-making, numerous researches are related to
the use of different kinds of wastes in brick body. Heavy clay
ceramics, as bricks, are produced from natural raw materials with
Please cite this article as: F. Andreola, et al., Recycling of industrial wastes in ceramic manufacturing: State of art and glass case studies,
Ceramics International (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.205i
a very wide–ranging overall chemical and mineralogical compo-
sition. For this reason, such materials can tolerate the presence of
different types of urban and industrial wastes (fly ash from coal-
burning thermal power plants, sludge from the glazing lines of
ceramic tile manufactures, sludge from plating plants of me-
tallurgical and mechanical industry and from the mining industry),
even in considerable percentages [24,25]. This is a strategic action
by considering that in recent decades, the growing consumption
and the consequent increasing of industrial production has led to a
fast decrease of the available natural resources (raw materials or
energy sources). Therefore, alternative ways to reuse several types
of waste materials have been attempted in recent years, including
the incorporation in clay brick products.
Depending on their principal effect, the wastes used can be
divided in three main categories: (i) fuel wastes, (ii) fluxing
wastes, and (iii) plastifying wastes.
Fuel wastes are generated from a wide range of industrial
production processes: residues of the urban wastes treatment
plants, extraction and carbon manufacture, textile and tanning
industry, oil, paper, agricultural and wood industry [24–34].
Thanks to their organic substances content, during their combus-
tion, they bring an energetic support in the bricks firing phase and
contributes to increase their porosity when added into the body.
Usually, the addition of this kind of waste is limited to 10 wt% in
order to reach an equilibrium between positive and negative. In
the developing countries of Africa and Asia, the use of agricultural
residues instead of some part of the expensive primary fuel, in-
clude rice husk, sawdust, straw, maize cobs, and animal dung is a
widespread practice.
In recent years, the new challenges of environmental protec-
tion and energy saving have provided building materials made
with non-traditional raw materials, having thermal insulation
properties and requiring low energy-consumption: these ceramic
bricks should have a considerable market. In this context the use
of agro-waste as pore forming agent is a viable route to increase
porosity. Sawdust and grapes and cherries seeds, thanks to their
organic substances content, during their combustion, bring an
energetic support in the bricks firing phase and act as pore
forming agent. The addition of this kind of waste was limited to
5 wt% in order to reach an equilibrium between positive (weight
and shrinkage decrease and porosity increase) and negative (in-
crease of water absorption and mechanical resistance decrease)
effects. [33]. The addition of sawdust provokes an important re-
duction of samples weight (  20%) due to the presence of porosity
but the mechanical properties are lower than the industrial tol-
erance values. Regarding grapes and cherries seeds, the addition of
5 wt% to a brick formulation showed better results with respect to
the sawdust, maintaining the mechanical properties of the fired
brick (950 °C), showing flexural strength values around 21–22 MPa
higher than the industrial tolerance with a weight reduction of 3–
10% [33].
Fluxing waste, as sludge from the glazing lines of ceramic tiles
manufacture and from plating plants of metallurgical and me-
chanical industry, are added in percentage lower than 20 wt% to
reduce the final porosity of the bricks, and to improve the work-
ability in the extrusion phase, but they can cause a decrease (15–
40%) in the mechanical resistance of the dried products [35,36].
Plastifying waste such as residues from mineral and me-
tallurgical industry are capable to express a filler and plasticity
modifiers role. Many materials, thanks to their coarse particle size
distribution, are used in order to control the plasticity typical of
the clayey raw materials and to obtain a useful level of workability
with a reduced water consumption. The amount of waste added to
the body can varies from 10 to 60 wt% and causes a decrease of the
shrinkage and the mechanical resistance of the fired bricks. Nor-
mally, residues of stone treatments as granite or marble cutting
 F. Andreola et al. / Ceramics International ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 3

sludges are used [37,38]. The use of recycled glass in brick man- Table 1
ufacturing is not a new concept. In the 1970s, following the first Chemical compositions (wt%) of the waste glasses used compared to common
glasses.
energy crisis, the United States Bureau of Mines sponsored a re-
search [39] to determine how much energy could be saved using Oxide Common packa- Packaging waste End of life fluor-
recycled glass as flux in brick manufacturing. More recently, stu- ging glasses glass (PGW) escent lamp glass
dies verified that finely ground glass (o75 mm) lowers firing (FLG)
temperatures [40]. The glass that is used is almost exclusively dust
SiO2 68–74 71.70 68.89
from the bag houses of large glass processors, that generate the Al2O3 0–4 2.25 2.29
dust as a by-product of processing glass for fibreglass and con- Na2O 10–16 12.50 17.75
tainer manufacturers. The use of finer glass as a flux in amount K2O 0–4 1.00 1.62
higher than 10 wt% provokes some problems in the process: CaO 9–14 9.50 5.16
MgO 0–4 2.00 3.00
(i) high levels of fine glass reduce the workability of moist clayed
BaO – 0.04 0.95
bodies; (ii) the amount of fine glass available inexpensively as bag SrO – 0.37 0.07
house dust from glass processing operations is not adequate for PbO – – 0.08
brick manufacturing that needs high amounts; and (iii) the use of Fe2O3 0–0.45 0.43 0.08
very fine glass required for manufacturing bricks in thousand ton TiO2 – 0.07 o 0.01
others – – 0.09
volumes, has an expensive cost compared with using mined raw L.O.I (1100 °C) – 1.5–2.0 –
materials. Other studies propose the use of glass in particle size Total 99.86 100.00
comparable to sand or chamotte that can act as plasticity reducing
material in order to control the shrinkage during shaping-drying
step [19,41]. The main constraint is that glass must have a particle addition, the final products obtained can be inserted in the policy
size below the limit of pan mills used in brickmaking (o 1 mm) of Green Public Procurement (“green procurement”: representing
[42]. the purchase of goods and services by Public Administrations).
An important aspect of the new material's formulation is that it
permits the industrial transferability at national or international
2. Case studies on glass recycling level being prepared starting from different types of waste glass.
The experimentation was realized using waste packaging glass
2.1. Use of high amount of glass ( 460 wt%) in tiles manufacturing (PGW) and end of life fluorescent lamp glass (FLG).
The average chemical composition of waste packaging glass
The present study describes the feasibility to obtain a novel (PGW) received after the separation process is similar to that of
formulation of ceramic body containing high percentage of waste typical common soda-lime glasses (Table 1). The discrepancy is
glass (460 wt%), at specific particle size, and complete the com- mainly due to the presence of impurities such as plastic, ceramics/
position with other components, such as an inorganic plastifying porcelain, rubber, paper, etc. determined by sieving and gravi-
agent and an organic binder. These interesting results lead some of metry [23] corresponding to a value around 2 wt%. Also, the che-
the authors to patent the application [21]. mical composition of end of life fluorescent lamp glass (FLG) is
Some advantages of the invention can be listed below: similar to a soda-lime glass, but compared to PGW contains a
higher amount of alkali oxides (∼ 19 wt%) and lower amount of
– Thanks to the very high amount of recycled glass used and the alkaline earth oxides, in particular, calcium oxide (5 wt%) and only
low percentage of water added (lower than the typical amount traces of chromophore oxides. Besides, small amount of PbO are
for conventional ceramic slurries) is not necessary to use high derived from coating and low-melting frit used to seal the lamp to
energy mixing equipment, such as turbo mixer, while simple electric connector. The predominance of alkali oxides compared to
mechanical mixers are sufficient. the alkaline-earth and a low alumina content, suggest a low ten-
– The plastic behaviour of the final mixture gives rise to a paste dency to crystallization for this glass, and characteristic tempera-
easy to work not only by pressing, but also by lamination and by tures of low-melting glass.
hand. Such workability allows the production of both slabs with The thermal properties of the these two waste glasses were
less than 5 mm thicknesses and artistic furnishing products. determined by optical heating microscopy. From the data reported
– The consolidation step reaches temperatures ( r1000 °C) well in Table 2, it is possible to observe for PWG a stability range,
below glass melting (1450 °C) and even below the typical tem- within which the material sinters without flowing and preserves
perature adopted for highly sintered ceramic tiles treatments its shape, shorter (Tsint ¼730 °C and Tsoft¼ 837 °C) than FLG
(up to 1250 °C). In addition, the firing time can be reduced till (Tsint ¼682 °C and Tsoft ¼826 °C). Beyond the softening tem-
being comparable to those used in industrial fast firing cycles of perature, Tsoft, the glass powder begins to soften and to behave as
tiles ( r60 min ). a liquid, the surface tension decreases, the surface area goes to a
– The benefits in terms of safety and environmental compatibility minimum, causing the formation of a sphere and then hemisphere
are evident and numerous, thanks to the high amount of re- and finally the melting or flow point. From the optical dilatometry
cycled glass and the elimination of other traditional components data, the characteristic temperatures for PGW are 50–80 °C higher
(flux and inert materials), whose use involves environmental
impacts associated to their extraction and transport. Table 2
Glass characteristic temperatures from optical heating microscopy.
All these advantages allow the achievement of an en-
Characteristic tempera- Packaging waste End of life fluorescent
vironmentally sustainable material that can contribute to fabricate
tures (°C) glass (PWG) lamp glass (FLG)
finished products with easy access to the ECOLABEL (voluntary
product label established in 1992 to encourage businesses to Sintering 730 682
market products and services, that meet high standards of en- Softening 837 826
vironmental performance and quality) and to the LEED (Leader- Sphere 947 902
Hemi- sphere 1059 980
ship in Energy and Environmental Design, an internationally re- Melting 1124 1054
cognized green building certification system) certifications. In

Please cite this article as: F. Andreola, et al., Recycling of industrial wastes in ceramic manufacturing: State of art and glass case studies,
Ceramics International (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.205i
4 F. Andreola et al. / Ceramics International ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Table 3
Sintering parameters and mechanical properties of different products obtained
(1000 °C, 60 min) by pressing (40 MPa) using different waste glasses and different
particle size.

Linear shrink- Water absorption Bending strength

age (LS%) (WA%) (EN ISO (MPa) (EN-ISO
10,545-3) 10545-4)

PGW ( o 400 μm) 4.87 1.83 23.37

PGW ( o 100 μm) 5.46 0.29 30.60
FLG ( o 400 μm) 8.79 0.02 40.93

than those recorded for FLG. These values are in agreement with
the chemical differences in the compositions, for instance the
presence of more alkali oxides in FLG and higher amount of silica
in PGW.
These considerations together with the sintering curves ob-
tained by optical dilatometry using the “green batch” permits to
predict different behaviour of the two glasses during the firing and
identify the temperatures where the sintering rate is maximum in
order to use a suitable firing cycle.
The products obtained have been characterized following ISO
technical rules. The sintering parameters of fired samples obtained
by lamination and pressing (40 MPa) were evaluated. Linear
shrinkage and water adsorption indicate that the higher densifi-
cation degree depends on both glass particle size and pressure
applied. The final materials have mechanical properties compar-
able to those of traditional ceramic tiles (Table 3). These results are
consistent with tests on porosity and density. In particular, when
fluorescent lamp glass (o400 mm) and packaging waste glass
(o100 mm) is used in the paste, the final material is classified into
the BIa group (WA%o 0.5) according to ISO rules, corresponding to
high sintered floor ceramic tiles, thus demonstrating the positive
role of the glass in the sintering process. Besides, the mechanical
properties of sample FLG (o400 mm) are higher than the mini-
mum (35 MPa) imposed by ISO rule for BIa group.
Concerning the material surface properties, the slabs were
covered with a crystalline glaze specifically created for this cera-
mic body to match the dilatometric coefficient of the support. This
coating reaches the highest classes for both acid and stain re-
sistances. In addition, the product has the capability to develop
very interesting colours and chromatic effects when added with
inorganic pigments, without altering its aesthetic surface texture.
The final products obtained using recycled glasses can be pro-
posed in different fields: building materials, artistic ceramics,
furniture industry and ceramic tiles. The products are dis-
tinguished from those already existing for the highest percentage
Fig. 1. Ceramic slabs obtained by using packaging waste glass in the body
(4 60 wt%).
The results indicated that the progressive addition of glass
powder into bricks influences the properties of these products. It is
clear how the glass, acting like an inert in the drying step, allows
to reduce the shrinkage of the sample (up to 1% less than the
standard sample) resulting in minor dimensional changes of the
material. Differently from clays, that tend to have plastic behaviour
and to shrink after water evaporation, the glass powder in the
ceramic mix reduces the shrinkage in drying step thus avoiding
possible cases of cracking (Fig. 2a). This is an important result
because a high reduction of brick dimensions would result in the
need to use a greater quantity of starting material with consequent
economic burden. In agreement with another study [43] that used
soda – lime glass with particle size 0.1–0.6 mm and added up to
45 wt% in the body, the linear shrinkage decreases. Instead, in
firing step, the effect of glass on shrinkage is strictly related to its
chemical composition. In fact, in Fig. 2b it is possible to observe
different results comparing the mix CRT glass with the funnel CRT
and PW glass. For these last two glasses the shrinkage values are
comparable to standard one. These results indicates that the use of
a low melting glass permits to reduce the firing temperature in
order to maintain the shrinkage near zero.
The open porosity of bricks was evaluated by water absorption
(W.A%) after firing (930 °C, 36 h in industrial cycle) and after
1.40
1.20
1.00

of recycled glass used and for the versatility of forming shaping 0.80
processes. In particular, changing the kind and amount of organic 0.60
binder, the solid content and other minor components it is pos- 0.40
sible to form these ceramic materials by uniaxial-pressing, lami- 0.20
nation or slip casting. Some examples are showed in Fig. 1. 0.00
5% 10% 15% 20%
2.2. Use of waste glass in brick manufacturing ( o20 wt%)

Many studies have shown that the use of waste glass in bricks
produces positive effects on the materials properties [19,39,41–
43]. The purpose of this study was to investigate future opportu-
nities in the ceramic sector, in particular searching to improve the
properties of materials and reducing the use of virgin raw mate-
rials by substitution with three typologies of glasses in different
percentages (0–20 wt%):

i) a mix of cathode ray tube funnel and panel glass (CRT mix);
ii) CRT funnel (rich in PbO); Fig. 2. Linear shrinkage (%) after drying (a) and after firing (b) for the different glass
iii) packaging glass (PW)). containing bricks compared to the commercial one (STD).

Please cite this article as: F. Andreola, et al., Recycling of industrial wastes in ceramic manufacturing: State of art and glass case studies,
Ceramics International (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.205i
 F. Andreola et al. / Ceramics International ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
immersion times of 45 s 24 h. The open porosity is directly influ-
enced by the composition of the mixture; in particular the pre-
sence of carbonates or substances that decompose developing
gasses provokes an increase of the porosity. The addition of glass
to replace clays constitutes a reduction of these compounds which
results in a lower contribution to the formation of porosity and a
consequent greater compaction of the material. In fact, the results
of water absorption tests after 24 h and 45 s, show values com-
parable or lower than the standard (W.A%¼15%), independently of
the kind of waste glass used. In particular, samples containing
15 wt% of waste glass showed a reduction of 7% of W.A% respect to
the standard one. Low water absorption provokes an increase in
mechanical strength and resistance to freeze-thaw cycles.
The flexural strength tests indicate that the glass-containing
bricks have values variable but comparable to the standard sample
(12 MPa) and higher than the minimum recommended for load-
bearing solid fired clay bricks (10 MPa). Interesting to highlight
that bricks containing 10 and 15 wt% CRT funnel glass showed the
best mechanical properties.
Finally, all samples have good aesthetic characteristics: no ap-
parent surface defects and same colour of brick without glass.
This experience demonstrated that the use of CRT and PW glass
in brick produces lower water absorption, lower drying shrinkage
and similar mechanical strength compared to the bricks without
glass. However, from the data analyzed it was possible to affirm
that 10–15 wt% of waste glass is the maximum amount acceptable
for not altering the densification and mechanical properties of the
bricks.
From Fig. 3 it is possible to observe that the glass grains, in-
dependently on the kind of waste glass, remain embedded in the
ceramic matrix after firing, confirming the role of glass as filler
into the brick body.
Other technical and environmental advantages depending on
composition and grains size are reported in a recent specific pa-
tent [41]. Fig. 4 shows a green and fired brick obtained with the
composition above discussed, the prototype were shaped and fired
in industrial brick cycle. Moreover, maintaining the granulometry
of the glass within a sufficiently high range (between 0.25–0.50
and 1–1.5 mm) greater than the usual ranges required for effi-
ciently setting up the sintering process of the mixture, further
energy saving was achieved in the process of realising bricks, in
terms of lower energy required for milling the glass and lower
plant costs.
Fig. 3. SEM micrograph of the bricks containing a) 15 wt% CRTmix (800X); b) 15 wt% CRT funnel (400X); c) 15 wt% PW (400X).
Please cite this article as: F. Andreola, et al., Recycling of industrial wastes in ceramic manufacturing: State of art and glass case studies,
Ceramics International (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.05.205i
5
Fig. 4. Bricks prototype produced with packaging waste glass (15 wt%).
3. Conclusions
The valorization of industrial wastes and their up-grading to
alternative raw materials can present several advantages when
compared to the use of primary natural resources, namely reduc-
tion in the extraction volume of natural raw materials (resource
preservation), lower energy consumption during subsequent pro-
cessing (reduced costs), and lower pollutant emission levels (im-
provement of population health and safety).
The recycling of waste in ceramic manufacturing is theoreti-
cally beneficial because it is possible to absorb great amount of
waste, also hazardous, that would otherwise be disposed off in
landfill. Even if the waste incorporation is done in small amounts,
high production rates will translate into significant consumption
of wastes. Moreover, wastes might constitute a cheap renewable
raw material source, and glass in particular is intrinsically char-
acterized by extreme durability [12,44].
Many research studies were published in the last 20 years re-
late to waste recycling in ceramic manufacturing but technological
transfer to industrial production is not easy. There are many con-
ditioning factors related to: the nature compatibility between the
waste and the natural raw materials host; the kind of cycle where
the waste will be introduced (wet or dry grinding,..); the char-
acteristics of the finished product (sintered/porous); the avail-
ability in terms of amounts and constant flow (variability of
composition); pre-treatments necessaries and transport costs that
must be controlled.
In particular, the use of high amount of waste glass in tile
manufacturing requires a reformulation of the bodies and of the
glazes in order to fabricate products that meet the market re-
quirements from a technological point of view. On the other hand,
the presence of glass in the bricks bodies acts as reducing
6 F. Andreola et al. / Ceramics International ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎
plasticity agent at the firing temperatures. In agreement with
environmental regulations, the “green materials” containing high
amount of post consumer waste contribute to earn LEED Certifi-
cation (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in
buildings.
Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to the following partners
Studio d'arte Manicardi, Eng. Rosa Taurino, Eng. Davide Giurana.
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