{"id":263139,"date":"2021-05-31T15:49:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T12:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/crushed-glass-could-save-our-sand\/"},"modified":"2021-05-31T15:49:22","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T12:49:22","slug":"crushed-glass-could-save-our-sand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/crushed-glass-could-save-our-sand\/","title":{"rendered":"#Crushed glass could save our sand"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Crushed glass could save our sand<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"It's
\n (L-R) GCP App<\/a>lied Techologies’ Niki Jackson, Masters student Sai Manaswi Reddy, Dr Mehdi Serati, UQ’s Shane Walker, Aurecon’s Dr Harry Asche, Masters student Gautam Malgotra in the UQ laboratory. Credit: University of Queensland
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Crushed wine bottles and other recycled glass could replace sand in vital tunneling supports, cutting construction costs and improving the sustainability of sand mining.<\/p>\n

University of Queensland engineers are working on the second phase of an industry-sponsored project using crushed waste glass (CWG) to replace sand in shotcrete used to support tunnels and underground spaces.<\/p>\n

Dr Mehdi Serati from UQ’s School of Civil Engineering said the amount of sand in the world was finite, so ingenuity was necessary to solve the problem of a looming shortage.<\/p>\n

“If we don’t do something about sand depletion at a global scale, our grandchildren are not going to see sandy beaches,” Dr Serati said.<\/p>\n

“Over the past 20 years the cost of sand has increased by six times, and it’s the second most consumed natural product globally, after fresh water.”<\/p>\n

CWG is made up of recycled glass from wine bottles and other products, which are usually stockpiled or sent overseas for other countries to process and store as waste.<\/p>\n

Dr Serati said CWG had a number of advantages as a potential replacement for sand.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“It’s a cheaper product because it’s using waste from one industry and turning it into treasure for another,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It also uses less water, as glass has zero water absorption, so really there is a trip<\/a>le benefit in terms of conservation, cost and saving water.”<\/p>\n

Results are positive after one year of testing with CWG showing promise as the next generation of sustainable material.<\/p>\n

“We feel the next phase of the project is to manage the combinations of recycled glass and other ingredients to optimize shotcrete for CWG rather than for sand,” Dr Serati said.<\/p>\n

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“And it’s timely because we’re right at the start of a tunneling boom in Australia.<\/p>\n

“I think by 2030, five or six out of ten infrastructure projects in Australia will be either directly or indirectly linked to tunneling.”<\/p>\n

Niki Jackson from GCP Applied Technologies said the project was very promising.<\/p>\n

“The results so far show that using CWG as a replacement for natural sand is a viable option as the concrete was able to meet and sometimes exceed the results from the base mix,” Mr Jackson said.
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“This would allow the industry to look at alternative options for replacing natural sands with a viable solution, in that CWG can be used in shotcrete for tunnels and civil works.<\/p>\n

“There would need to be a further study carried out on the fire resistance of concrete containing CWG for the shotcrete to be able to be used in all aspects of the civil tunnel environment.”<\/p>\n

UQ Adjunct Professor and Aurecon’s Dr Harry Asche said the results so far were exciting, and confirmed a significant opportunity in concrete and shotcrete technology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Replacing sand with recycled glass is a great opportunity to improve sustainability in tunneling,” Dr Asche said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

“Aurecon is strongly committed to research in shotcrete and sustainability. \u00a0<\/p>\n

“We are using innovative engineering practices to ensure we have a resilient environment and are promoting a circular economy model of reuse and recycle to reduce emissions and increase the efficiency of natural resources. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“One of the exciting things about this technology is that it could be implemented on major projects very soon.”\n <\/p>\n\n

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One person’s waste glass becomes another person’s treasure\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n Provided by
\n University of Queensland
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Citation<\/strong>:
\n It’s crystal clear: Crushed glass could save our sand (2021, May 31)
\n retrieved 31 May 2021
\n from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news<\/a>\/2021-05-crystal-glass-sand.html<\/p>\n

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\n part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n