CELLULAR GLASS FROM POST-CONSUMER DRINKING GLASS NON-CONVENTIONALLY PREPARED WITH SILICON NITRIDE AND MANGANESE DIOXIDE AS PORE-FORMING AGENTS

Abstract

Cellular glass non-conventionally prepared from post-consumer drinking glass was made, silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) and manganese dioxide (MnO₂) contributing to form the porous structure. The correlation between the physical-morphological properties (low denseness, high porousness, structural homogeneousness) of the expanded material and its strength features (high compression resistance) played an essential role. An optimal weight ratio between the two pore-forming additives was found at the value 1.0. The temperature of the sintering-expanding process was relatively reduced (823 ℃) and the warming rate reached very high values (27.7 ℃/min) due to the energy efficiency of the own preponderantly direct microwave warming method. The main features of the optimal cellular glass specimen were: denseness of 0.59 g·cm^-3, heat conduction of 0.097 W·m^-1·K^-1, compression resistance of 6.6 MPa, and pore size between 0.1-0.4 mm.