Process for Converting Waste Glass Fiber into Value Added Products, Final Report

Nature of the Event: Technology demonstration. The project successfully met all of its technical objectives. Albacem has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Vitro Minerals Inc., a specialty minerals company, to commercialize the Albacem technology (website: www.vitrominerals.com). Location: The basic research for the project was conducted in Peoria, Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia, with third-party laboratory verification carried out in Ontario, Canada. Pilot-scale trials (multi-ton) were conducted at a facility in South Carolina. Full-scale manufacturing facilities have been designed and are scheduled for construction by Vitro Minerals during 2006 at a location in the Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina tri-state area. The Technology: This technology consists of a process to eliminate solid wastes generated at glass fiber manufacturing facilities by converting them to value-added materials (VCAS Pozzolans) suitable for use in cement and concrete applications. This technology will help divert up to 250,000 tpy of discarded glass fiber manufacturing wastes into beneficial use applications in the concrete construction industry. This technology can also be used for processing glass fiber waste materials reclaimed from monofills at manufacturing facilities. The addition of take-back materials and reclamation from landfills can help supply over 500,000 tpy of glass fiber waste for processing into value added products. In the Albacem process, waste glass fiber is ground to a fine powder that effectively functions as a reactive pozzolanic admixture for use in portland ce¬ment-based building materials and products, such as concrete, mortars, terrazzo, tile, and grouts. Because the waste fiber from the glass manufacturing industry is vitreous, clean, and low in iron and alkalis, the resulting pozzolan is white in color and highly consistent in chemical composition. This white pozzolan, termed VCAS Pozzolan (for Vitreous Calcium-Alumino-Silicate). is especially suited for white concrete applications where it imparts desirable benefits such as increased long-term strength and improved long-term durability of concrete products. Two U.S. patents entitled have been issued to Albacem covering the technology. Third-party validation testing has confirmed that the pozzolanic product is an excellent, high performance material that conforms to a ASTM standards and improves the strength and durability of concrete. Currently, there are no known significant competing technologies to process glass fiber manufacturing by-products and con¬vert them into value-added products. Most glass fiber-forming and fabrication wastes continue to be disposed in landfills at significant costs and with associated negative environmental impact. It is estimated that in a typical glass fiber manufactur¬ing facility, 10-20% by weight of the processed glass material is sent for dis¬posal to a landfill. Today, supplementary ce¬menting materials or mineral admixtures are key to achieving strong and durable concrete. Recovered materials such as coal fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag and silica fume are widely accepted and used in concrete all over the world, espe¬cially in the construction of “high performance” structures such as massive dams, bridges, subway tunnels, etc. These min¬eral admixtures are not suitable for white concrete and light-colored architectural concrete applications. Converting waste glass fibers into a high performance white pozzolan would allow white concrete producers to gain from the same durability benefits currently realized by gray concrete producers. Description of the Benefit: Albacem’s technology will enable the glass fiber industry to eliminate nearly 100% of its glass fiber produc¬tion waste streams by converting them into viable value-added products. With this technology, the glass industry can prevent the landfilling of about 250,000 tons of waste glass fiber annually. Glass manufacturers will realize improved production efficiency by reducing process costs through the elimination of solid waste disposal costs and participation in revenue sharing for the creation of value-added market-ready products. Implementation of the technology will save a net amount of energy (estimated at 1.75-trillion BTU) consumed by eliminating the manufacture of material replaced by the processed waste glass. The technology also reduces the amount of CO2, NOx, and other air pollutants emitted from the manufacturer of the replaced product (Portland cement). In addition, jobs will be created, and the cement industry will benefit from the introduction of a new product that will increase the service life of concrete and improve sustainability.