Addition of WEEE Glass to Metakaolin-Based Geopolymeric Binder: A Cytotoxicity Study

• Main Authors: Michelina Catauro, Isabella Lancellotti, Cristina Leonelli
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-12-01
• Series: Environments
• Subjects: waste glass; geopolymers; cytotoxicity tests; recycling; WEEE
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/4/4/89

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) types of glass, including Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) glass, are now separately collected in European Union 28 (EU28) zone. Due to the high level of Pb and Ba in their compositions, this type of waste finds its way to the disposal. In the present research, a geopolymer matrix based on metakaolin is used to blend in fine powder panel and funnel glass from personal computer (PC) and television (TV) monitors. Such waste glass, which cannot be directed to glass melting furnaces, is safely incorporated into a geopolymer matrix. The consolidation of the geopolymeric matrix containing the waste glass was followed by pH and conductibility up to 28 days of curing. Scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) was used to obtain information on the microstructure of the consolidated products. Cytotoxicity tests helped the environmental evaluation of these materials.