A Hipocarbonic Binder Strategy Through the Reuse of Crushed Tempered Glass

The reuse of waste generated in various sectors has become a sustainable alternative. Advances in research highlight its potential as a secondary raw material to produce construction materials, contributing to the reduction in waste disposal while mitigating the intensive exploitation of natural resources. Tempered glass is rarely used in recycling and in the production of new materials. Therefore, this study evaluated the applicability of using it, after glass crushing, as a partial replacement for natural sand in the production of cement products. Thus, natural sand was replaced by 25% and 50% with sand resulting from glass crushing, and the mechanical properties (mechanical strength) and porosity (water absorption and void index) of the cementitious mixtures (mortars) were evaluated at 28 days, as well as their chemical properties and CO2 emissions. Glass powder (a result of crushing glass) was added to the mixtures to maximize the use of residual materials and improve the performance of the composite. The results demonstrate gains of approximately 10% in the studied properties with the substitution of natural sand with crushed tempered glass sand, and above 24% for the addition of glass powder, i.e., the addition of 20% powder glass tends to contribute favorably to the performance of cementitious mixtures, supporting the production of more sustainable building materials and making it an appropriate strategy for the circular economy.