Use of bypass cement dust for production of glass ceramic materials

Bypass cement dust from the Rabigh plant in Saudi Arabia was examined for use in the preparation of technical coloured glass and glass ceramic materials. The bypass cement dust made up about 57 wt-% of the batch constituents, depending on composition. The bypass composition was sometimes modified by additions of other ingredients such as silica sand, granite and magnesite. Batches were melted and then cast into glass, which was subjected to heat treatment to induce crystallisation. Techniques including differential thermal analysis, polarising light microscopy, X-ray diffraction and indentation microhardness testing were then applied. The obtained coloured glass and glass ceramic materials possess very high hardness, indicating high abrasion resistance, and making them suitable for many applications under aggressive mechanical conditions.