DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIALS UTILIZING WASTE GLASS FRAGMENTS AND EGGSHELLS

ABSTRACT A significant amount of waste materials, including eggshells from consumption and tinted glass fragments from the construction and building materials industry, adversely affect the environment. This research aims to develop construction materials using waste green glass and eggshells for building applications. The physical, mechanical, thermal, and fire resistance properties of the produced material were evaluated according to ASTM standards. The process involved cleaning the waste green glass fragments and eggshells, followed by fine grinding using a ball mill machine. Composite mixtures with eggshell proportions of 15%, 20%, and 25% by weight of the total materials were prepared. The finely ground green glass and eggshell powder, which acts as a foaming agent, were mixed with 5% water by weight to facilitate molding. The mixtures were then molded into cylindrical shapes with a diameter of 31.5 mm and a thickness of 10 mm under a compression force of 204 kg/cm 2 for 2 minutes. After removal from the molds, the samples were air-dried at room temperature for 24 hours before being fired in a furnace at temperatures of 800°C, 850°C, and 900°C for 10 minutes. The composite materials were tested for density, water absorption, porosity, compressive strength, thermal conductivity, and fire resistance. The results indicate that increasing the proportion of eggshells and firing temperature improves the properties of the material produced from waste glass and eggshells, thus reducing environmental impact. The optimal mixture, containing 20% eggshell by weight and fired at 800°C, exhibited the best performance, with a density of 1.54 g/cm 3 , water absorption of 11.81%, porosity of 20.45%, compressive strength of 514 kg/cm 2 , thermal conductivity of 0.41 W/m.K, and 4 hours of fire resistance at 900°C. The findings of this research provide a viable approach for utilizing discarded materials to produce construction and building materials with comparable physical, mechanical, thermal, and fire resistance properties for architectural applications, while supporting a sustainable circular economy.