Recycling technologies and applications of borosilicate glasses

Borosilicate glasses, known for their thermal resistance, chemical inertness, and mechanical strength, play a crucial role in technical applications as well as in the pharmaceutical industry. Despite their widespread use and versatility, most borosilicate glass wastes (BSGW) end up in landfills or are incinerated, rendering this valuable resource useless. This review provides an overview of recycling strategies for borosilicate glasses, with emphasis on technological approaches and potential applications spanning building and construction, insulation and filtering, functional materials, and materials for radiation shielding or nuclear waste immobilization, as well as opportunities for material recovery within the ceramics and glass industry or a source of boron or other critical raw materials. The economic viability and life cycle assessment (LCA) of GW recycling are addressed, considering energy consumption, scalability, and output quality across various technologies versus virgin material production. Furthermore, the review considers policies, such as the European Union's goal of fully recyclable packaging by 2030, and discusses limitations and challenges, such as the need to sterilize pharmaceutical GW and contamination risks of borosilicate GW streams with soda lime glass, as well as commercialization barriers and incentive schemes to promote BSGW recycling. New perspectives based on laser processing of borosilicate GW are also shown and aimed to open pathways toward full recyclability of these materials. This approach contributes not only to improved environmental sustainability but also promotes the use of BSGW in advanced technological applications. Finally, research priorities and underexplored areas are discussed to inspire and guide future investigations.