Chemical Activation of Inert Silicate Waste into Pozzolanic Glass As a Replacer of Ordinary Portland Cement in Making Concrete

The current paper concerns the possibility of partial replacing Portland cement, the production of which creates ecological difficulties, with the widely available waste glass in manufacturing process of construction concrete. Converting the glass from an inert waste into one with pozzolanic properties similar to those of cement through fine grinding the glass represents an adequate method to achieve this objective. The experiment described in this paper allowed replacing cement with pozzolanic glass in proportions under 36%. Using for the first time recycled amber-glass from post-consumer drinking bottles together with cement as binders, fine and coarse aggregates, sodium lignosulfonate as a water-reducing superplasticizer, and working-water, four concrete versions were made, where compressive strength was increased up to 49.8 MPa corresponding to the use of 36 % cement replacement and at the end of the 56-day curing process. Also, flexural strength reached a maximum value of 11.4 MPa.