Principal investigator: Grady Mathews
University: Penn State Harrisburg
Industry partner: AeroAggregates of North America, LLC
The production of solid waste is growing at a substantial rate in the United States. Due to a lack of existing recycling infrastructure, solid waste is disposed in landfills at a rate of approximately 50 - 60%. Mixed-color container glass is particularly difficult to recycle as it must first be separated from other materials (e.g., paper, metals) and then separated into different colors to produce a non-contaminated useable material. AeroAggregates of North America, LLC has developed a process to create ultra-lightweight gravel-like aggregates from 100% post-consumer recycled glass.
Concrete block manufacturers utilize lightweight aggregates to reduce self-weight of the blocks and to reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions associated with product shipping. This project investigates the use of foamed glass aggregates produced by AeroAggregates in concrete blocks. The focus of this project is on testing needed to qualify foamed glass aggregates for use in lightweight concrete blocks and cast AeroAggregates’ foamed glass aggregate products into the concrete block marketplace. For this project, AeroAggregates of North America, LLC and Penn State Harrisburg will partner with Easton Block and Supply (Easton, Pennsylvania) to produce concrete blocks from AeroAggregates.