Effect of Using Rotational and Static Kilns on the Properties of Eco-Friendly Lightweight Aggregates Made with Pumice Scraps and Spent Coffee Grounds.

In this work, lightweight aggregates (LWAs) were prepared from an Italian red clay, pumice scraps, and spent coffee grounds. Chemical and physical characterization was first performed on the raw materials and then on the finished products. By studying the thermal behavior of the materials, the correct firing temperature was evaluated.

A New High-Efficiency Fertilization System from Waste Materials for Soil Protection: Material Engineering, Chemical-Physical Characterization, Antibacterial and Agronomic Performances.

The development of slow-release fertilizers (SRFs) based on production residues is a promising strategy to improve nutrient use efficiency and promote circular economy practices in agriculture. In this study, a series of experimental formulations were designed and tested using pumice scraps, liquid and dried blood, and bone meal, aiming at producing sustainable and low-cost N-P-K SRFs. These were processed through mixing and granulation, both in the laboratory and on a semi-industrial scale.

Cold Consolidation of Waste Glass by Alkali Activation and Curing by Traditional and Microwave Heating.

Despite efforts to recycle, boro-alumino-silicate pharmaceutical glass (BASG) results in a significant portion of glass cullet currently landfilled. Highly contaminated fractions of BASG cullet are largely unemployed because of the presence of metals in their composition that prevents recycling. This waste glass can be eligible to produce sustainable alkali-activated materials (AAMs) reducing at the same time consumption of raw materials and CO emissions.

Long-term durability of discarded cork-based composites obtained by geopolymerization.

Geopolymers are amorphous aluminosilicate inorganic polymers synthesized by alkaline activation characterized by a lower carbon footprint, greater durability, and excellent mechanical properties compared to traditional concrete, making them promising building materials for sustainable construction. To develop sustainable lightweight geopolymer-based building materials useful as fire resistant thermal insulation materials, we added 5 and 10 wt% of discarded cork dust, a readily available industrial by-product, to metakaolin before and after the alkaline activation with sodium hydroxide 8 M and sodium silicate solutions. We followed the chemical, microstructural, antibacterial, and physical properties of the resulting composites for up to 90 days in order to monitor their long-term durability.

Characterization of Volcano-Sedimentary Rocks and Related Scraps for Design of Sustainable Materials.

This work started as a joint academia and company research project with the aim of finding new applications for domestically sourced volcanic products and related waste (pumice, lapillus, zeolitic tuff and volcanic debris from Tessennano and Arlena quarry) by creating a database of secondary volcanic raw materials and their intrinsic characteristics to help industry replace virgin materials and enhance circularity. In this context, accurate chemical, mineralogical, morphological, granulometric and thermal characterizations were performed. Based on the results presented, it can be concluded that due to their lightness, these materials can be used in the design and preparation of lightweight aggregates for agronomic purposes or in the construction field.

Statistical optimization of a sustainable fertilizer composition based on black soldier fly larvae as source of nitrogen.

In the present work, a statistical optimization of a sustainable coating for core-shell NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) fertilizers was investigated. The environmental green coating was enriched in nitrogen using a biomass and renewable source, namely the nitrogen rich fraction of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia Illucens, Diptera: Stratiomyidae) reared on vegetable waste. A rational approach was proposed with the aim of calculating the best formulation of the coating, considering both its manufacturing behavior, such as adhesion to the core, and its physical properties, such as homogeneity or plasticity.

Recycling of Waste Corundum Abrasive Powder in MK-Based Geopolymers.

Recycling corundum abrasive powder in metakaolin-based geopolymer formulations is proposed to reduce the amount of waste to be treated or disposed of in landfills, allowing to decrease ecological damage as well as to reduce transport costs for removal. The addition of waste corundum, as an important source of AlO, has proved to increase the slight ionic conductivity of the leachate solution obtained after immersion in water of samples at 28 d of curing at room temperature. With the same curing conditions, the geopolymerization process has not been disturbed as evidenced by the FT-IR peak shift and XRD patterns.

Comparison of Three Manufacturing Techniques for Sustainable Porous Clay Ceramics.

This study proposes different manufacturing techniques (manual pelletization, powder pressing, and "shell scaffold") to obtain lightweight clay ceramics containing recovery raw materials. The sintering in an electrical furnace (1000 °C, 1 h processing time) was conducted by traditional firing from room temperature, for pressed and shell-scaffold samples, while the flash heating (i.e.

Preliminary Study on Sustainable NPK Slow-Release Fertilizers Based on Byproducts and Leftovers: A Design-of-Experiment Approach.

In this study, an organic nitrogen-based coating was developed based on black soldier fly (BSF) prepupae reared on poultry dejections and deposited on ceramic lightweight aggregates (LWAs), containing phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) from agroresidues, leading to a complete nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizer. To obtain a resistant coating with good adhesion to LWAs, different plasticizing agents were tested (e.g.

Spent Coffee Grounds in the Production of Lightweight Clay Ceramic Aggregates in View of Urban and Agricultural Sustainable Development.

This paper presents an innovative application for spent coffee grounds (SCGs) used as filler for the formulation of lightweight clay ceramic aggregates (LWA). LWA can be used for urban and agricultural purposes as a sustainable solution. Spent coffee grounds were tested as a pore forming agent partially acting as a replacement for red clay in material formulation before firing.

Toxicological analysis of ceramic building materials - Tiles and glasses - Obtained from post-treated bottom ashes.

In Italy, the production of bottom ash from waste incineration was estimated as 1.6 million tons/year, corresponding to 30% of the total input waste. The bottom ash is mainly formed by SiO, AlO, CaO, NaO and low amount of heavy metals, therefore it cannot be considered a 'non-hazardous' waste.

Lead waste glasses management: Chemical pretreatment for use in cementitious composites.

This article investigates the effect of a low-impact chemical treatment based on a nitrilotriacetic acid chelating agent on the reactivity of funnel glass derived from discarded cathode ray tubes. Treated and untreated glass has been recycled either as a supplementary cementing material or as a fine aggregate in cementitious mortars. The effect of the treatment on the chemical and morphological properties of cullets, as well as on the solubility in an alkaline environment has been evaluated.

Chromium liquid waste inertization in an inorganic alkali activated matrix: leaching and NMR multinuclear approach.

A class of inorganic binders, also known as geopolymers, can be obtained by alkali activation of aluminosilicate powders at room temperature. The process is affected by many parameters (curing time, curing temperature, relative humidity etc.) and leads to a resistant matrix usable for inertization of hazardous waste.

Rapid screening of different chelating agents in the lead extraction from cathode ray tube (CRT) funnel glass.

The cathode ray tube (CRT) glass is one of the most important problem that afflicts the electronic waste disposal whose solution lies in the identification of efficient and ecofriendly processes to detoxify and reutilize lead-contained funnel glass. This study is focused on a rapid screening of different chemical and mechanochemical processes to reduce lead content in waste CRT glass downgrading the risk correlated to it. In particular, as a possibility to clean waste CRT glass, treatments of lead-containing glass with different chelating agents (EDTA, NTA, ATMP, EDTMP and HEDP) were performed to evaluate their extractive capabilities.

Alkali activation processes for incinerator residues management.

Incinerator bottom ash (BA) is produced in large amount worldwide and in Italy, where 5.1 millionstons of municipal solid residues have been incinerated in 2010, corresponding to 1.2-1.

Management of agricultural biomass wastes: preliminary study on characterization and valorisation in clay matrix bricks.

In this work the feasibility of using woody agricultural biomass wastes as grapes and cherries seeds, sawdust, as pore forming agent, and sugar cane ash, as silica precursor, in bricks, were reported. Sawdust and grapes and cherries seeds, thanks to their organic substances content, during their combustion, bring an energetic support in the bricks firing phase and act as pore forming agent. Usually the addition of this kind of waste is limited to 10wt.

Chemical stability of geopolymers containing municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash.

Municipal solid waste incinerators every year produce tons of fly ashes which, differently from coal fly ashes, contain large amounts of toxic substances (heavy metals, dioxins, furans). The stabilization/solidification (S/S) technology known as geopolymerization is proposed with the purpose to bond physically and chemically incinerator fly ashes (IFA) in a solid matrix, in order to reduce pollutant mobility. The chemical stability of geopolymers with Si/Al ratio of 1.

Cathode ray tube glass recycling: an example of clean technology.

In this study the use of 'cleaned' end of life (EOL) cathode ray tube (CRT) glass as a raw material in ceramic glazes is described. At present, the recycling and industrial utilization of CRT, a glass material from TV and computer sets, is a subject of intense research with particular regard to the so-called open-loop recycling, namely cycles different from that of the origin. However, the use of CRT glass as a secondary raw material is strictly related to the demand of high-quality raw material.