Article published in Journal of Cleaner Production

The use of waste raw materials and less energy-intensive processes are important trends in scientific research, aiming to reduce the industrial impact on the environment. Uroš Hribar, Matjaž Spreitzer and Jakob König from the Advanced Materials Department - K9 adopted this aim in their study Applicability of water glass for the transfer of the glass-foaming process from controlled to air atmosphere published in the Journal of Cleaner Production. 

The idea to achieve an environmentally friendly process was to transfer the synthesis of high-quality foamed glass from an oxygen-free to air atmosphere which was achieved with the addition of water glass. The new batch formulation protects the carbonaceous foaming agents from premature oxidation in the air atmosphere and decreases the required processing temperatures. Foamed glass produced from waste cathode-ray-tube (CRT) panel glass via their proposed process exhibits a thermal conductivity comparable to the best commercial products while having a significantly lesser impact on the environment.