A GLASS-BONDED CERAMIC MATERIAL FROM CHRYSOTILE (WHITE ASBESTOS)

A process has been developed for bonding chrysotile asbestos into a ro bust, dimensionally-stable lightweight ceramic material by fusing it w ith sodium silicate and/or ground waste glass. The chrysotile can reta in its desirable properties of fibrous morphology and porosity, but th e fibre bundles are stabilized by fusion into a glassy matrix, reducin g the respirable fibre concentration. The glass-bonded materials have good resistance to mechanical abrasion, and any resulting dust is foun d by SEM to be particularly free of fibres. The thermal treatment also converts the chrysotile into crystalline forsterite, which should des troy its cell toxicity. Other methods of glass-bonding chrysotile comp acts (hot pressing and impregnating with glaze) were also investigated , and the properties of the resulting materials are reported.