Bulk and sintered glass-ceramics by recycling municipal incinerator bottomash

Glass-ceramics were produced using an Italian municipal incinerator bottom ash and glass culler coming from a community glass recycling program. The c apability of three different mixtures to be vitrified and subsequently devi trified by both bulk and sintering process was investigated by means of dif ferential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, hot stage microscopy, firing shrinkage, water absorption and bulk density measurements, as well as scan ning electron microscopy observations. High ash contents favour the growth of crystallised fraction volume and the formation of crystals of the pyroxe ne group, and anorthite in addition to wollastonite. Since the nucleation m echanism starts from the surface and sintering occurs before crystallisatio n, all the compositions humidified with a water solution are easily sintera ble in dense materials at the relatively low temperature of about 850 degre es C, in such way as to render the process economically advantageous (C) 20 00 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.