Prototyping a Process to Reuse Wasted Glass in High Performance Low Carbon Concrete

How Glass SCMs Solve the Market Need The process to produce cement has remained unchanged since the industrial revolution. Concrete producers need a new high-performing cement alternative to lower their concrete products' cost and embodied carbon. Otherwise, we will be building our future communities using a process with the embodied carbon and financial costs of 1820s technology. This project aims to develop a proof of concept production process for a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) derived from waste glass currently sent to landfills across the United States. This new material will be 25% lower cost, 97% less carbon-intensive, and 11% stronger than Portland cement. Technical Feasibility & Comparative Performance In conjunction with Clarkson University, KLAW Industries' researchers have shown that using recycled glass as an SCM in concrete is possible, making the resulting material stronger and chemically resistant. This project aims to develop a prototype to demonstrate that this technology can be produced in an industrial setting. The SCM developed from recycled glass in a lab setting has shown promising results. Without changing their process, concrete producers achieve 11% stronger concrete and favorable surface finishing properties. Due to the comparatively low energy requirements of producing recycled glass SCMs, the material will have a significant carbon and price advantage compared to Portland cement. Commercial Applications & End Users Through the NSF National I-Corps Program, over 268 customer interviews have been completed. Readymix concrete producers have been identified as the optimum beachhead market due to their high volume, low margin business model. A low-cost recycled glass SCM will allow ready-mix concrete producers to provide their customers with an all-around better product at a lower cost with no need to change their infrastructure or process. Small pilot projects completed with potential concrete partners have led to grassroots support for this technology. Market Size & Environmental Benefits The total addressable market for a recycled glass SCM is $1.3B in the U.S. As fossil fuel prices increase and cement prices rise, this market is expected to grow in the next ten years. A recycled glass SCM will keep 7.55 million tons of glass from entering American landfills every year by utilizing waste glass. By replacing cement in concrete, glass SCM’s will lower the embodied carbon of concrete by 20% in every pour and by 50% in specialty pours. This will prevent 7.1 million tons of embodied carbon from entering U.S. infrastructure annually.