Waste Management 29 (2009) 655–659

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Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Recycling of waste glass as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in concrete

Zainab Z. Ismail *, Enas A. AL-Hashmi
Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Iraq

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Waste glass creates serious environmental problems, mainly due to the inconsistency of waste glass
Accepted 13 August 2008 streams. With increasing environmental pressure to reduce solid waste and to recycle as much as possi-
Available online 10 October 2008 ble, the concrete industry has adopted a number of methods to achieve this goal. The properties of con-
cretes containing waste glass as fine aggregate were investigated in this study. The strength properties
and ASR expansion were analyzed in terms of waste glass content. An overall quantity of 80 kg of crushed
waste glass was used as a partial replacement for sand at 10%, 15%, and 20% with 900 kg of concrete
mixes. The results proved 80% pozzolanic strength activity given by waste glass after 28 days. The flexural
strength and compressive strength of specimens with 20% waste glass content were 10.99% and 4.23%,
respectively, higher than those of the control specimen at 28 days. The mortar bar tests demonstrated
that the finely crushed waste glass helped reduce expansion by 66% as compared with the control mix.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction as fine aggregate demonstrated a decreasing tendency with in-

Glass is one of the oldest man-made materials. It is produced in
many forms, including packaging or container glass, flat glass, bulb
glass, and cathode ray tube glass, all of which have a limited life in
the forms in which they are produced and need to be reused/recy-
cled in order to avoid environmental problems that would be cre-
ated if they were to be stockpiled or sent to landfills. Theoretically,
glass is a 100% recyclable material; it can be indefinitely recycled
without any loss of quality (Sobolev et al., 2006). There are many
examples of successful recycling of waste glass as a cullet in glass
production, as raw material for the production of abrasives, in
sand-blasting, as an aggregate substitute in concrete (as a pozzola-
nic additive), in road beds, pavement and parking lots, as raw
materials to produce glass pellets or beads used in reflective paint
for highways, to produce fiberglass, and as fractionators for light-
ing matches and firing ammunition (Chen et al., 2002). The con-
struction industry has shown great gains in the recycling of
industrial by-products and waste, including waste glass. Recycling
of this waste by converting it to aggregate not only saves landfill
space but also reduces the demand for extraction of natural raw
material for construction activity (Rakshvir and Barai, 2006). Be-
cause these substitutes require extensive studies as to their effect
on the properties of concrete, a number of research studies have
been performed. Park et al. (2004) reported that the compressive,
tensile, and flexural strengths of concretes containing waste glass
* Corresponding author. Present address: Georgia Institute of Technology, School
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ford Environmental Science and Technol-
ogy Building, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0512, USA. Tel.: +1 404 385 4653;
fax: +1 404 894 8266.
E-mail address: zismail1961@yahoo.com (Z.Z. Ismail).
creases in the mixing ratio of the waste glass. Shayan and Xu
(2004) found that 30% glass powder could be incorporated as
aggregate or cement replacement in concrete without any long-
term detrimental effects. Topçu and Canbaz (2004) found that
compressive, flexural, and indirect tensile strengths had the ten-
dency to decrease in proportion to the increase in content of waste
glass as coarse aggregate in concrete mixtures. Corinaldesi et al.
(2005) also reported that no alkali-silica reaction has been de-
tected with particle sizes up to 100 lm, thus reflecting the feasibil-
ity of waste glass reuse as fine aggregate in mortars and concrete.
Chen et al. (2006) observed a significant improvement in the com-
pressive strength of waste E-glass concrete mixes at late ages, but
the workability decreased as the glass content increased. Shayan
and Xu (2006) recommended using glass powder and glass aggre-
gate together in 40-MPa concrete mixtures without any adverse
reaction. Metwally (2007) also reported that the use of finely
milled waste glass in concrete mixes had a bad effect on workabil-
ity, but considerably improved the mechanical properties of con-
crete at later ages. Topçu et al. (2008) recommended the usage of
over 20% fly ash and 2% Li2CO3 replacements to reduce the expan-
sions of waste glass-mortars occurring due to ASR.
Although there are no reliable data on the quantities of waste
glass generated in Iraq, there is an obvious sign of a sharp increase
in their accumulated quantities as discarded solid wastes due to
the absence of or poorly functioning systems for the collection,
treatment, and disposal of these wastes. The objective of this study
was to examine the influence of waste glass when used as a direct
replacement for natural fine aggregate in concrete, and thereby to
assess the fundamental engineering properties of waste glass
concrete.

0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2008.08.012
656 Z.Z. Ismail, E.A. AL-Hashmi / Waste Management 29 (2009) 655–659

Table 1 Table 4
Chemical properties of cement Gradation of fine aggregate and waste glass

Compounds % (By weight) Sieve size (mm) Accumulated passing (%)

CaO 64.43 Fine aggregate Waste glass
SiO2 21.14
4.75 96.50 100
Al2O3 5.78
2.36 89.16 99.98
Fe2O3 3.59
1.18 80.70 68.35
SO3 2.35
0.6 68.40 46.14
MgO 1.52
0.3 24.97 29.63
Loss of ignition 0.89
0.15 3.81 20.03
Lime saturation factor 0.92
Insoluble residue 0.34
Main compounds (Bogue’s equation) % by weight
C3S 50.83
C2S 22.30
C3A 9.25
C4AF 10.90

2. Materials and methods

All materials used in this study are locally available. Type I

Portland cement was used in this investigation. The chemical
analysis of cement was carried out according to ASTM C114-85.
The chemical composition and physical properties of the cement
are presented in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. The fine aggregate
was natural sand of 4.75 mm maximum size and of desert origin.
Its grading conformed to ASTM C136-84. The properties and gra- Fig. 1. Sample of glass waste.
dation of sand are shown in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. Natural
crushed stone aggregate supplied from the Al-Nibaey region, with
maximum size of 20 mm and bulk density of 1545 kg/m3, was Table 5
used in this study. Eighty kilograms of crushed waste glass was Chemical composition and physical properties of waste glass
used in this work as fine aggregate and was analyzed in terms
Chemical composition (%) Physical properties
of physical properties such as sieve analysis and particle size.
SiO2 67.72 Specific gravity 2.19
The waste glass was collected from different areas of Iraq, mainly
Al2O3 + Fe2O3 3.40 Density kg/m3 1672
from the State Company for Glass Industry in Al-Ramadi city and CaO 6.90 Finesse modulus 2.36
certain other local industrial workshops in Baghdad city. The col- SO3 0.17 Absorption 0.39
lected waste glass includes containers (bottles, jars) and flat glass Na2O + K2O 10.75 Color Light gray
MgO 6 Pozzolanic index% 80
(windows). Cathode ray tube glass (TV screens, monitors, etc.)
was not used in this study due to concern about hazardous met-
als content. Fig. 1 shows the type of the glass used in this study.
The sieve analysis of the waste glass is given in Table 4, and the chemical composition and physical properties of the waste glass
are represented in Table 5.

3. Experimental procedure
Table 2
Physical properties of cement 3.1. Mixture proportioning
Properties Limits Test method
Two types of concrete mixes were prepared for this study. The
Finesse (m2/kg) 269.50 ASTM C204-92
Initial setting time (min) 3:20 ASTM C191-82
plain concrete mixes, which consisted of sand (715 kg/m3), gravel
Final setting time (h) 4:15 ASTM C191-82 (1020 kg/m3), cement (380 kg/m3), and water (201 kg/m3), re-
Soundness 0.19 ASTM C151-84 sulted in a water-concrete ratio of 0.53. The other concrete mixes
3 Days age compressive strength (Mpa) 24.96 ASTM C109-92 were made of waste glass aggregates of 10%, 15%, and 20% as a par-
7 Days age compressive strength (Mpa) 30.80 ASTM C109-92
tial replacement for sand and with the same amounts of cement
and gravel and the same water-concrete ratio as in the plain mixes.
Both types of concrete mixes were cured for 3, 7, 14, and 28 days.

3.2. Preparation of specimens

Table 3
Properties of sand The molds were coated with mineral oil to ensure that no water
Properties Limits
escaped during filling and to prevent adhesion of concrete. Concrete
casting was accomplished in three layers of 50 mm each. Each layer
Sulfate (%) 0.80
Finesse modulus 2.37
was compacted by using a vibrating table for 1–1.5 min until no air
Absorption (%) 2.71 bubbles emerged from the surface of the concrete mold. The molds
Max size (mm) 4.75 were dried for 24 h; the concrete was removed from the molds and
Density (kg/m3) 1688 immediately submerged in fresh clean water and kept ready for
Specific gravity 2.57
testing.
 Z.Z. Ismail, E.A. AL-Hashmi / Waste Management 29 (2009) 655–659 657

3.3. Testing of specimens

1. Casting, compaction and curing: Accomplished according to

B.S.1881:1952.
2. Slump test: Fulfilled according to B.S.1881:1952.
3. Fresh densities: Immediately measured for all cubes after mold-
ing and compacting according to B.S.1881:1952. The fresh den-
sity represents the mean of fresh densities for four cubes.
4. Dry densities: Measured for the cubes taken from the curing
water basin just prior to compression strength, according to
B.S.1881:1952. The dry density represents the mean for dry
density of four cubes of each curing age.
5. Compression strength: Concrete cubes were prepared according Fig. 2. Decreasing ratios in the slump.
to B.S.1881:1952. The Forney machine was used for compres-
sion testing. The cubes were tested immediately after being
taken from water storage and while they were still wet. The Table 7
average of the compression strengths of four cubes was Fresh densities of waste glass concrete mixes
recorded for each testing age. % Waste glass 0 10 15 20
6. Flexural and toughness strength: Prisms were prepared according
Fresh density (kg/m3) 2476.90 2445.70 2428.30 2420.90
to ASTM C192-88. A 10 KN proving ring capacity and 0.01 mm
dial gage precision was used for those tests. The flexural
strength testing was carried out according to ASTM C 293-79.
The toughness indices were implemented according to ASTM
4.2. Fresh and dry density tests
C 1018-85.
7. Pozzolanic activity: The pozzolanic activity of the fine waste
Table 7 shows the fresh density test results of waste glass con-
glass was evaluated based on the ASTM C311-02 test method.
crete mixes. The decreasing ratios in fresh densities of specimens
In the test mixes, 20% of the mass of cement was replaced by
made of 10%, 15%, and 20% waste glass are 1.28%, 1.96%, and
glass powder. Both the control and the test mixes were pre-
2.26%, respectively, as shown in Fig. 3. The decrease in the fresh
pared at a water/cement ratio and sand/cement ratio of 0.46
density of the waste glass concrete mixes can be attributed to
and 2.75, respectively. the specific gravity of the waste glass, which is approximately
8. Alkali-silica reaction: Due to the silica-rich nature and amor-
14.8% lower than that of the sand (Hamemrnik and Frantz,
phous structure of the glass, it is susceptible to chemical attack 1991). In spite of the decrease in the fresh density values of waste
under the high alkali conditions provided by the hydrated
glass concrete mixes, they are still comparable to the control
cement phase in the concrete, which could produce extensive mixes. Table 8 shows the dry densities of waste glass concrete
formation of ASR gel. A rapid mortar bar test was conducted
mixes at 3, 7, 14, and 28-day curing ages. Fig. 4 represents the
according to ASTM C1260-01 by keeping the mortar bars in a decreasing ratios in the dry densities of waste glass concrete mixes
high temperature and high alkali medium. The 14-day expan-
below the control mixes. Similar results were reported by Topçu
sions are considered as the expansions for determining ASR and Canbaz (2004), which verify the conclusion that the unit
resistance.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Slump tests

The results of the slump tests are presented in Table 6. Fig. 2

illustrates the decreasing ratios in the slump. The slump values
were determined to be 5.75, 5.25, and 5 for specimens made of
10%, 15%, and 20% waste glass, respectively. The results demon-
strate the tendency of the slump to decrease as the waste glass ra-
tio increases. This decline in the slump values can be related to the
poor geometry of the waste glass, which results in lesser fluidity of
the mixes as well as the reduction of fineness modulus. In spite of
the decline in the slump values, the waste glass concrete mixes Fig. 3. Decreasing ratios in fresh density.
were considered workable. A study by Park et al. (2004) also re-
ported that increasing the mixing ratio of waste glass fine aggre-
gate decreased the slump of the concrete. Topçu and Canbaz Table 8
(2004) reported that using a high proportion of waste glass has Dry densities of waste glass concrete mixes
been observed to decrease the slump value of concrete.
% Waste glass Curing ages (days)
Dry densities (kg/m3)

Table 6 3 7 14 28
Slump of waste glass concrete mixes 0 2377.8 2382.2 2384.1 2400.0
10 2369.9 2376.3 2379.7 2395.9
% Waste glass 0 10 15 20
15 2362.9 2366.3 2368.2 2386.0
Slump (cm) 7.50 5.75 5.25 5.00 20 2360.0 2364.0 2366.3 2382.9
658 Z.Z. Ismail, E.A. AL-Hashmi / Waste Management 29 (2009) 655–659

Table 10
Flexural strength of waste glass concrete mixes

% Waste glass Curing ages (days)

Flexural strength (MPa)
3 7 14 28
0 3.87 4.27 5.69 5.89
10 4.88 5.28 5.83 6.10
15 4.34 5.21 5.82 6.30
20 4.22 4.99 5.76 6.55

Fig. 4. Decreasing ratios in dry densities.

Table 9
Compressive strength of waste glass concrete mixes

% Waste glass Curing ages (days)

Compressive strength (MPa)
3 7 14 28
0 26.9 31.5 43.8 44.0
10 29.1 34.6 39.1 40.3
15 28.9 32.0 38.3 42.0
20 27.6 31.7 38.0 45.9

Fig. 6. Expansion of waste glass mortar bars.

4.4. Flexural strength tests

The flexural strengths test results are presented in Table 10.

Fig. 5. Increment ratios in compressive strengh.
Generally, the flexural strength was observed to follow the same
trend for 3, 7, and 14-day concrete mixes; the flexural strengths
tend to decrease as the waste glass proportion increased. Accord-
ing to the test results, the 28-day flexural strength values were ob-
served to have a tendency to increase above the plain mix by 3.57%,
6.96%, and 11.20% as the waste glass content increased by 10%,
15%, and 20%, respectively. This shows that significant pozzolanic
reaction had taken place during this period of time.

4.5. Pozzolanic activity tests

weight of concrete with waste glass is lower than that without
waste glass.
4.3. Compressive strength tests
The compressive strengths of the waste glass concrete mixes at
3, 7, 14, and 28 days are presented in Table 9. Fig. 5 illustrates the
increment ratios in compressive strength. According to the test re-
sults, the best 28-day compressive strength value of 45.9 MPa was
obtained from the concrete mix made of 20% waste glass fine
aggregate, which represents an increase in the compressive
strength of up to 4.23% as compared to the control mix. However,
all the waste glass concrete mixes showed compressive strength
values that are slightly higher than those of the plain mixes, except
for the 14-day concrete mixes. The low compressive strength of the
20% waste glass concrete at 14 days could be attributed to the de-
crease in the adhesive strength between the surface of the waste
glass aggregates and the cement paste. Pozzolanic reactions appear
to offset this trend at a later stage of hardening and helped to im-
prove the compressive strength at 28 days. A similar observation
was reported by Metwally (2007), where the author concluded that
high degrees of strength enhancement were obtained when the
pozzolanic effect became significant at a late age of 28 days.
The pozzolanic strength activity of the fine waste glass was
found to be 76% and 80% at 7 and 28 days, respectively, which is
higher than the minimum of 75% as specified in ASTM C618-03
for pozzolanic materials. This result suggests that glass powder
can be considered as a good pozzolanic material and is effective
in enhancing the strength of concrete.
4.6. ASR tests
The percentage expansion of the specimens made of 0%, 10%,
15%, and 20% waste glass is illustrated in Fig. 6. It is obvious that
with the increase in waste glass contents to 20%, there is a clear
reduction in the expansion of the specimen (equal to 66%) as com-
pared to the control mix. However, the expansions of all specimens
were less than 0.1%, indicating that no potential deleterious expan-
sion occurred in the waste glass specimens according to ASTM
C1260-01. This decrease in the expansion of the specimens is re-
lated to the reduction of available alkali due to the consumption
of lime (librated by the cement hydration process) by reaction with
fine waste glass and the expected reduction of the system alkalin-
ity. Similar observations were previously reported (Chen et al.,
2006; Metwally, 2007).
 Z.Z. Ismail, E.A. AL-Hashmi / Waste Management 29 (2009) 655–659
5. Conclusions
The following main conclusions were derived from this study:
 The slumps of waste glass concrete specimens decreased with
increases in the waste glass content, which is believed to be influ-
enced by the waste glass grain shapes. In spite of this decline in
the slump of these mixtures, they have good workability.
 The pozzolanic effect of waste glass in concrete is more obvious
at the later age of 28 days. The optimum percentage of waste
glass that gives the maximum values of compressive and flex-
ural strengths is 20%.
 Using waste glass as a partial replacement for fine aggregate did
not produce any notable change in the concrete color.
 Testing results indicated that partial replacement of sand with
waste glass powder reduces the ASR expansion.
 Using finely ground waste glass in preference to fine aggregate
could produce promising results, assuming that the geometry
will be less heterogeneous.
 This study intended to find effective ways to reuse waste glass as
fine aggregate in concrete. The data presented in this paper
show that there is a promising potential for the use of waste
glass in concrete; further investigations may be considered
regarding its long-term effect on concrete properties.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Ministry of Housing, Iraq for financial
support, the Central Organization for Standardization and Quality
Control, and the State Company for Geological Survey and Mining
for their technical support.
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