Search

Glass is a familiar material that requires abundant mineral sources, with devastating consequences for the environment. Rice husk ash (RHA) presents a very high silica content (>95%) and it can be a very promising alternative source for silica in silica-based glass. However, impurities like manganese and iron, which depend on the rice harvest, might limit RHA use, particularly in the production of optical transparent glasses. In this work, we discussed how Mn and Fe can affect the coloring of the produced glass, and how the effect of these impurities can be removed. First, the RHA was treated with acid solutions, leading to the production of a soda-lime glass with similar transparency to commercial glass (>70%). Secondly, another simpler approach was studied: a small amount of antimony oxide was added in the composition of the glass, obtaining a transparent glass (>80%, same thickness) with RHA.

The purpose of this work is to investigate, through numerical simulation, the influence of temperature and chemical composition on the heat capacity, density, and thermal conductivity of a novel eco-friendly glass from mineral coal bottom ash. The modeling used to represent the system is based on the heat transfer in solids with phase-change. The numerical resolution was performed by the finite element method, and the variation of physical properties with temperature and composition was represented by theoretical and empirical equations introduced in the model. After the model is experimentally validated, the behavior of these properties during cooling process was investigated, pointing out higher ash content levels resulted in higher values of heat capacity, and lower values for density and thermal conductivity. Thus, this study brings contributions in the investigation of physical properties of a novel glass obtained by reuse of mineral coal bottom ash from a thermoelectric plant. • Thermophysical properties of a novel mineral coal bottom ash glass are investigated. • The numerical model is successfully implemented and experimentally validated. • Higher coal bottom ash content levels resulted in higher values of heat capacity. • Lower density and thermal conductivity are reached with high bottom ash content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]