Recycling of the product of thermal inertization of cement–asbestos for various industrial applications

Recycling of secondary raw materials is a priority of waste handling in the countries of the European community. A potentially important secondary raw material is the product of the thermal transformation of cement–asbestos, produced by prolonged annealing at 1200–1300 °C. The product is chemically comparable to a Mg-rich clinker. Previous work has assured the reliability of the transformation process. The current challenge is to find potential applications as secondary raw material. Recycling of thermally treated asbestos-containing material (named KRY·AS) in traditional ceramics has already been studied with successful results.The results presented here are the outcome of a long termed project started in 2005 and devoted to the recycling of this secondary raw materials in various industrial applications. KRY·AS can be added in medium-high percentages (10–40 wt%) to commercial mixtures for the production of clay bricks, rock-wool glasses for insulation as well as Ca-based frits and glass–ceramics for the production of ceramic tiles. The secondary raw material was also used for the synthesis of two ceramic pigments; a green uvarovite-based pigment [Ca3Cr2(SiO4)3] and a pink malayaite-based pigment [Ca(Sn,Cr)SiO5]. The latter is especially interesting as a substitute for cadmium-based pigments. This work also shows that KRY·AS can replace standard fillers in polypropylene plastics without altering the properties of the final product. For each application, a description and relevant results are presented and discussed.