Optimal conditions and significant factors for fabrication of soda lime glass foam from industrial waste using nano AlN

In the present work, based on the environmental issues and on the properties of glass foams, the foaming behavior of the float glass waste (soda-lime glass waste) generated from a lapping machine was systematically investigated at temperatures between 850 and 950 °C using different percentages of nano aluminum nitride (2.5-7.5 wt%) as a foaming agent. Physical properties, compressive strength, the hot wire method, SEM and X-ray diffractometry were used to characterize foams and evaluate the foaming ability and the sintering process. The foaming process was found to depend on the initial batch composition and the sintering temperature. Bulk density of the obtained products is less than 0.5 g cm−3. The cold compressive strength of the foams ranged between 0.65 and 2.48 MPa and the thermal conductivity between 0.09 and 0.106 Wm−1K−1. Both cold crushing strength and thermal conductivity increased with increasing foam density. The obtained results are promising and the present technology is cost-effective and suitable for the large scale production of a wide range of porous glass-ceramics that have appropriate properties to be used for various structural applications.