Recycling automotive waste glass and plastic - An innovative approach

Abstract

An innovative approach, based on recycling waste glass and plastic, was investigated with an aim to maximize use of waste resources for production of silicon carbide (SiC). SiC is a value added material in ferrous industries to make ferroalloys. Pellets were prepared by cold-bonding method using thermoplastic, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) along with graphite blend as carbonaceous materials and glass as silica rich material. The effect of iron oxide was also observed to understand its influence on the carbothermic reduction of silica which is the dominant oxide in glass (Approximately 70%). High temperature (1450°C) studies were carried out in a lab scale horizontal tube furnace under inert condition. Morphological properties and elemental analysis of the reaction product was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the reduced sample confirmed the formations of cubic β-SiC phase and the phase intensity was observed to be higher in iron oxide bearing samples.