Unsaturated Polyester-Based Polymer Concrete Containing Recycled Cathode Ray Tube Glass Aggregate

Polymer concrete (PC) is a composite construction material that boasts several advantages, such as lightness, low water permeability, high resistance to corrosive environments, and chemical degradation. Consequently, it has recently attracted interest as an alternative material to the traditional ones for several civil applications. In this study, unsaturated polyester resin was considered the matrix phase of PC. Aimed to produce green PC, the commonly dispersed phase of natural aggregate was totally replaced by recycled glass aggregate (RGA) deriving from cathode ray tube (CRT) glass waste. Fine and coarse fractions of non-hazardous CRT glass were considered in different ratios. Chemical and physical analyses were carried out through XRF, particle size distribution and microstructural analysis to characterize RGA. The influence of RGA particle size and percentage on PC performance was investigated by microstructural analysis and aggregate packing, chemical resistance, water absorption, and mechanical analyses, such as bending, impact, and scratch test. Using solely the coarse fraction of RGA led to the manufacturing of a green PC with similar performance to the traditional PC and in addition lower in density. The PC quality mainly depended on the matrix crosslinking which, for PC containing fine RGA, was promoted by adding 4 wt% of silane coupling agent.