Wastes based glasses and glass-ceramics

Actually, the inertization, recovery and valorisation of the wastes coming from municipal and industrial processes are the most important goals from the environmental and economical point of view. An alternative technology capable to overcome the problem of the dishomogeneity of the raw material chemical composition is the vitrification process that is able to increase the homogeneity and the constancy of the chemical composition of the system and to modulate the properties in order to address the reutilization of the waste. Moreover, the glasses obtained subjected to different controlled thermal treatments, can be transformed in semy- cristalline material (named glassceramics) with improved properties with respect to the parent amorphous materials. In this review the tailoring, preparation and characterization of glasses and glassceramics obtained starting from municipal incinerator grate ash, coal and steel fly ashes and glass cullet are described.