PROJECTS

SCOPE

The construction industry is vital for sustainable development, contributing to the social and economic development of Europe. However, it is responsible for serious environmental issues. In this context, the incorporation of waste and by-products in building materials has been identified as a key strategy to achieve a more circular economy and greater sustainability in the construction sector. This project aims to study the use of mineral wool residues for the production of new mortars and concrete, anticipating the development of new cement and hydraulic lime based thermal mortars containing cork granulates, new pre-dosed lightweight concretes incorporating expanded clay aggregates, as well as projected mortars. In this way, an improvement in the mechanical resistance, durability, fire behaviour and environmental performance is expected on the new developed products, when compared with current thermal mortars and lightweight concrete. Simultaneously, an increase in the circularity of the new products will be achieved.

MAIN OBJECTIVE

Strengthen research, technological development and innovation.

In line with the circular economy models promoted by the European Commission, which foresees the reduction of waste generated and also their reuse, this project aims the development of new thermal mortars and lightweight concrete with the incorporation of wool waste mineral.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS

It is expected that the work in the MW-Composite project, with a total duration of 30 months, will take place according to the following structure:

Activity 1 - Preliminary Studies
Initially, this activity intends to carry out a detailed survey of the national and international regulation and standardization applicable to this type of product, to characterize the mineral wool waste, as well as to study the compatibility of the mineral wool waste with the various binders and aggregates.

Activity 2 – Design, development and characterization of the new products
This activity intends to define the compositions and characterize the physical, chemical and mechanical behaviour of the new composites. It is also expected to evaluate the durability of the defined compositions, in several conditions of accelerated aging.

Activity 3 – Fabril approach
This activity aims to analyse the existing conditions and the necessary adaptations for the preparation of mineral wool waste and the production of new products, select the best compositions, and adapt the conditions for the industrial manufacturing and also, to manufacture the new products in fabril environment.

Activity 4 – Validation of the new products developed
This activity aims to evaluate the application conditions and performance of the new products developed, both in laboratory and in real conditions. It is also planned to carry out a life cycle assessment study that allow to demonstrate the environmental performance of the products developed.

Activity 5 – Promotion and dissemination of results
The activity of promotion and dissemination of results, it is intended to prepare technical sheets and application rules; elaborate technical and scientific contents to widely disseminate the project's results (seminars, scientific conferences, publications, website); participate in relevant technology events in the sector.

MAIN RESULTS ACHIEVED

Reactivity of mineral wool waste as a supplementary cementitious material
The reactivity of mineral wool waste as an additive to cement was explored, by performing hydration heat and pozzolanicity tests. Although the incorporation of these residues resulted in the reduction of the heat of hydration of the Portland cement, the mineral wool fibres showed pozzolanic activity after 15 days. In this context, mineral wool waste can potentially be used as a supplementary cementitious material for the development of more sustainable construction materials.

Incorporation of mineral wool waste in thermal mortars and lightweight concrete
This project allowed the development of at least 4 new thermal mortars with incorporation of mineral wool: 2 mortars incorporating hydraulic binders and cork aggregates, 1 mortar formulated with natural hydraulic lime binder and cork granules and 1 plastering mortar. Additionally, 2 new lightweight concretes containing expanded clay and mineral wool waste were developed.

Improvement of the mechanical properties of the new thermal mortars with incorporation of mineral wool waste
The studies carried out in this project allowed us to increase the compressive strength by at least 10% and the flexural strength by at least 15% of one of the new mortars with addition of mineral wool waste, when compared to the reference mortar.

Ease of application of the new mortars developed
The capacity of application through spraying of the new mortars with mineral wool waste was demonstrated in this project. The new mortars were applied by spraying it on a masonry support and compared with the reference samples. During the mechanical projection it was observed that the new mortars present good workability. It was shown, that the introduction of mineral wool waste in the mortars formulation does not affect the typical application process of this type of coatings, proving to be suitable products from the applicator's perspective.

Environmental performance
During the course of the project, a life-cycle assessment was carried out with the aim of quantifying the environmental performance of the new products developed and also to compare with the environmental performance of reference products already available on the market. It was shown that, one of the new mortars and a new lightweight concrete incorporating mineral wool present better environmental performance for most categories studied, when compared to the reference solutions. The incorporation of mineral wool waste, which comes from the Volcalis production process, into new products, allows the recovery of this waste, reducing the environmental impacts associated to the landfill of this type of waste.

LIST OF COMMUNICATIONS

• B. Santos, G. Matias,  J. Almeida, A. Tadeu, J. Ávila e Sousa, C. Zeferino (2023) “Feasibility of using mineral wool waste as a supplementary cementitious material”, International Conference of Construction, Energy, Environment & Sustainability (CEES 2023), June 27th – 30th June, Madeira, Portugal.
• G. Matias, B. Santos, C. Zeferino, J. Almeida, A. Tadeu, J. Ávila e Sousa (2023) “Mechanical behaviour of mortars incorporating mineral wool waste”, International Conference of Construction, Energy, Environment & Sustainability (CEES 2023), 27th – 30th June, Madeira, Portugal.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Publications in national specialty journals

• The project was disclosed in the Construção Magazine edition nº 108 March/April 2022.

Presence at specialty fairs

• Dissemination of the project at CONSTRUTEC - Salón Internacional de Materiales, Técnicas y Sistemas Constructivos, 15th – 18th November 2022, Madrid.
• Dissemination of the project at Construmat, 23th – 25th May 2023, Barcelona.
• Dissemination of the project at the “Materiais Inovadores Sustentáveis” exhibition, March 27th – 2nd April 2023, Alma Shopping, Coimbra.
• Dissemination of the project at the I9TEC+ Session - I&D+I Show integrated in the “Fórum Regional de Competitividade e Sustentabilidade i9TEC'23”, 17th – 18th April 2023, IPCB, Castelo Branco.
• Dissemination of the project at the interim Itecons Exhibition since 31th May of 2023, Itecons, Coimbra.