Use of glass polishing waste in the development of ecological ceramic roof tiles by the geopolymerization process

The production process of ceramic roof tiles requires a large consumption of natural raw material, such as clay, and energy consumption in the sintering process. Thus, the objective of this research was the development of more ecological tile for civil construction, adopting the process of geopolymerization, which does not require burning, and the use of glass polishing waste, in partial replacement of natural raw material. Prismatic specimens were made with a ratio of alkaline solution/ (metakaolin + waste) = 0.26 and variation of the curing time in 7, 28, and 60 days, and a ratio of precursors with SiO2/Al(2)O(3)varying in 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 for the evaluation of technological properties such as apparent specific mass, linear shrinkage, water absorption, and mechanical resistance to flexion, in addition to microstructural evaluations and the physical, chemical, and mineralogical characterization of the waste. The results showed that the glass waste had potential for use as a precursor in the geopolymerization process, and that the specimens with a 7 days cure and a SiO2/Al2O3 = 4 ratio are the most recommended for the production of roof tiles for civil construction.