The Use of Recycled Glass in Brick Manufacturing

This project to determine whether energy savings are possible from substituting recycled soda lime glass for other ceramic raw materials in brick manufacturing, was part of a grant from the State of California Department of Conservation, Recycling Market Development Division. The grant was managed by the Center for Environmental Economic Development of Arcata, California.

The idea of using glass as a brick flux has been researched and reported on for many years. In a sense, one could say that the concept goes back hundreds of years. In the competition to replicate Asian porcelain, early researchers added glass frit to clay formulas to attain translucence and density. Some formulas for Irish Belleek pottery claim that it was 50 percent glass. The Italian Medici porcelains of the 16th century also contained large amounts of glass.