Example 5

Foamglass: from insulation material to sustainable agriculture

This article presents the current status of technologies related to foamglass. This is one of
many innovations that shape the Blue Economy and part of a broad movement to
positively balance humankind, economy and nature.
by Markus Haastert, Anne Kathrin Kuhlemann, Malte Plewa

Background: What is foamglass?

The construction business is an area of industry which the concept of sustainability has reached
relatively late. Nowadays, however, the business of sustainable construction is booming. It is
estimated that the profit generated from the green construction business will reach 245 billion
US$ by 2016 in the USA alone. This is why new products which promise to make construction
greener enter the market regularly. Today we look at one of these products in detail, namely
foamglass.
For the production of foamglass, glass is powdered, enriched with carbon and heated up to 900
degrees Celsius, so that is starts to foam. The carbon reacts with the oxygen to carbon dioxide,
which is responsible for the bubbles. After is has cooled down slowly, hard boards of foamglass
are acquired. Instead of boards, one can also produce granulate by cooling down the hot material
very quickly, so that it breaks into pieces.
The producers of foamglass promote that it can be produced to a large extent with recycled glass
from landfills. Waste is transformed to value. Generally, glass is a material which can be molten
over and over again to reuse it; however, this is very energy intensive.
Foamglass has several characteristics which make it an impressive insulation material. It does not
absorb water, so that it cannot start to mold, and it dries up very quickly. Furthermore, it does not
take up or release any compounds to the environment and does not react with chemicals; it is
completely inert. Through its stability and resistance to influences from outside, the material
does, in contrast to other materials, not lose its insulation capacity over time. The enclosed air
particles make it a relatively well-suited insulation material. The heat resistance is impressive, the
melting point lies at 650 degrees Celsius. Foamglass granulate is also resistant to very cold
temperatures.
Also contaminated material, such as glass from television tubes or mercury containing bulbs can
be used for foamglass production. During the melting process, heavy metals are separated from
the glass and then delivered to metal processing plants 1.
Despite these impressive characteristics, one has to examine the life-cycle of the product in detail
to be able to make statement about its potential as a new green construction material.

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%3A+Granulated+Foamed+Glass+for+Civil+Engineering+Applications
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Innovation: Insulation and construction with foamglass

Glass is produced from sand, limestone dolomite and feldspar; the production process is
extremely energy intensive. The parent materials are heated up to 1600 degrees Celsius and
molten. As the energy demand is that high, a study from the German Environmental Agency
(UBA) considered it impossible, to produce glass in a sustainable way 2. For the production of one
kilogram of glass, an energy input of 14 Mega-Joule (MJ) are necessary. Each percent of recycled
glass used in the process, reduces the energy consumption by about 0,25 percent. This means that
with a recycling-glass content of 75%, as it is the target in foamglass products, one can save 19%
of the energy needed. For insulation or construction purposes, aluminum boards are needed for
stabilization. The energy input required for the production of a kilogram of aluminum is more
than 120 MJ3. The primary energy demand of one cubic meter of foamglass lies between 750 and
1600 Kwh. If one compares the energy used to produce foamglass with the energy needed to
produce other insulation materials, such as hemp, the statistics are not really favorable. Also the
insulation characteristics of foamglass are not as good as some of its alternatives. Hemp used for
insulation has a twice as high heat storing capacity (2300 J/KgK) than foamglass (1110 J/KgK).
The advantage of foamglass is that something which has been considered waste is brought back
into the value chain. In Germany, every year about two million ton of glass are collected 4. About
85% of this is recycled5. In the USA, however, the statistics look somewhat different; only 28% of
the 11,6 tons of glass waste which are produced annually, is recycled 6. The demand is therefore
enormous. Unfortunately, the two glassfoam producers in the US are using only virgin material
in the production process7.
Many airports are being insulated with foamglass, among them the airports of Doha, Dubai, Paris
and Dsseldorf.
Potential: Sustainability and new areas of application

By now, foamglass is not only being used for insulation purposes but also as bearing material in
the construction industry. Especially the in granulate form, foamglass is being increasingly used
as a base material and in road construction. A study of Norwegian scientist has found out that
foamglass-granulate is very well suited for road construction, as it can tolerate heavy weights,
strong heat, moisture and cold. The study furthermore shows that the material can be used for the
construction of airstrips8. There are already car park levels which are made from this material.
By now it is possible to replace concrete with foamglass. And this is where the actual green
potential of the material lies. Instead of concrete, which is a very environmentally unfriendly
product due to its high resource demand which often combined with a high quantity of steel,
recycled glass can be used. Using foamglass as a material for walls, insulation becomes
unnecessary which is often a major factor during construction works. For this, foamglass is
combined with aluminum-frames which reduces the time needed for construction drastically.
When not only concrete and steel, but also the insulation is replaced by foamglass and
additionally a reduction of construction time is achieved, foamglass becomes economically
2
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4
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6
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8

http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/themen/wirtschaft-konsum/industriebranchen/mineralindustrie/glasmineralfaserindustrie
http://www.hunold-knoop.de/wissen/wissenwertes/energieverbrauch.html
http://was-passt-ins-altglas.de/
http://www.glasaktuell.de/zahlen-fakten/
http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/glass.htm
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/foamglas-my-new-favorite-insulation-material
http://www.vegvesen.no/_attachment/110553/binary/192736?fast_title=Presentation
%3A+Granulated+Foamed+Glass+for+Civil+Engineering+Applications+
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interesting which is important when is wants to compete with concrete and other materials.
Sand resources are being protected and less steel is needed.
Concrete need 3-4MG energy per Kg during its production, steel about 80 MJ. Using an 80:20 mix,
the energy demand is about the same as the one of foamglass in aluminum-frames (both from
recycling). The foamglass parts can however be better recycled than concrete, which can only be
reused as granulate.
For the construction industry, this product has a great potential. Its sustainability however
depends on a few conditions. First of all, it is essential to use old glass in the production of
foamglass. The production of virgin glass is very energy intensive and unnecessary as long as not
100% of the actually produced glass is recycled.
Furthermore, the heat which used in the production process should stem from waste heat from
industrial processes or from landfill gas. If it is possible to reuse the heat which develops as a
result of decomposing activities in the landfill in a nearby foamglass factory, transportation
distances and energy production can be reduced.
At least, renewable energy should be used in the production process, as done by Europes biggest
producer, Corning Europe NV9
Also the carbon dioxide which is produced on landfills can be used in the production process, in
order to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.
Furthermore it has to be ensured that the foamglass itself reenters the recycling process, once it
has been disposed.
Foamglass has the ecological advantage that it is chemically completely inactive. Chemical
pollution is often a big problem with insulation materials. Materials such as XPS are often treated
with fire protection additives, so that they contain a large amount of toxic components when
disposed. As foamglass is fireproof itself, no additives are needed.
Also outside of the construction area, foamglass is being used. Fine grained material is used as a
substrate for plants in hydroponic installations. Furthermore, cleaning and polishing devices are
made from it. Sponges made from foamglass can be used to clean hard surfaces, such as pools,
kitchen devices or grills. It is also being sold as an alternative to sand paper 10. Many other
application areas will most probably follow in the near future, as the speed with which foamglass
has entered the market is quite amazing.
The foamglass technology can contribute to transforming millions of tons of waste into a valuable
product. However, it has to be made sure, that the process takes place sustainably. As a substitute
for traditional construction materials, foamglass has a great potential, as it saves resources and is
more stable than alternative materials. As it does not need chemical additives, it can also
contribute to a healthier way of living.

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of the author. Please contact <info@blueeconomy.de>.

9 http://bau-umwelt.de/download/C327a7c56X13363a688a0X7207/EPD_PCE_2008111_D.pdf
10 https://www.earthstoneinternational.com/
The Blue Economy | All rights reserved. 2014, Blue Economy Solutions GmbH