Abstract
The consequences of climate change have led to electricity shortages and a rising energy crisis. The demand for alternatives to reduce energy consumption is growing rapidly. Insulation improvement using porous facade panels can reduce heat exchange, contributing to a reduction in energy expenditure. However, these conventional construction materials involve energy-intensive processes and use non-renewable resources. Alkali-activation of industrial wastes may present a viable and sustainable solution. This research evaluated the applicability of alkali-activated pastes, based on stone-cutting waste, on the core of facade panels to optimise thermal insulation. An experimental program was carried out to quantify the mechanical and thermal behaviour of alkali-activated marble and granite cutting waste. The results indicate that both wastes are viable precursors to produce facade panels in terms of strength. Regarding the thermal behaviour, as the density increased, the thermal transmission coefficient decreased. A range between 1.63 W/m2 °C and 1.97 W/m2 °C was obtained, which is lower than the thermal conductivity values shown by current insulation materials with similar density, indicating the suitability of the proposed solution for thermal insulation.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Electronic Microscopy Unit of the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro to the microstructural analysis.
Funding
This research has been financed by the NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-038373 project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through NORTE 2020 (North Regional Operational Program 2014/2020). This research was also supported by the “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” in the frame of the UIDB/00073/2020 and UIDP/00073/2020 projects of the I&D unit “Geosciences Center” (CGEO).
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This article is part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on “Building Stones and Geomaterials through History and Environments—from Quarry to Heritage. Insights of the Conditioning Factors”, guest edited by Siegfried Siegesmund, Luís Manuel Oliveira Sousa, and Rubén Alfonso López-Doncel.
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Bruschi, G.J., Secco, M.P., Sousa, L. et al. Development of facade panels with optimised thermal performance from alkali-activated stone-cutting waste. Environ Earth Sci 81, 331 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10452-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10452-3