Advancing glass recycling and environmental applications with porous glass: a mini-review

Abstract

In response to resource scarcity and environmental challenges, sustainable practices, particularly in recycling and reusing waste materials, have become crucial. This paper reviews the utilization of porous glass, particularly made from recycled waste glass, for manufacturing and environmental applications. Porous glass features a broad size range of tiny pores, offering advantages in recycling due to its inertness, sorption capabilities, and versatility. It can be produced through phase separation, sol–gel, hydrothermal methods, and the use of foaming agents, offering a large surface area and high sorption efficiency. The adsorption capacity, flexibility in enhancing material properties, and reusability of porous glass allow it to be applied in diverse environmental roles, such as contaminant removal from water and wastewater. The controlled release of phosphate from phosphate-porous glass adsorbent enables its use in fertilizing plants while minimizing excess phosphate release into the water bodies. Its unique physicochemical properties also make it suitable for use in construction sectors. Our findings highlight the porous glass's potential to significantly contribute to glass recycling, reduce landfill airspace, and support sustainable material usage. The study underscores the role of porous glass in advancing waste glass recycling and promoting sustainable environmental practices.