Welcome to the website of the SAQ Chair in the valorization of glass in materials
Le 07 juin 2023
Because concrete is a material that is easy to manufacture, strong, durable and lends itself to a variety of uses, its demand will continue to grow in the years to come. In order to ensure the development of this essential construction material, the sustainable development approach must be integrated into the production of cement and concrete. With this in mind, the challenge for the cement and concrete industry is to produce highly durable concrete, at a competitive cost and with minimal environmental impact. The valorization of mixed glass in concrete presents a very promising avenue in the context of 2018 report from Recyc-Québec on selective collection.
Due to its chemical and mineralogical composition, glass presents interesting properties in concrete: on the one hand, as a cementitious matrix to replace a fraction of cement and, on the other hand, as a substitute for aggregates in certain uses .
The first Chair was created in 2004 (2004-2009). Placed under the direction of the professorArezki Tagnit-Hamou, the fleshSAQ (CVVM) aims to create synergy between industry andUniversity of Sherbrooke in the search for innovative solutions for the valorization of mixed glass. In the third Chair 2014-2019, the holder's team focused not only on the research program of the Chair, but also on the standardization of glass powder as a cementitious material, and also on the transfer of knowledge to industry. The SAQ, the City of Montreal, Permacon, Béton Génial and Équiterre were the partners of the Chair. The Tricentris glass powder micronization plant began production in March 2014. Several projects were carried out with glass powder concrete. The research team also obtained a patent on the manufacturing of ultra-high performance concrete in Canada, the United States and Brazil. This patent is currently assigned to the BPDL company. The Chair has produced several scientific articles, and its work has made it possible to standardize glass powder as a cementitious material in both the Canadian standard (CSA A3000) and the American standard (ASTM). This achievement is significant because no cementitious addition has been standardized in the world for approximately 40 years.
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Building on these successes, the SAQ and the University of Sherbrooke have created a fourth Chair for the period 2020-2024, reformulating the partnership in particular with different organizations. Emphasis will be placed not only on the development of several types of concrete, but also on the transfer of technology to the cement and concrete industry, standardization to the CSA and BNQ, the characterization of glass aggregates from sorting centers in Quebec and life cycle analysis of concrete with glass powder. The SAQ and the City of Montreal, partners of the 2014-2019 Chair, have also joined this Chair, in addition to new partners: Hydro-Québec, the City of Sherbrooke, Éco Entreprises Québec, Prodexim International, Ville de Laval, Béton Bolduc and Techo-Bloc.
