Utilization of CRT waste glass in the glass tiles

manufacturing process - developing

technological parameters

O#o Andersen, Western Norway Research Ins6tute
Chris6ne Hung, Chris6ne Hung Consul6ng

The Big Problem

The Project
Anima6on:
h#ps://youtu.be/Ps5tIs6OTDU

The Project

Electronic
waste

CRT glass

Crushed
CRT glass

Tiles

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Also called cradle-to-grave
Approach to obtain whole-picture environmental eects from a
product or process

(usually) considers all life phases: extrac6on of raw materials and resources,
manufacturing, use, and disposal
Collect info regarding energy and material inputs (including transport,
infrastructure/machinery, etc) required at each phase, as well as emissions

Can consider climate change eects, acidica6on, eutrophica6on,

resource extrac6on, loss of arable land, etc.

Energy

Resource
extrac6on

Transport

Materials

Manufacturing

Use

Emissions & Resource deple6on

Total lifecycle impact

Disposal or
recycling

CRT 6les stages

Resource extrac6on
0.75 kWh heat
1 kWh electricity
1 waste CRT
Television
(25 kg)

5 kg addi6ves

CRT
dismantling

15 kg waste
glass

2 kg CO2
Other emissions
10 kg waste
plas6cs, metals

Manufacturing

Use

Energy, materials

Energy, materials

Tile produc6on

Emissions

9.9 kg glass
6les

Tile installa6on
and use

Emissions

2 m2 surface
covering

A closer look at CRT >le produc>on

Glass
grinding

Slime
purica6on

Drying

Pressing in
6le mold

Firing

Polishing

Packaging &
shipping

Op>ons for the assessment

We could just look at the individual process of breaking down the CRT
monitors, producing and installing the 6les, etc.
But we could also consider the avoided impacts; by using the CRT 6les,
what product are we not using? Decora6ve ceramic 6les? Vinyl ooring or
wall coverings? Similarly, if the waste CRT components were not remade
into 6les, what would be their fate? Landll? Long-term storage?
Incinera6on?

These alterna6ve products and fates have impacts (material and energe6c needs,
emissions), but these impacts are avoided due to our system, i.e., produc6on of CRT
6les
The approach called system expansion thus says that we can subtract (credit) these
impacts from our results to get a picture of the true impact of CRT 6le produc6on

Op>ons for the assessment

1 waste CRT
television

CRT
recycling

15 kg waste
glass
Tile produc6on

9.9 kg glass
Tile installa6on
6le
and use

2 m2 surface
covering

Must be the same!

Conven6onal
CRT disposal
(Incinera6on,
landll,
storage)

Equivalent func6ons

Ceramic 6le
produc6on

Conven6onal
ceramic 6les

OR

OR

Vinyl 6le
produc6on

Conven6onal
vinyl wall

Equivalent func6ons

Equivalent func6ons

2 m2 surface
covering

2 m2 surface
covering