PolyU, in collaboration with Gammon Construction, is supporting Hongkong Land’s HK$7.8 billion “Tomorrow’s Central” initiative to renovate its shopping mall in Central. The project will convert demolition glass waste into partition bricks and low-carbon cement alternatives, aiming to recycle 75% of the waste generated in the project.
Prof. POON Chi-Sun, Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE), Distinguished Research Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Michael Anson Professor in Civil Engineering, explained that the technology adopted in the project grinds waste glass into powder, which replaces 20% to 30% of the cement used in brick production. Compared to conventional bricks on the market, these eco-bricks are 10% to 20% stronger while having similar weight. Following the completion of performance tests including fire resistance and others by the end of this year, the bricks will be officially produced in Hong Kong for use as partition bricks.
Prof. Poon added that 41 tonnes of glass have already been dismantled for the project, with the estimated total amounting to 50 tonnes. Each brick uses at least 2 to 3 kg of glass for replacing some of the high carbon-emitting cement. Over 20,000 partition bricks are expected to be produced for use by Hongkong Land.
Many buildings in Hong Kong are built with extensive glass curtain walls, which require disposal. This green brick technology helps the industry address the challenge of discarding large volumes of glass waste and has the potential for economical and scalable production. In future, it could even be expanded to develop structural building materials.
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| Research Units | Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality |
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