Production of ceramic glass foam of low thermal conductivity by a simple method entirely from fly ash

Abstract Ceramic glass foam/foams (CGF) from two different F-class fly ashes were produced via a well-known simple conventional sintering method using sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) as a foaming and fluxing agent. The research aimed to understand the effects of each fly ash, Na2SiO3 ratio, and sintering conditions on the properties and microstructure to produce a commercial CGF of low thermal conductivity. The chemical composition of fly ash from the thermal power plants of Tuncbilek and Seyitomer were quite similar but had different melting temperatures and microstructures . While the foam structure was successfully obtained at 1100 °C with 30 wt.% Na2SiO3 from Tuncbilek fly ash, a similar structure was obtained at 1150 °C from the Seyitomer fly ash. The effects of Na2SiO3 content and sintering temperature on the properties and microstructure of the CGF from the Tuncbilek fly ash of a lower melting point, in particular, were investigated systematically. The optimal sintering temperatures were determined to be 1200, 1150, and 1100 °C at the highest fly ash ratios of 90, 80 and 70 wt.%, respectively. The CGF were produced with 69.76–75.43% porosity, 0.55–0.69 gr/cm3 bulk density, 3.2–5.35 MPa compressive strength and 0.10–0.21 W/(m K) of low thermal conductivity. XRD results showed that optimal CGF samples mainly contained spinel, quartz and hematite crystal phases and amorphous phase. In this research, a thermal insulation material was successfully produced using an industrial waste completely with a well-known simple method. It is thought that this will contribute beneficially to the environment and the economy.