Waste Mineral Wool and Its Opportunities—A Review

Abstract

Massive waste rock wool was generated globally and it caused substantial environmental issues such as landfill and leaching. However, reviews on the recyclability of waste rock wool are scarce. Therefore, this study presents an in-depth review of the characterization and potential usability of waste rock wool. Waste rock wool can be characterized based on its physical properties, chemical composition, and types of contaminants. The review showed that waste rock wool from the manufacturing process is more workable to be recycled for further application than the post-consumer due to its high purity. It also revealed that the pre-treatment method—comminution is vital for achieving mixture homogeneity and enhancing the properties of recycled products. The potential application of waste rock wool is reviewed with key results emphasized to demonstrate the practicality and commercial viability of each option. With a high content of chemically inert compounds such as silicon dioxide (SiO2), calcium oxide (CaO), and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) that improve fire resistance properties, waste rock wool is mainly repurposed as fillers in composite material for construction and building materials. Furthermore, waste rock wool is potentially utilized as an oil, water pollutant, and gas absorbent. To sum up, waste rock wool could be feasibly recycled as a composite material enhancer and utilized as an absorbent for a greener environment.

Hybrid composite board produced from wood and mineral stone wool fibers

“…However, there was no statistical difference between the UC and FC groups in terms of internal bond strength. It has been reported that in particleboards produced by adding 10, 20, and 30% stone wool using urea formaldehyde glue, the mineral wool reduced the bending strength by up to 65% and the internal bond strength by up to 71%, due to the reduction of the cohesion force inside the board (Mamiński et al 2011;Yap et al 2021). Cong et al (2021) added a layer of mineral wool and glass wool to epoxy-based carbon fiber polymeric laminates and investigated their combustion and mechanical properties.…”

“…According to their results, depending on the increase in mineral wool, the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity values decreased and the thickness swelling increased. Existing studies have generally shown a reasonable increase in the ignition and combustion resistance of wood-based composite materials mixed with stone wool fillers; however, the deterioration of mechanical properties cannot be disregarded for woodpolypropylene composites (Yap et al 2021). Recently, the interest in and demand for environmentally friendly engineered wood-based products has been increasing as a result of the energy crisis and health concerns.…”

Trend of Sound Absorption Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…In most cases, sound absorbers have poor mechanical stability [41]. Thus, numerous research studies have emphasized finding the balance between mechanical strength and sound absorption [42,43].…”

An Integrated Approach to Using Sheep Wool as a Fibrous Material for Enhancing Strength and Transport Properties of Concrete Composites

“…However, recycling of sheep wool fibers and use as a construction material after minor treatment has been investigated, as these fibers have a high elastic modulus of up to 4 GPa [ 4 ]. In addition, sheep wool has increased strength due to chemical interaction between the protein components [ 23 ].…”