Students of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering of the Silesian University of Technology reached the finals of the international competition “STEM Innovation Contest” under EURECA-PRO. Their project concerns the creation of a functional structural material using waste from inorganic chemistry production.
The solution proposed by the students is polymer concrete with the addition of waste difficult to utilize (car glass and polymer composites reinforced with glass fibers). Currently majority of such a waste is stored.
“We want to prove that with the use of this waste it is possible to create a functional structural material that is competitive to classic concrete and lead to a situation where the storage or incineration of this type of waste will be unprofitable for entrepreneurs. In addition to the use of waste, our method is characterized by a lower carbon footprint”, says team member Aleksander Peryt.