Feasibility Studies and Analysis to turn Raw Sand Dust into Construction Material with The Addition of Calcium Carbonate as a Melting Catalyst

This project is an experimental project which involves investigation in developing new construction material. Sand is the main ingredient in construction as well in glass making process. In this project, sand dust with smaller grain size is used to imitate the desert sand. This project proposed to use only two (2) of the ingredients which are sand and calcium carbonate. The materials used in this project are similar with the materials of making simple glass. However, simple glass needed three (3) main ingredients which are sand, sodium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate. Glass powder is added to the mixture as an option to test the hardness of samples.
These two (2) ingredients is mixed and melt together under proposed temperature and time. Calcium carbonate will act as melting catalyst to the sand. Normal sand starts to melts at 1723oC, therefore calcium carbonate with melting point at 825oC is used to help in lowering the melting temperature of the sand. Besides that, calcium carbonate is used to increase the hardness and durability of the mixture and providing insolubility of the produced sample. Glass powder acts as a flux as well as to increase the strength of the samples.
Five (5) samples were prepared for this project at three (3) different proposed temperatures. Each sample with different composition between the sand and the calcium carbonate and also glass powder; may heated at different temperatures and duration.
After the samples were ready, they were tested under hardness testing to identify the strength of the new construction material. After that, the material compositions of the samples also were identified.