M. I. Martín, F. A. López, F. J. Alguacil and M.Romero, Technical characterization of sintered glass- ceramics derived from glass fibers recovered by pyrolysis. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 29 (2013) 04014150; doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001090 1 Technical characterization of sintered glass-ceramics derived from glass fibers recovered by pyrolysis Mª Isabel Martín 1 ; Félix A. López 2 ; Francisco J. Alguacil 2 ; and Maximina Romero 1 1 Group of Glass and Ceramic Materials, Department of Construction, Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Science (IETcc), CSIC, Serrano Galvache, 4, 28033, Madrid, Spain. 2 Recycling Materials Laboratory, Department of Primary Metallurgy and Recycling, National Centre for Metallurgical Research (CENIM), CSIC, Avda. Gregorio del Amo 8, 28040, Madrid, Spain. E-mail: mromero@ietcc.csic.es Abstract Sintered wollastonite-plagioclase glass-ceramics were prepared through crystallization of a parent glass generated by vitrification of pyrolysis residual glass fibers that had been pyrolytically recovered from waste composite materials. A vitrifiable mixture consisting of 95 wt.% glass fiber and 5 wt.% Na 2 O was melted at 1450ºC to obtain a glass frit. The glass- ceramic materials were produced by a sinter-crystallization process from the powdered glass frit. The effect of firing temperature on the properties of sintered glass-ceramics was investigated. The sintering behaviour of glass-ceramic tiles was evaluated by means of water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density. In addition, the mineralogical and microstructural characterization of these tiles was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results from experiments such as water absorption, bending strength, chemical resistance and stain resistance have shown that the developed glass- ceramic materials possess technological properties very suitable for architectural applications. ASCE Subject Headings: Glass fibers; Recycling; Glass; Ceramics; Construction materials; X- Ray diffraction; Mechanical properties Author keywords: Pyrolysis residual glass fibers; Glass; Glass-ceramic tiles; X-ray diffraction; Mechanical properties