The research study “Low-Cost Ball Milling and Digital Granulometry for Sustainable Glass Recycling,” conducted in collaboration with the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) and the University of Surrey, received the Best Paper Award in the “Waste Valorization, SCMs & Sustainable Concrete” category at the 17th International Conference on Concrete Engineering and Technology (CONCET 2026).
The conference took place from August 17 to 21, 2026, at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the event’s organizing institution. The award was granted for the research presented and, according to the certificate, highlighted its exceptional research, originality, and technical excellence.
The study aimed to present and disseminate findings related to the sustainable use of glass waste through low-cost processing techniques and digital particle size analysis tools for its characterization. The research explores alternatives for the recovery of this waste within the field of construction materials.
The research was conducted by Anjali Thuvakaran, Thabang Ntanda, Dan V. Bompa, and Natividad Garcia, Ph.D., with the participation of researchers from ESPOL in Ecuador and the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom.
This international recognition represents a notable research achievement and enhances the visibility of the Faculty of Geosciences Engineering (FICT) and ESPOL in the fields of sustainable materials, waste recovery, and construction technologies.
Related SDG
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, for the development and application of innovative, low-cost methodologies for the processing and characterization of recycled materials.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, for the recovery and utilization of glass waste and the promotion of strategies related to the circular economy.
SDG 13: Climate Action, for its contribution to the development of alternatives aimed at more sustainable construction and the reuse of waste.
