Investigation of usage opportunities of natural stone waste in production of artificial marble

A large amount of waste materials occurs during the production and processing of natural stones and marbles, which are widely used in the construction industry. It is important to investigate the possibilities of using these waste materials, to reduce environmental pollution, to contribute to the country's economy, to protect the reserves of marble deposits. Investigation of the possibilities of using these natural stones and marble residues in the production of artificial marble is the subject of this thesis. Artificial marble samples were produced by mixing granite residues from Eskişehir region and marble residues from Malatya region with polyester resin and molding. The physico-mechanical properties of samples were determined according to TSE and ISRM standards. Additionaly salt crystallization, thermal shock, freeze-thaw cycles were applied to determine the stability of the samples in different environmental conditions. At the end of the cycles, weight loss, surface color and gloss changes in the marbles were determined and evaluated. It was determined that the physicomechanical properties of the samples were appropriate in accordance with natural stone standards and thermal shock cycles were the most destructive environmental conditions on artificial marble samples.