What are the raw materials for glass manufacturing
Glass is a solid-like and transparent material that is used in numerous applications in our daily
lives. Glass is made from natural and abundant raw materials (sand, soda ash, and limestone)
that are melted at very high temperatures to form a new material: glass. At high-temperature
glass is structurally similar to liquids, however, at ambient temperature, it behaves like solids. As
a result, glass can be poured, blown, press, and molded into plenty of shapes.
Glass industries are characterized by a multitude of production processes depending on the
final product manufactured and its end applications. However, all these manufacturing
processes have a common origin: glass first needs to be melted!
Glass melting requires raw materials which are of two kinds: different types of sand and
recycled glass. These raw materials are mixed, charged in a furnace where there are melted at
around 1500°C to form molten glass. The molten glass is then taken out of the furnace to be
shaped and cooled down afterward. For many applications, the glass obtained may be further
processed to have specific properties such as increased mechanic strength and higher
resistance to breakage.
The exact composition of glass may vary to meet specific application requirements but the most
commonly use type of glass, soda-lime glass, is made of silica sand, soda ash, limestone,
dolomite, and glass cullets (recycled glass). Additional materials such as iron oxide or cobalt
can be added to the mix to give a green or blue color to the glass.
Silica, otherwise known as industrial sand, provides the most important ingredient for glass
production. Silica sand provides the essential Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) required for glass
formulation, which makes silica the primary component in all types of standard and specialty
glass. Though the production of glass requires a variety of different commodities, silica
represents over 70% of its final weight. Its chemical purity is the primary determinant of color,
clarity, and strength of the glass produced.
Enumerate the Commercial Glass
Soda-lime glass is the type of glass used for drinking glasses and windows. It has low thermal
conductivity, relatively high optical transmission in the visible region, and mechanical stability at
temperatures up to about 250 C. Soda-lime glass has been the standard for optical applications
since the middle of the nineteenth century. It is cheap and easy to work with and has excellent
transmission at many wavelengths. Its ubiquity makes us take it for granted, but there are good
reasons why the glass has been the material of choice for optics for so long.
Silica glass, also known as fused quartz, is glass formed from a melt containing silica in addition
to the oxide of some other trivalent element such as aluminum or barium. A thin transparent
layer of silicon dioxide, about 100 nm thick. It is present in almost all quartzites and sandstones,
as well as many other types of rocks. In sedimentary rocks, it is formed by the action of
silica-secreting organisms such as diatoms which secrete a shell consisting of opaline silica.
The accumulation of these shells became embedded in the sediment and its chemical
composition became altered to silica glass. Isaac Newton observed that a prism would disperse
white light into a rainbow. But if he added a small amount of gold to the glass, the rainbow
vanished into a white light, and his experiments told him this colorless transparent substance
was none other than silica.
Laminated glass walls offer homeowners a stunning look, are 100% resistant to scratches, and
are simple to install. Not only that, but it can easily withstand temperatures as cold as -20
degrees and humidity without any problems at all. Laminated Glass has become the most
popular choice for many home remodeling projects. Laminated glass countertop countertops are
most often made from heavy-duty materials, with the side that faces the front of the kitchen
projected onto the wall. A typical design features two or three thick walls, as well as areas for
uneven or unevenly distributed lighting. Laminated glass is an inorganic, chemical-resistant
ceramic material. Sometimes called "bulletproof glass" or "german glass"
Phases of Glass manufacturing
Stage 1- Melting & Refining:
Fine-grained ingredients closely controlled for quality, are mixed to make a batch, which flows
into the furnace, which is heated up to 1500 degree Celsius. This temperature is the melting
point of glass.
The raw materials that float glass is made up of are:
SiO2 – Silica Sand
Na2O – Sodium Oxide from Soda Ash
MgO – Dolomite
Al2O3 – Feldspar
The above raw materials primarily mixed in batch helps to make clear glass. If certain metal
oxides are mixed into this batch they impart colors to the glass giving it a body tint.
Stage 2 – Float Bath:
Glass from the furnace gently flows over the refractory spout onto the mirror-like surface of
molten tin, starting at 1100 deg Celsius and leaving the float bath as a solid ribbon at 600 deg
Celsius.
Stage 3 – Coating (for making reflective glasses):
Coatings that make profound changes in optical properties can be applied by advanced
high-temperature technology to the cooling ribbon of glass. Online Chemical Vapour Deposition
(CVD) is the most significant advance in the float process since it was invented. CVD can be
used to lay down a variety of coatings, a few microns thick, to reflect visible and infra-red
radiance for instance. Multiple coatings can be deposited in the few seconds available as the
glass flows beneath the coater (e.g. Sunergy)
Stage 4 – Annealing:
Despite the tranquillity with which the glass is formed, considerable stresses are developed in
the ribbon as the glass cools. The glass is made to move through the annealing lehr where such
internal stresses are removed, as the glass is cooled gradually, to make the glass more prone to
cutting.
Stage 5 – Inspection:
To ensure the highest quality, glass manufacturers inspect at every stage. Occasionally a bubble
that is not removed during refining, a sand grain that refuses to melt or a tremor in the tin puts
ripples in the glass ribbon. The automated online inspection does two things. It reveals process
faults upstream that can be corrected. And it enables computers downstream to steer round the
flaws. Inspection technology now allows 100 million inspections per second to be made across
the ribbon, locating flaws the unaided eye would be unable to see.
Stage 6 – Cutting to Order:
The entire process of glass making is finally complete when diamond steels trim off selvage –
stressed edges- and cut a ribbon to the size dictated by the computer. Glass is finally sold only
in square meters.
Fourcault Process
The Fourcault process is a method of manufacturing flat glass. First
developed in Belgium by Émile Foucault (1862–1919) (fr) during the
early 1900s, the process was used globally. Foucault is an example
of a "vertical draw" process, in that the glass is drawn against
gravity in an upward direction. Gravity forces influence parts of the
process. The Fourcault process requires a "pit" or drawing area and
an assembly of machines to draw up the ribbon of glass while
performing actions upon it that ensure desired quality and process
yields. Today most glass manufacture has a "hot end" where the
products are made. Foucault is no exception.
The action in Foucault happens "at the draw", or area where the
glass is taken from a liquid state into the start of the process needed
to make it into a flat glass.
At the bottom of the draw is the "pit" or place where the molten glass
is sufficiently cooled to be close to forming temperature. The cooling
process uses a device known as a "canal". As the name describes,
a canal is a box-shaped structure that conveys the glass from the refining area to the pit.
The canal links the pit with the "refining" area, a section of the glass furnace that removes gas
bubbles and other sources of imperfection. Since refining requires much higher temperatures to
release gas bubbles than those required to form the glass it is not possible to draw directly from
the refining area, hence the need for canals.
Chemical reactions involving glass manufacturing
Chemical compounds
Glasses of commercial importance are composed of a variety of chemical compounds; these
are described in Glass compositions and applications. For glass manufacture on an industrial
scale, these chemical compounds must be obtained from properly sized, cleaned, and treated
minerals that have been analyzed for impurity. Silica is obtained from clean sand. Appropriate
mineral sources for soda are soda ash (sodium carbonate) and sodium hydroxide. Lime is
obtained from limestone (calcium carbonate) or dolomite (calcium magnesium carbonate) when
magnesium oxide is also needed. In the past, it was customary to add about 0.25 percent
arsenic oxide and 0.5 percent sodium nitrate to aid in glass fining, or removal of bubbles. These
chemicals are no longer recommended because of hazards to the individual and the
environment; instead, less noxious compounds such as sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, or
sodium nitrate are recommended.
