– Production:
– Manufacturing process involves melting raw materials in a glass furnace at temperatures up to 1675°C.
– Raw materials include silica, soda, lime, dolomite, and small quantities of fining agents.
– Relatively inexpensive minerals like trona, sand, and feldspar are used.
– Green and brown bottles are made from raw materials containing iron oxide.
– The mix of raw materials is called batch.
– Applications:
– Soda–lime glass is used for windows (flat glass) and containers (container glass).
– Flat glass has higher magnesium oxide and sodium oxide content than container glass.
– Container glass has higher chemical durability against water due to lower water-soluble ions content.
– It is ideal for storing beverages and food.
– Production methods differ for flat glass (float process) and container glass (blowing and pressing).
– Typical compositions and properties:
– Soda–lime glass is chemically stable, reasonably hard, and workable.
– It is preferred over chemically-pure silica due to ease of processing and recycling.
– Additives like soda, lime, magnesium oxide, and alumina contribute to durability.
– The glass contains about 70 to 74% silica by weight.
– Viscosity of soda–lime glass increases with decreasing temperature, allowing for precise operations.
– See also:
– Glass batch calculation.
– References:
– Estes, Adam Clark. The Pyrex Glass Controversy.
– Borosilicate Glass vs. Soda Lime Glass? – Rayotek News.
– Robertson, Gordon L. Food Packaging: Principles and Practice.
– B. H. W. S. de Jong, Glass; in Ullmanns Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry.
– High temperature glass melt property database for process modeling.
Soda–lime glass, also called soda–lime–silica glass, is the most prevalent type of glass, used for windowpanes and glass containers (bottles and jars) for beverages, food, and some commodity items. Some glass bakeware is made of soda-lime glass, as opposed to the more common borosilicate glass. Soda–lime glass accounts for about 90% of manufactured glass.
