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Glass is a key ingredient in many of our everyday products, serving a wide purpose with little thought. Tableware, light bulbs, mirrors, hobs, windshields, windows: the list goes on for something that hasn’t been thought of. Friend or foe, we must consider the environmental impact of glass production.
“What is” glass
Glass is a combination of three types of substances that naturally occur in North America;
- silica, the most popular is white sand
- bases such as sodium bicarbonate
- limestone
Sometimes a metal oxide (lead) is added to the mixture. Depending on the principle used and whether or not lead is added, the transparency or shade of the glass will change. The production cost and quality of the glass depends on the choice of bases and the percentage of content used in conjunction with the choice and percentage of silica used.
“How” glass production
The silica, alkali, and limestone are first crushed into a powder, sieving out any coarse particles. They are then mixed and placed in an oven at extremely high temperatures for up to 24 hours. This results in molten glass, which is then cooled down several hundred degrees, resulting in a thick liquid. The resulting material is called a frit, which is then blown, pressed, drawn, formed or rolled into glass objects. If the glass is to be formed, the molds are also heated to a high temperature so that the liquid poured into them does not wrinkle. The cooling process is washing with water.
The impact of glass production on the environment
The process of making new glass is not environmentally friendly at all. The initial crushing and grinding stage sends particles of metals, chemicals, acids and dust into the air. They are easily inhaled, causing irritation to the nose and throat, potentially causing lung damage. Metal particles are hazardous to the environment as they can enter the surrounding soil and water.
The need to use extremely high temperature furnaces to melt a mixture of substances makes the melting step of the glass making process very energy intensive. It is estimated that 15.2 million BTU of energy is needed to produce one ton of glass. During any forming process, the glass may need to be reheated to keep it liquid. This means that the heat in the furnace must be kept until the end of the process.
Discharges from the glass manufacturing process may end up in the aquatic environment during cooling and cleaning processes where the highest amounts of water are consumed. The discharges may contain pieces of glass, some of the soluble ones used in production, such as sodium sulfate, lubricating oil used in the cutting process, dissolved salts, and water treatment chemicals.
Glass manufacturing processes also emit a significant amount of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. In addition, these processes spew out air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.
The benefits of glass
Glass is non-porous, making it impermeable to other substances. For this reason, glass is a very hygienic surface as no bacteria and germs that come into contact are absorbed into its structure. Glass surfaces require intensive cleaning with disinfectant and hot water without affecting their quality. For this reason, glass containers can be easily reused many times.
The impermeability of its structure eliminates any interaction with the stored content. This, together with glass made of non-toxic raw materials, removes concerns about leaching chemicals into the contained substances. In the case of food storage, this also ensures the freshness and uncompromising taste of the stored substance. Glass containers also do not absorb food odors in or around them.
Unlike other materials, glass used in a microwave oven does not leach any toxins into food or liquids. It will not stain, corrode or deteriorate no matter how many times it is reused.
Glassware and containers are very versatile as they can be moved from the freezer to the microwave or oven. Glass is very attractive and looks beautiful on a table top or as decorative items such as candy bowls, storage jars, vases and mirrors.
And the glass is 100% recyclable.
By turning an enemy into a friend
Many manufacturers have introduced practices aimed at reducing the negative environmental impact of glass production. More efficient furnaces were considered to reduce energy consumption, produce thinner glass to use lower temperatures and lower transport costs, use air and water purification systems, and use recycled glass to produce new glass.
Here are some ways you can reduce your environmental impact and enjoy the benefits of glass products.
- Reuse glass food and storage containers. Due to its natural properties, there is no chemical reaction with the glass container and its contents. Glass items in the home can be safely used repeatedly without losing the quality of the glass.
- Recycling. Glass is 100% recyclable and can be reused to produce new glass. Unlike other types of materials, reusing glass in no way degrades the integrity of the material. Glass can be melted and reused many times. A glass bottle that ends its life in a landfill can break for up to a million years. But a recycled glass bottle has about a 30-day lead time from the trash can to being a new bottle on the store shelf. Every ton of glass recycled saves over a ton of raw materials to make new glass. Because cullet (recyclable glass pieces) melts at a much lower temperature, making glassware from cullet consumes 40 percent less energy than making new glass from raw materials.
- Reduce the amount of new glass products you buy. Since it has found its way into so many commercial applications, it’s now easy to find products made from recycled glass. Look for cullet tableware, recycled glass jewelry, decorative tiles, counters and landscaping materials that use recycled glass.
Glass is a versatile and beautiful material that can be used in many aspects of our lives. Let’s do our part to turn glass production from enemy to friend.
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Source by Lynn Lavanga