Glass

Manufacturing
ChE 100 MK 11-20

Discovery of glass is unknown. It may have been after a

chance lightning strike in a patch of sand, or by prehistoric
nomads who found the hard, shiny, magical material in the
ashes of their fire. Manufacturing process continues to be
perfected over centuries through sheer human
and technical ingenuity.

Glass is a trusted, versatile, and 100% recyclable

packaging choice.

RAW
MATERIALS

INSPECTION

BATCHING

COOLING

MELTING

FORMING

PACKAGING

Raw Materials
Glass starts its life as a
range of raw materials
combined in a very
specific ratio

Sand
Soda Ash
Limestone
Other ingredients, such as iron and carbon
which provide colour

Cullet is obtained from recycling centres and bottle

banks that are also used as a raw material. Its usage can vary
quite considerably, with as much as 40% utilization per batch.
Its inclusion in production is most important, as it means that
less virgin raw materials are used. It also melts at a lower
temperature, enabling us to reduce emissions and save
energy.

BATCHING
Raw materials are stored in large silos, from
where they are measured and delivered to
batch mixers, according to pre-programmed
recipes.

MELTING
The batch is continuously fed into the furnace.
Temperature of a furnace: approximately 1 500
C-1700C.

In the glass melting furnace, the raw materials

are transformed through a sequence of
chemical reactions to molten glass.
It takes some 24 hours for a batch of raw
materials to be converted into molten glass.
Red-hot liquid glass is continuously drawn from
the furnace through a submerged throat.

In the "indirect" melting process, molten glass

passes to a forehearth, where it is drawn off,
sheared into globs, and formed into marbles
by roll-forming. The marbles are then stressrelieved in annealing ovens, cooled, and
conveyed to storage or to other plants for
later use.
In the "direct" glass fiber process, molten
glass passes from the furnace into a refining
unit, where bubbles and particles are
removed by settling, and the melt is allowed
to cool to the proper viscosity for the fiber
forming operation.

GLASS BOTTLES
The molten glass enters the feeder and flows through cavities in an
orifice plate. Streams of glass are cut into gobs of a predetermined
weight exactly as much as is needed to make a single bottle. These
gobs are then guided into the individual moulds of the bottle-making
equipment, as part of a process known as forming

There are two primary methods of making a glass container.

The first, known as the Blow-Blow process, is used for
narrow-neck containers. In this process, compressed air is
blown into the molten gob to create a cavity while it is in the
blank mould and this result in a hollow and partly formed
container. This is then transferred to the second moulding
stage. Compressed air is used again in the second stage to
blow mould the final shape.

The second process, known as the Press-Blow method, is

used for jars and tapered narrow-neck containers. Here, a
metal plunger instead of air is used to press a cavity into the
gob in the blank mould before compressed air is used to
form the container in the blow mould. The newly formed
bottle is then removed from the mould and transferred by
conveyer to the annealing oven or lehr.

Fiber
Glass
The 2 basic types of
glass fiber products,
textile and wool, are
manufactured by
similar processes

Two methods of creating fibers are used by

the industry:

1. Rotary Spin Process

Centrifugal force causes molten glass to flow
through small holes in the wall of a rapidly
rotating cylinder to create fibers that are
broken into pieces by an air stream.

2. In the flame attenuation process

Molten glass flows by gravity from a furnace
through numerous small orifices to create
threads that are then stretched to the point
of breaking by high velocity, hot air, and/or a
flame.

After the glass fibers are created (by either

process) and sprayed with the binder solution, they
are collected by gravity on a conveyor belt in the
form of a mat.
The continuous fibers emerging from the openings
are drawn over a roller applicator, which applies a
coating of a water-soluble sizing and/or coupling
agent. The coated fibers are gathered and wound
into a spindle. The spindles of glass fibers are next
conveyed to a drying oven, where moisture is
removed from the sizing and coupling agents. The
spindles are then sent to an oven to cure the
coatings. The final fabrication includes twisting,
chopping, weaving, and packaging the fiber.

WOOL GLASS FIBER

It is produced for insulation and is formed into
mats that are cut into batts.
Loose wool is primarily a waste product formed
from mat trimming, although some is a primary
product, and is only a small part of the total wool
fiberglass produced.

TEXTILE GLASS FIBER

This glass fibers can be used for various purposes:
for making home furnishing fabrics; for making
apparels and garments; and for the purpose tires
and reinforced plastics.

INSPECTION
All glass containers undergo multiple
tests and inspections to ensure that
they comply with strict quality
standards.
From here the bottles undergo further
visual inspection by sophisticated, highresolution camera equipment, as well as
trained specialists. Rejected containers
are sent to the recycling operation to be
turned into cullet and re-enter the
production process.

With the manufacturing process completed, the

bottles are individually coded with production date
and time, packed on pallets and covered with
protective shrink-wrapping before being dispatched
to our customers.

RAW
MATERIALS

INSPECTION

BATCHING

COOLING

MELTING

FORMING

PACKAGING

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Noise
Water Pollution
Nox, SOx, and CO2 emissions
Dust

Noise is created by the forming machines.

Operated by compressed air, they can produce
noise levels of up to 106dBA. Another factor
in noise production is truck movements.

Most factories use water containing an

emulsified oil to cool and lubricate
the gob cutting shear blades. This oil laden
water mixes with the water outflow stream
thus polluting it.

The oxides of nitrogen are a natural product of

the burning of gas in air and are produced in
large quantities by gas fired furnaces. The
oxides of sulfur are produced as a result of the
glass melting process.
The raw materials for glass making are all
dusty material and are delivered either as a
powder or as a fine-grained material. Cullet is
also moved about in a glass factory and tends
to produce fine glass particles when shovelled
or broken.

Glass
Manufacturing
ChE 100 MK 11-20