INPRCHE EA2

GLASS INDUSTRY

Gonzales & Romero

A. HISTORY
Glass was first referenced by the Roman historian, PLINY
Egyptians made fake jewels using glass as early as 5000 BC
Towards the end of the 1st century, Glass Blowing had been discovered

by the Syrians
In the 13th century, Venice became the capital of the glass industry
The use of window glass became prevalent in the 15 th century
Mass production of glass in the 19th century was brought forth by the

Industrial Revolution
In 1914, the Forcault process was developed in Belgium
After five decades, a group of researchers had developed the Float Glass
Process which is commonly used in the industry today

B. CURRENT GLOBAL STATUS

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GLASS INDUSTRY

Gonzales & Romero

C. WHAT IS GLASS?
GLASS
- Up to date, there is no specific classification of glass with regards to its
phase. Some sources argue that it is an amorphous solid, while some
-

argue that it is a supercooled liquid.

Glass is argued to be an amorphous solid because of its structure.
Amorphous solids do not have crystalline internal structure which
glasses are observed to have no crystalline internal structure. In fact,
glasses have disordered arrangement after cooling. Despite the
disordered arrangement, it still manages to maintain some rigidity with
sufficient cohesion. An amorphous solid displays a glass transition
near its melting point to which it becomes soft and near its freezing

point to which it becomes brittle.

On the other hand, glasses are also argued to be supercooled liquid.
Thermodynamically, some argue that glasses should be considered a
liquid because it has viscosity a property to that can be associated

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GLASS INDUSTRY

Gonzales & Romero

with liquids. When the temperature increases, viscosity of the liquid

increases. When the liquid is allowed to be cooled down to a
temperature below its melting point, crystal forms and it solidifies. This
is not always true as supercooled liquid remain liquid below its melting
point because there are no sites for nucleation to initiate the
crystallization. This lead to some people arguing that glasses should
be considered as a supercooled liquid.

D. PROCESS
BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM:

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GLASS INDUSTRY

Gonzales & Romero

UNIT PROCESSES AND UNIT OPERATIONS

UNIT PROCESSES

UNIT OPERATIONS
HEAT TRANSFER
EQUIPMENT: FURNACES AND
REGENERATORS

SILICATE FORMATION
EQUIPMENT: FURNACES

SIZE REDUCTION
EQUIPMENT: MILLS
MATERIALS HANDLING
EQUIPMENT: CONVEYORS

1. MIXING
- Raw materials are placed in mixer/mill. The purpose is to even out
mixture before feeding to the furnace.
Component

Description and Purpose

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GLASS INDUSTRY

Gonzales & Romero

Sand

Major component
Should almost be pure Quartz (SiO2)
This component highly affects the
quality of the product
Major component
Acts as a flux that lowers the melting

Soda Ash

temperature of the mixture by 1000

degrees
Major component
Soda ash makes the mixture soluble in

Limestone

water which affects the quality of

glass. Limestone as a stabilizer which
Salt Cake

makes the mixture insoluble in water.

Minor component
Removes troublesome scum from tank

Feldspar

furnaces
Minor component
Contains alumina which is a flux which
aids lower the melting temperature
Minor component
Lowers expansion coefficient and

Borax

Nitrates

Cullets

increases chemical durability

Minor component
Facilitates oxidation of iron
Minor component
Cullets are broken pieces of glass.
These are added to decrease the

energy consumption by 15%.

Cullets are segregated according to its
color and quality before it is mixed in
the miller.
2. MELTING or FUSION
- Raw materials are fed into a furnace for melting
TWO TYPES OF FURNACES:
Capacity

POT FURNACE
2 tons or less

TANK FURNACE
1000 tons or more

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Production Scale

Material

Small production
Ideally for special

Industrial production
Common furnace

glasses

used in glass

Selected clay or

manufacturing plants
Refractory bricks

platinum

TWO TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS USED FOR FURNACES

1. Regenerative Furnace
- Uses regenerative heat exchanger
- Heat from hot fluid is intermittently stored in a thermal storage
medium before it is transferred to a cold fluid. The fluids have
one path which allows two fluid streams of different temperature
to mix which can cause cracking in the equipment. However,
-

this heat exchanger is more economical.

Mostly used for larger furnaces and has higher thermal energy

efficiency (at around 65%)

2. Recuperative Furnace
- Uses recuperative heat exchanger
- This type of heat exchanger is mostly used in recovering waste
heat. The advantage of this heat exchanger is that there are two
separate

flow paths

simultaneously
-

through

for

each

the

fluid. These

exchanger

fluids

flow

transferring

heat

between streams.
Mostly used for smaller furnaces which produce special glasses
and has lower thermal energy efficiency (at around 35%)

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GLASS INDUSTRY

Gonzales & Romero

CHEMICAL REACTIONS

3. FORMING
- Gob, the melted materials from the furnace, starts to be cooled down
to form solid. In this stage, it is to be formed to a specific shape.
TYPES OF FORMING:
1. The Flat Glass Process
- Produces flat glasses. Mostly used in the industry.
- Uses molten tin. The gob floats through the molten tin. Molten
tin is used because there is no observed reaction between the
gob and the molten tin.

2. Press and Blow

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3. Blow and Blow

4. ANNEALING
- Glass is further cooled down to room temperature.
- The purpose of annealing is to reduce strain. This defines the durability
of the glass. If not cooled down properly, the glass is more likely to
crack/shatter when subjected to relatively small change in temperature.
5. FINISHING
- Further polishing of the glass according to the specific type of product
- Includes cleaning, grinding, polishing, cutting, and sandblasting

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GLASS INDUSTRY

Gonzales & Romero

E. SPECIAL TYPE OF GLASSES

1. Colored and Coated Glasses
- Can be produced by the absorption of certain light frequencies by
-

agents in solution in the glass

Can be produced by colloidal particles precipitated by heat treatment
Can be produced by microscopic or larger particles which may be

colored themselves
2. Glass-Ceramic
- First melted as a glass then converted largely to a crystalline ceramic
by a process called controlled devitrification
3. Laminated Safety Glass
- Two sheets of thin plate glass with a sheet of non-brittle plastic
material in between
4. Tempered Glass
- Type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal treatments to
increase durability. It usually has slower time to cool to ensure the
durability of the glass. When tempered glass breaks, it crumbles into
small granular chunks.
F. INDUSTRIES IN THE PHILIPPINES
1. AGC Flat Glass Philippines Inc.

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GLASS INDUSTRY

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- Established in 1958 under the name Republic Glass Corporation

- Facility located at the Asahi Special Economic Zone in Pasig City
- Certified with an ISO 9002:2001 and ISO14001:2004
- Uses the float process
- Produces float glass, figured glass, and mirrors
2. San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation

Established in 1890 to satisfy the packaging demand of the San Miguel

Corporation
Glass products were first manufactured in 1938
Its two glass plants are located at Manila and Mandaue in Cebu
Uses robotics technology and CAD/CAM system
Glass products mainly consist of bottles used for the food,

pharmaceutical, and chemical industries