Glassmaking has existed for thousands of years and it’s still one of the most exciting and promising modern technologies on Earth. Today, glass is used in applications that support environmental sustainability, from solar panels to insulation. Glass is reusable and recyclable. And, it replaces less sustainable materials such as plastic in thousands of everyday products.
Advances in industrial production methods—including the addition of borates to glass formulations—have improved production output, precision composition, and resistance to thermal shock, enabling a diverse and growing set of applications.
But a key issue remains: Glass manufacturing is still an inherently carbon-intensive process.
Are you one of the many glass producers implementing sustainability solutions across the full production lifecycle? You need committed partnership from your suppliers to achieve your goals.
Four emerging approaches to CO2 reductions in the glass industry
Leading companies in the industry are actively exploring approaches to meet international sustainability goals. The effort leverages four broad strategic areas:
1. Furnace production efficiency improvement through process and raw materials optimization
In the glassmaking process, efficiency gains come from:
- Optimizing burners and furnace geometry
- Converting air-fired furnaces to oxy-fuel combustion
- Improving productivity and product quality to reduce unit energy consumption
- Optimizing the use of intrinsically low‑carbon, circular raw materials, such as cullet and process by‑products or co‑products from other industries
These changes are all enabled by advanced development of energy demand measurement and modeling. Efficiency improvements also come from optimizing raw material use by:
- Enhancing recycling capability and promoting higher usage cullet
- Choosing calcined limestone and dolomite for CO2 reduction
- Choosing the right size of batching materials to enable new glass melting techniques to perform optimally
2. Improving heat recovery systems conserves fuel
A large part of the energy loss in glassmaking occurs when waste gasses are released through the furnace flue. Heat recovery systems like OPTIMELT® thermo chemical regenerator (TCR) technology developed by Linde capture this hot gas and repurpose it. Other practices also reduce heat loss:
- Better thermal insulation of the furnace
- Installing equipment that utilizes waste heat to preheat raw materials, such as cullet
3. Sustainable energy sources reduce emissions
Glass industry leaders are exploring the use of alternative and low-carbon fuels such as hydrogen, biomass, biogas, ethanol, and solar energy. Electric furnaces are also being tested. These innovations are promising, though they bring different challenges to the glassmaking process.
4. CO2 capture: A challenging approach
Multiple carbon-capture technologies are in development across a range of industries. Currently, most can be prohibitively expensive in the context of glassmaking. In addition, carbon capture itself requires energy consumption. However, for capture of emission species such as SOx and NOx, mature technologies are in place that leverage catalysts and absorbents to effectively reduce emissions.
Boric oxide in glass manufacturing
Adding boric oxide to glass enhances its durability and chemical resistance. And, using boron in your manufacturing processes significantly lowers the melting temperature required for glass production. A lower temperature in the furnace means less fuel is required to melt the materials, leading to improved energy efficiency—and reduced carbon emissions.
Boron is a volatile element, so using borates may add a certain level of technical complexity. Thus, choosing the right boron product is important to help maximize the environmental benefits and balance them with cost considerations.
Borate products: Sustainability considerations
Selecting the right borate product and borate supplier is key to improving your sustainability outcomes. Before you buy, ask these questions:
1. Does the borate product improve our process and support our decarbonization goal?
Recent research demonstrates that using a refined, concentrated anhydrous boron product delivers measurable benefits including reduction of:
- Melt temperature
- Energy consumption
- Buildup and corrosion in refractory
- Carbon emissions
You should have the confidence that the borates you use meet the highest standards for quality, stability, and consistency.
2. Does the borate supplier provide technical expertise to optimize our sustainability outcomes?
As regulatory bodies increase decarbonization requirements for glass manufacturing, you are probably investing in sophisticated sustainability solutions.
To make the most of these targeted investments, collaboration with material suppliers becomes more important. A supplier with the technical expertise and industry experience to be an active partner in enhancing formulations, processes, and applications will make the transition easier.
3. Does the borate supplier adhere to sustainability practices that complement our own?
Sustainability requires measuring the full environmental impact of a product—starting with the provenance of the materials that go into it. You should expect transparency from suppliers throughout the production lifecycle, including:
- Origin: Materials are sustainably and responsibly sourced and produced
- Traceability: Visibility into where your borates have been at every step of the journey
In addition, you should require transparency into supplier operations, assuring that they meet the highest standards for supporting the planet, their people, and the communities in which they work.
Prioritizing sustainability from mine to market
Successful decarbonization of the glass industry requires commitment at every link in the production chain—not just inside the plant but extending upstream to the partners who supply raw materials and downstream to end users and recycling partners.
When you source borates for glassmaking from U.S. Borax, you’re working with a partner that delivers that commitment and is invested in helping you meet your decarbonization goals. We partner with innovators in the industry to make sure that any capital investments our glassmaking customers make will pay off in overall increased efficiency and lowered emissions.
Contact us
Our research scientists and technical support team are available and ready to help you evaluate which technologies and products are most viable for your situation.
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