Development of ecological glass containers

Studies have shown that every 10% increase in the percentage of waste glass in raw materials during the glass production process results in a 2.5% reduction in melting energy and a 3.5% reduction in CO 2 emissions.
As we all know, with the global shortage of resources and the increasing greenhouse effect, the awareness of environmental protection, which focuses on saving resources, reducing consumption, and reducing pollution, has received global attention and attention.
People call this type of glass container, which has both energy-saving and pollution-reducing properties, using waste glass as the main raw material, "ecological glass bottles." Of course, strictly speaking, "ecological glass" requires more than 90% of the waste glass.
In order to produce high-quality glass containers using waste glass as the main raw material, the key issue to be solved is how to remove foreign materials (such as scrap metal, waste tiles, etc.) mixed in the waste glass and eliminate air bubbles in the glass.
The use of waste glass powdering and low-temperature melting technology to achieve the identification of foreign matter removal and low-pressure deaeration process has entered the practical stage. The recycled waste glass is undoubtedly a mixture of colors. In order to obtain a satisfactory color after melting, a method of adding a metal oxide during the melting process may be adopted. For example, addition of cobalt oxide may make the glass appear light green.
The production of ecological glass has been supported and encouraged by governments of all countries. In particular, Japan has taken a more positive attitude toward the production of eco-glass. In 1992, it was awarded by the World Packaging Organization (WPO) for producing and implementing “eco-glass” with 100% of waste glass as raw material. However, the proportion of "ecological glass" is still relatively low, and even Japan accounts for only 5% of the total amount of glass containers.
Glass containers are long-established traditional packaging materials and have been closely associated with people's lives for more than 300 years. It is safe to use, easy to recycle, and does not pollute either the contents or the glass.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, it faces serious challenges such as polymerizing packaging materials. Therefore, how to strengthen the development of new glass manufacturing technologies and give full play to the advantages of glass containers is a new topic facing the glass container manufacturing industry. I hope that the above-mentioned relevant technical dynamics can provide some useful reference for the industry.