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Upgraded sorting machines might save glass recycling

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Upgraded sorting machines might save glass recycling

Upgraded sorting machines might save glass recycling

A growing concern among municipalities, materials recyclers and individual consumers is the possibility that glass recycling will come to a halt. Environmentally, there is no debate about the value of recycling glass. Glass is virtually infinitely recyclable, and consumes less energy during recycling than making new glass does.

Glass manufacturers would like to add more cullet (ground glass that’s ready for recycling) to their materials mixture, but the logistics of glass recycling make that difficult. Glass is heavy, and before it’s ground into cullet, it’s bulky. More importantly, glass needs to be sorted precisely. Different glass formulations can’t be mixed together. Significantly, heat-treated glass (tempered glass and Pyrex), colored and leaded glass need to be separated from the rest of the glass recycling stream, as these formulations cannot be used for containers.

X ray fluorescence and glass sorting

The emergence of X-ray fluorescence glass sorting machines may help take the sting out of glass recycling. Although the system was originally developed for glass recycling, manufacturers can also use the same technology to sort other types of recyclables. For example, Redwave’s latest sorter can identify and sort mixed heavy metals, including copper, zinc and stainless steel. It can also sort brominated plastics and a range of glass formulations.

Being able to sort recycling quickly is one key to reducing the cost associated with it. It’s also one way to ensure that glass recycling can be conducted as efficiently as possible. The challenges of recycling are real – especially for glass. A number of municipalities have already dropped or scaled back their glass recycling programs. In other cases, glass is still collected at the curb, but it is pulverized and used not as cullet, but as daily cover for landfills. One rationale for doing that is that the pulverized glass is heavy enough to hold down potential “fly-away” materials. Glass is also inert, so it poses no long-term danger from leeching or disintegration.

Municipalities are still working on ways to preserve their glass recycling programs, in part because consumers understand the recyclability of glass, perhaps better than any other material. Improved sorting technology may be able to enhance the efficiency of the glass sorting process.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

Photo Credit: Rockman of Zymurgy, via Flickr.com

Glass can help fillings repair tooth decay

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Glass can help fillings repair tooth decay

Glass can help fillings repair tooth decay

Researchers at Queen Mary University in London have released initial data on fillings that can help repair tooth decay. Robert Hill, a professor at the Institute of Dentistry, says that bioactive glass composites play a key role in what could prove to be a new approach to restorative dentistry.

According to Hill, the bioactive glass composites can release fluoride, calcium and phosphate, all key components in enamel repair. The availability of the necessary materials allows the tooth to “self-repair.” In addition to remineralizing the damaged tooth, the bioactive glass increases the alkalinity of the area around the repair, which discourages the bacteria that causes tooth decay. In tests, the glass fillings helped to remineralize cavity-damaged teeth, and slowed secondary decay. This is significant because the average number of cavities among residents of the UK is seven. Eliminating cavities and preserving the health of teeth is key to improving dental health worldwide.

In addition, the glass prolongs the lifespan of composite fillings, and reduces the need to use mercury amalgam fillings. Although dentists are quick to point out that mercury amalgams do not pose a health danger to dental patients, they are unsightly. Patients overwhelmingly prefer tooth-colored dental composites, but some composites may not last as long as mercury amalgams.Eliminating mercury amalgam fillings by 2020 is an internationally adopted professional goal of dentists.

Bioactive glass was developed to assist in bone repair. The glass is compatible with natural body tissues like bone, and work well in dental repair. Bioglass is used extensively in craniofacial repair, synthetic bone grafts and as a treatment for osteomyelitis. The glass discourages the growth of bacteria and allows bones to heal and regrow. In dental applications, the glass assists with decreasing sensitivity in areas where tooth enamel has been lost.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

Photo Credit: Matt & Nicole Cummings , via Flickr.com

Iconic Glass Structures – One World Trade Center

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Iconic Glass Structures – One World Trade Center

Iconic Glass Structures – One World Trade Center

The One World Trade Center is the primary building in the World Trade Center complex. The building is the focal piece of the WTC, which was rebuilt after the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001. The building is the sixth-tallest building in the world. It has an architectural height of 1,776 feet, and a decorative tip extends the building’s height another 16 feet.

The building has a functional height of 1,268 feet and has 94 floors usable floors, even though the top floor is designated as Floor 104. The combined occupied area of the building exceeds 3.5 million square feet. Construction on the tower was completed in 2013, and the building was opened to tenants in late 2014. Even though it has fewer occupied floors, the rebuilt tower is slightly taller than the original twin towers.

David Childs and Daniel Libeskind designed the building in 2002 as a replacement for the destroyed Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center. The building was rebuilt by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the construction was completed by Tishman Construction, which also completed the construction on the original World Trade Center towers.

Minoru Yamasaki designed the original World Trade Center, which featured two 110-story towers. The North Tower was completed in 1970. The South Tower was completed in 1972. By the mid-1980’s, the complex had grown to include seven buildings of varying heights, none of which were as tall as the twin towers. Originally, the World Trade Center was intended as a neighborhood revitalization project for Lower Manhattan. On a typical weekday, as many as 250,000 people could be in the towers at one time.

The rebuilt tower design was selected following a competition held in 2002. The winning design underwent a number of modifications before being finalized in 2005. The modifications increased the height of the tower, and made changes to the base of the design to improve its appearance and security. Despite the design delays, a symbolic cornerstone for the building was laid on July 4, 2004.

Construction on the base of the new tower was begun in 2006. The structural steel was completed in 2008. Glass window installation began in 2010. The building uses 2,112 insulated, laminated Viracon glass windows. Glass plays a major role in the shape of the building, and its design was changed a number of times before being finalized. In addition to its glass windows, the building incorporates 13-foot pairs of glass fins at the base. The original design called for prismatic glass to be used at the base of the tower, but this proved to be impractical, and this design element was dropped due to safety concerns. The base of the tower was deliberately designed with no windows, and is surrounded by concrete.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store

Photo Credit: Jean-Christophe Bruneau, via Flickr.com

Changes in Glass Industry Affecting Basic Science

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Changes in Glass Industry Affecting Basic Science

Changes in Glass Industry Affecting Basic Science

If you’ve been paying attention to the recent changes in the glass industry, you know that the future of certain kinds of glass – specifically stained glass – is on the line. But a developing trend in glassmaking may also have negative consequences for basic science, and one community college is doing something about it.

Research scientists often need special glass tools to conduct experiments. Expert glassblowers, who create “made-to-order” pieces that get used in the lab, often build those tools exclusively for research. The number of glassblowers is declining, but the need for intricate glass tools isn’t. Salem Community College in Alloway, NJ offers the only scientific glassblowing program in the United States. The school graduates about 20 scientific glass blowers each year. Many of those graduates will take up positions at research universities around the country.

Never heard of scientific glassblowing? You’re not alone. The American Scientific Glassblowers’ Society estimates that there are fewer than 500 scientific glassblowers in the United States. Its membership has slipped from over 1,000 in the 1970’s to less than half of that today. Most scientific glassblowers stay with one employer for life.

The difficulty in finding scientific glassblowers owes somewhat to the fact that many research universities are not willing to put more than one glassblower on their payroll. On one hand, it reduces the overhead cost of having specialists on staff. On the other hand, it means that fewer scientific glassblowers get the experience they need to fill positions when they do open.

Glassblowing students don’t just learn how to make glass. They also need to study organic chemistry, math, computer design and other classes that don’t factor into a pure “art” program. In addition to their curriculum, they need to learn to work directly with the scientists who often provide a rough design for the tools they’re looking for. Scientific glassblowing helps to advance a variety of sciences, including telecommunications, laser research, semiconductor research and research into subatomic particles.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Pack, via Flickr.com

Penn State Research May Unlock Glass Thin Films

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Penn State Research May Unlock Glass Thin Films

Penn State Research May Unlock Glass Thin Films

Thin films have become very important in the glass industry, largely because certain coatings can give glass properties it doesn’t ordinarily have. Thin films can be applied to glass in a number of ways, but deposition techniques predominate. A single piece of glass can have multiple coatings, all of which add something to the finished product.

The trouble with deposition as a way to add thin films to glass is that the molecules pack randomly on the glass surface. Penn State researchers are looking at ways to make thin films thinner and stronger. They theorize that by packing the thin film molecules “better” they can get better performance from the films and the glass they’re attached to. To test this out, three scientists at the university have received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Glass coatings research may lead to new materials

The research results may not just apply to current thin-film coatings. It may also help engineers and chemists design new coatings that can give glass novel properties. Conductivity and ultraviolet light blocking are high on the thin films wish list because coatings like that could be used to improve the efficiency of solar energy collectors and reduce solar heat gain in large buildings.

Scientists are looking for ways to combat a phenomenon they’ve observed in thin-film deposition. Using current deposition technology, a film that’s too thin changes the transparency of the glass. With the grant, the researchers hope to find a way to reduce the thickness of the coating while still maintaining the properties that make glass attractive.

The research team will be studying production factors like the ideal temperature and other conditions to determine their effect on the finished product. In addition, they’ll be testing new molecules to see if they can improve existing coatings or develop new coatings with unique properties. Ideally, the team hopes to develop a model that will enable scientists to predict coating characteristics accurately without having to manufacture it.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store

Photo Credit: ZEISS Microscopy, via Flickr.com

Glass slide fabricated from single piece

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Glass slide fabricated from single piece

Glass slide fabricated from single piece

Engineers at London-based Eckersley O’Callaghan have developed a 30-ft glass slide fabricated from a single piece of laminated, annealed glass. The piece was demonstrated at Glass Tec in Dusseldorf last month. The slide is made from two pieces of glass bonded together with transparent structural silicone adhesive (TSSA). The vertical member, which serves as the ladder, has glass treads that are attached to it using TSSA.

The TSSA adhesive dries to a virtually clear state, can support the weight of an adult, and is able to resist the shear forces that form when the slide is in use. The Vidre Slide, which was designed and fabricated to maximize transparency, is intended for a project in Hong Kong.

Cricursa fabricated glass slide and ladder

Eckersley O’Callaghan worked with a Barcelona-based company – Cricursa, which developed the curved fabrication technique – to produce the slide. Cricursa specializes in creating curved glass for architectural applications and has worked on creating distinctive façades and other glass components for a number of signature projects. Cricursa works with all types of glass, including laminated, low-emissivity, low-reflective and insulated glass, as well as oversized glass and glass flooring.

According to Eckersley O’Callaghan, the slide exemplifies beneficial ways in which engineers and fabricators can work together on projects, and tests the limits of the practical applications for glass and structural adhesives. Although Cricursa specializes in specialty glass production, the Vidre Slide uses two tightly curved seamless glass chutes that rely heavily upon the adhesive for structural soundness. The slide also features a metal support structure that ties the ladder and chute together for added stability.

While the slide is nowhere near the tallest or longest slide in production, it is the longest glass slide formed from a single sheet of glass. Eckersley O’Callaghan did not indicate where or when the slide will be installed.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

Photo Credit: Eckersley O’Callaghan

Glass Furnace Closes in Portland

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Glass Furnace Closes in Portland

Glass Furnace Closes in Portland

Uroboros Glass, a glass furnace in Portland, has announced that it will close its doors next year. The closure is due, in part, to the company’s inability to meet a host of new regulations by different government agencies. The company cited environmental, safety and seismic regulations that it said eliminated the company’s long-term viability.

Uroboros Glass one of two Portland furnaces

Uroboros Glass is one of two glass furnaces in Portland at the center of an environmental debate about the safety of its emissions. Uroboros Glass and Bullseye Glass both came under fire after state and federal regulators determined that the companies were the sources of elevated levels of toxic heavy metals in and around their plants.

Bullseye Glass recently resumed full production at its furnace after an expensive filtration system was installed. The filtration system is designed to reduce emissions of heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead – all of which are used in making stained glass. Following resumption of its full production schedule, Bullseye again is receiving scrutiny from federal and state regulators for unusually high levels of selenium in the air around the furnace.

The new filtration system at Bullseye Glass is known as a baghouse filter. The filtration system costs about $500,000 and Bullseye installed three baghouses, which use a number of strategies to collect particulate emissions. Baghouse filters can have a collection efficiency of as much as 99.9%. Because heating is part of the filtration process, the filtered air can be returned to the production facility to provide supplemental heat, if desired.

Initially, the glass furnaces thought they were exempt from state and federal emissions regulations, largely because state regulators assumed that the glass furnaces operated on a “batch” basis. In reality, the furnaces operated non-stop for long periods to meet consumer demands for stained glass.

Uroboros Glass has not yet named a closure date, but indicated on its Facebook page that the closure would take place in early 2017.

Painted glass is emerging as a potential replacement for stained glass. Painted glass often produces a greater range of colors than stained glass does. Glassprimer™ glass paint is designed to bond permanently to glass surfaces without additional heat curing. Once cured, Glassprimer™ glass paint will not chip, fade or peel, and provides exceptional UV resistance.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: David Bilbo , via Flickr.com

Spontaneous glass breakage confounds

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Spontaneous glass breakage confounds

Spontaneous glass breakage confounds

If you ask industry experts, one of the most confounding things about glass is the phenomenon of spontaneous breakage. As the name suggests, glass shatters without any apparent cause. Doors, windows and other large sheets of glass seemingly burst. So what causes spontaneous glass breakage? Can it be predicted? More importantly, can it be prevented?

Many different causes of spontaneous glass breakage have been identified, and many of them are not as mysterious as they initially appear. Seemingly minor damage along the edge of a glass panel may cause glass to break without warning. Glass can also be damaged at the time of installation. The damage may not be readily apparent, but this kind of damage can come back to haunt an unaware property owner!

Sometimes the seeds of destruction are sown much earlier – at the moment the glass is created. Inclusions in the raw materials can cause the glass to develop weak spots. Under the right atmospheric conditions, or during normal operation, the inclusions can cause the glass to shatter.

One such inclusion is nickel sulfide. If nickel sulfide, which can be found in the raw materials used to produce glass, is present in the glass mixture, it can pool in the center of the pane when the glass forms and cools. These nickel sulfide “stones” are often imperceptible, and can wreak havoc long after the glass has cooled. Once the glass is installed, temperature fluctuations can change the size of the nickel sulfide deposit, and can flex the glass, which leads to sudden, spontaneous glass breakage. It’s important to note that nickel sulfide causes spontaneous breakage only in tempered glass. Untempered (annealed or heat strengthened) glass does not experience this phenomenon, although it also can break spontaneously for other reasons.

Most glass manufacturers try to eliminate nickel sulfide from their raw materials. In doing so, they reduce the likelihood that tempered versions of their glass will be manufactured with this fatal flaw. In addition, manufacturers sometimes stress the glass panels with heat in an attempt to identify (and destroy) suspect panels before they can be shipped to the end user.

Most often, the cause of spontaneous glass breakage can be traced to production-level flaws, glazing or installation damage, or significant temperature variations that affect the glass once it has been installed in its permanent location.

Because there are so many different causes of spontaneous glass failure, it’s unlikely that they can all be eliminated. Inclusions are often microscopic, and aren’t visible with the naked eye. Testing the finished panels can often help identify flaws, to ensure they aren’t installed. Other approaches, including heat strengthening and laminating, can help control the result of breakage and limit the possibility of injuries.

Fortunately spontaneous glass breakage is rare. Thanks to safety treatments for glass, the risk of injury is also reduced when spontaneous breakage occurs.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

Photo Credit: , via FreeImages.com

New glass may be stronger than aluminum

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New glass may be stronger than aluminum

New glass may be stronger than aluminum

Researchers in Japan have created a new glass formulation that may be stronger than aluminum. The value of this glass is that it doesn’t break when it’s dropped or impacted. Glass makers have known for a long time that adding alumina to a glass mixture could make the resulting product exceptionally strong, but simply adding alumina to glass during production doesn’t yield the desired result.

Instead, adding alumina to the glass creates silicon dioxide crystals at the mixture’s point of contact with its container, which ruins the product. The researchers needed to overcome this production issue in order to create super-strong glass. Since contact with the production equipment was the cause of the problem, the Japanese researchers came up with a way to eliminate the container during production.

The process they came up with suspends the mixture on a cushion of air and mixes it with a laser. The finished product displays the expected characteristics – hardness and transparency. The resulting product is also colorless.

The researchers were able to produce the experimental glass in the laboratory, but their experimental methodology doesn’t easily translate well to a mass production environment. The next step is to modify their experimental production to allow the technique to be used to mass produce glass. Once they overcome that hurdle, we could see truly shatterproof glass in mobile phones, wearable technology and other products. Incidentally, the resulting glass isn’t necessarily limited in size. In theory, the ultra-strong glass could be used in automobiles, building windows and doors.

Glass already comes in a number of formulations that offer a number of different properties, but regardless of the formulation, Glassprimer™ glass paint will bind to them all. Glassprimer™ glass paint is designed to create a permanent bond to the surface of glass. It also makes the same permanent bond to other impervious surfaces, like stone, metal, ceramics and plastic. Glassprimer™ glass paint can also be tinted to match the paint palette of virtually any major paint manufacturer.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Kaydee H., via FreeImages.com

Iconic Glass Structures – The Shard

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Iconic Glass Structures – The Shard

Iconic Glass Structures – The Shard

The Shard is a 95-story retail, office and residential building in Southwark, London. The glass pyramidal tower is considered part of the London Bridge Quarter development. It is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and the fourth-tallest building in Europe. Construction on the building began in 2009 and was completed in 2012.

Although the building has 95 stories, only 72 have usable floor space. In addition, the building features a publicly accessible, open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor. The Shard replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-story office development that was built in 1975. The building is partially owned by the State of Qatar.

The building was proposed and designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano in 1998. By 2003, the building’s design had been finalized and approved for construction. The developer secured financing and bought out the existing leases from the occupants of Southwark Towers. Southwark Towers was demolished and construction on The Shard began in 2009.

While the site was being secured and prepared for construction, concerns arose about the project’s financing. Originally, the cost of the project had been estimated to be £350 million, but in the interim, projected costs had increased to £435 million. The project developer, Sellar Properties, secured additional funding from Qatari investors.

The glass building was designed to appear as though it were emerging from the River Thames. The designer said he was inspired by the church steeple in the historic London area where the construction was proposed. When the building design was initially revealed, it was roundly criticized. The English Heritage Trust claimed that the building would be “a shard of glass through the heart of historic London.” The imagery stuck and gave the building its popular name.

The building is energy efficient, and contains its own natural-gas fired electric power plant. Waste heat from the plant is used to supply domestic hot water for the building. The Shard was one of the first buildings built post-9/11, and features a number of structural design modifications designed to help the building retain stability under an attack.

The Shard is covered by 11,000 angled glass panels that combined cover 56,000 square feet of exterior surface area.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specialized glass coating that bonds permanently to glass surfaces. GlassPrimer also makes a glass surface molecular activator that is designed to work with UV-inkjet glass printing processes. For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store.

Photo Credit: Gordon Joly, via Flickr.com