glass manufacturing

How Is Glass Made?

This is a question that is asked by many people who are not familiar with the process. Glass is created through a complex process that takes many steps. Glass can be made from sand, which is a type of silicon mineral, but is not the only type of material that can be used in the creation of glass.

How is glass made using sand? During the glass manufacturing process, sand and other substances are mixed together in a furnace and heated until they become molten. The heat and the chemical properties of the substance to cause the liquid to be forced into the forming of small bubbles, which become the glasses. This process of mixing the different types of materials is called sand-loading or sand-firing.

How is glass made using silica? During the same furnace-like process that occurs when you are heating sand, but instead of heating the silica mineral to the point where it becomes molten and solidifies, the silica mineral is heated to the point where it becomes liquefied. Once this happens, the quartz crystal structure of the silica particles is rearranged to create glass.

How is glass made using soda ash? After the quartz crystals have been rearranged and cooled down in the furnace, the hot liquid soda ash is poured on top of them to create a finished product. The most commonly used type of soda ash in making glass is sodium silicate. Sodium silicates are actually naturally occurring elements of limestone, and the ash that is used in this process is completely natural and is not contaminated by man-made chemicals.

How is glass made using potassium silicates? Potassium silicates are also naturally occurring elements of limestone, and they too are melted into a liquid that can be used in the same furnaces that produce silica sands. However, it is important to note that although these substances are similar in appearance, they are two very different types of silicate compounds. One type of potassium silicate is known as tungsten. This type of silicate is used for the development of glass because it has better strength and durability properties than the other type. Unfortunately, this type of potassium silicate is extremely rare, so it is typically not found in large quantities.

How is blown glass made? Finally, the last method in how is glass made involves using extremely high temperatures inside a furnace chamber. When the temperature reaches nearly 4000 F, solid silica sand will be forced into the molten quartz stone. Although there are some concerns with using extremely high temperatures inside a furnace, the high-end laboratories that produce this type of glass are very carefully monitored to prevent accidents such as this from happening.