Application For Recycled Tinted Glass

Researchers at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Kansai, have found a practical, high-added value application for recycled tinted glass. Such glass is typically sent to landfill because no current application is profitable enough to pay for the expensive process of separating the silica from the metal ions used to colour the glass. The recycling process adds boric acid to the waste glass and melts it at high temperature before restoring it to a glass state from which it is easy to separate the alkaline components and metal ions from the silica. The resulting glass is highly transparent and durable and can be formed into fluorescent glass and used in displays and lighting. (whole item)