Lithia In Bulk Glass

The Australian company Gwalia Consolidated have been producing and supplying lithium minerals to the bulk glass ceramic industry for the past 10 years. The company claims fluidity and increased melting rates are the keys to decreasing unit glass costs. This paper reviews detailed production case histories, which support past experience of 5-10% improvements in melting efficiency and effective furnace output, laboratory research which demonstrates that the results relate not only to decreased glass viscosity but also to increased batch melting/refining rates, and, future directions for the use of Li2O within the glass industry.