Borates bring benefits to many commercially important glass types, both in the production process and in the final glass product. Borate provides benefits to the glass manufacturing process by way of lower melt viscosity, lower energy requirements per tonne of glass and lower processing temperatures. Furnace throughput, dust and volatile emissions and refractory corrosion may also be influenced. Potential benefits borates bring in the finished glass include improved dielectric properties, lower thermal expansion, increased infrared absorption and increased chemical resistance. This article explains how Rio Tinto Minerals has invested in the development of laboratory methods to investigate four aspects of the glass manufacturing process: Energy consumption; the behaviour of the batch on heating; dust emission; and the emission of volatile species.
