Glass Batch Composition Using Contaminated Cullet as Reductant
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cullet streams with organic contamination are often rejected by glass manufacturers and sent to landfill due to high levels of organic impurities, leading to inefficiencies in recycling and waste management.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating fine, finer, and/or finest cullet particles with controlled organic contamination levels into glass batch compositions, utilizing loss on ignition (LOI), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and combustion analysis to manage carbon content, thereby controlling the redox number and enabling their use in glass production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If fine, finer, and/or finest cullet particles with organic contamination are used in glass batch compositions, then recycling efficiency is enhanced and waste is reduced, but glass production consistency may be compromised due to high organic contamination levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful organic contamination in fine cullet particles into a beneficial reducing agent for the glass batch. By intentionally adding cullet with high organic content (LOI > 5%, particularly 10-30%) to control the redox number, the previously rejected contaminant becomes a useful functional component that facilitates glass formation and improves recycling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter perspective by redefining acceptable organic contamination levels. Instead of viewing high LOI as a defect to be eliminated, the invention specifies target redox number ranges (e.g., -10 to +10) and uses organic-contaminated cullet to achieve these targets, thereby transforming a quality rejection criterion into a controllable process parameter.
2Reliability
If cullet with high organic contamination is rejected and sent to landfill, then glass production quality is maintained, but recycling efficiency is reduced and waste management becomes less efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transforms the previously harmful organic contamination into a beneficial reducing agent. By specifying that cullet with high LOI (>5%, particularly 10-30%) should be used to control redox number within target ranges, the patent converts waste material into a functional component that maintains glass quality while improving recycling efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the acceptance criteria by shifting from LOI-based rejection to redox number-based acceptance. Glass manufacturers can maintain quality by monitoring and controlling the redox number (e.g., -10 to +10) rather than rejecting all high-LOI cullet, thereby enabling recycling of previously rejected materials.
3Reliability
If organic contamination is removed by washing, burning off, or fermentation prior to glassmaking, then cullet quality is improved, but process complexity and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful effect of organic contamination by utilizing it for its reducing properties rather than removing it. Instead of implementing complex washing, burning, or fermentation processes to eliminate organics, the invention directly uses the organic-containing cullet as a reducing agent, thereby simplifying the preparation process while maintaining or improving cullet quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The organic contamination in the cullet serves its own useful function as a reducing agent in the glass batch. The cullet is self-sufficient in providing the necessary reducing environment for glass formation, eliminating the need for external processing steps like washing or burning that would otherwise be required to prepare the cullet.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The controlled use of organically contaminated cullet particles as a reductant in glass batch compositions allows for consistent glass production, reducing waste and enhancing recycling efficiency by controlling the redox potential of the glass batch.
Implementation Method 1
the controlled use of organically contaminated cullet particles as a reductant in glass batch compositions allows for consistent glass production, reducing waste and enhancing recycling efficiency by controlling the redox potential of the glass batch
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to glass batch compositions. The present disclosure also relates to methods of forming glass with cullet.