The term glass refers to materials, usually blends of metallic

oxides, predominantly silica, which do not crystallise when

cooled from the liquid to the solid state.
It is the non-crystalline or amorphous structure of glass that
gives rise to its transparency.
Glass made from sand, lime and soda ash has been known in
Egypt for 5000 years, although it probably originated in
Assyria and Phoenicia.
The earliest manmade glass was used to glaze stone beads,
later to make glass beads (circa 2500 BC), but it was not until
about 1500 BC that it was used to make hollow vessels.

For many centuries glass was worked by drawing the molten

material from a furnace.
The glass was then rolled out or pressed into appropriate
moulds and finally fashioned by cutting and grinding.
Around 300 BC the technique of glass blowing evolved in
Assyria, and the Romans developed this further by blowing
glass into moulds.
The various colours within glass derived from the addition of
metallic compounds to the melt.
Blue was obtained by the addition of cobalt, whilst copper
produced blue or red and iron or chromium produced green.

In the fifteenth century white opaque glass was produced by

the addition of tin or arsenic, and by the seventeenth century
ruby red glass was made by the addition of gold chloride.
Clear glass could only be obtained by using antimony or
manganese as a decolouriser to remove the green colouration
caused by iron impurities within the sand.
Thousands of tonnes of glass are recycled each year, but this
is mainly domestic waste, which cannot be used for the
production of window glass as this requires pure materials.
Even architectural waste glass is of variable composition with
contamination from wire, sealants and special glasses,
making it not usable as cullet in the manufacturing process
without careful sorting.

However, clean cullet from glass processing companies is

recycled, and new float glass may incorporate up to 30% of
recycled material, significantly reducing overall energy and
CO2 emissions.
Re-melting clean cullet uses 25% less energy than making the
equivalent quantity of new glass from raw materials.
In addition, there is saving on extraction of raw materials.
Excess recycled glass, not required for remaking bottles, has
been used for making decorative paving surfaces and can be
incorporated into the manufacture of bricks.

Recent experimentation with pulverised domestic glass waste

has shown that when expanded by CO2 from added calcium
or magnesium carbonate or carbon black, the resulting
material can be used as a lightweight aggregate in concrete.
Expansion of 1520 times gives a granular product with a
density range 200900 kg/m3.

It is the most prevalent type of glass, used for windowpanes,

and glass containers (bottles and jars) for beverages, food,
and some commodity items. Glass bakeware is often made of
tempered soda-lime silicate glass.
Modern glass is manufactured from sand (silica), soda ash
(sodium carbonate) and limestone (calcium carbonate), with
small additions of salt-cake (calcium sulphate) and dolomite
(magnesian limestone).
This gives a final composition of typically 7074 % silica, 12
16 % sodium oxide, 512 % calcium oxide, 25 % magnesium
oxide with small quantities of aluminium, iron and potassium
oxides.

The addition of 25 % broken glass or cullet to the furnace mix

accelerates the melting process and recycles the production
waste.
The production process is relatively energy intensive at
15,000 kWh/m3 (c.f. concrete: 625kWh/m3), but the
environmental pay back arises from its appropriate use in
energy conscious design.

The composition of alkaline earth silicate glass is typically

5570% silica, 514% potassium oxide, 312% calcium oxide,
015% aluminium oxide with quantities of zirconium,
strontium and barium oxides.
Borosilicate glass is typically 7087% silica, 08% sodium
oxide, 08% potassium oxide, 715% boron oxide, 08%
aluminium oxide with small quantities of other oxides.
A particular characteristic of borosilicate glass is that it has a
coefficient of expansion one third that of standard soda lime
silicate glass, making it significantly more resistant to
thermal shock in case of fire.

Ceramic glass is characterised by a near zero coefficient of

expansion, making it highly resistant to thermal shock.
The composition of ceramic glass is complex, comprising
typically 5080% silica, 1527% alumina, with small quantities
of sodium oxide, potassium oxide, barium oxide, calcium
oxide, magnesium oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide,
zinc oxide, lithium oxide and other minor constituents.
The glass is initially produced by a standard float or rolling
technique but subsequent heat treatment converts part of the
normal glassy phase into a fine-grained crystalline form,
giving rise to the particular physical properties.
Ceramic glass has a high softening point compared to other
glass products used in construction.

A furnace produces a continuous supply of molten glass at

approximately 1100oC, flowing across the surface of a large
shallow bath of molten tin contained within an atmosphere of
hydrogen and nitrogen, which prevents oxidation of the
surface of the molten metal.
The glass moves across the molten metal, initially at a
sufficiently high temperature for the irregularities on both
surfaces to become evened out leaving a flat and parallel
sheet of glass.
The temperature of the glass is gradually reduced as it moves
forward until at the end of the molten tin, it is sufficiently
solid at 600oC not to be distorted when supported on rollers.

Thickness is controlled by the speed at which the glass is

drawn from the bath.
Any residual stresses are removed as the glass passes
through the 200 m annealing lehr or furnace, leaving a firepolished material.
The glass is washed and substandard material discarded for
recycling.
The computer-controlled cutting is followed by stacking,
warehousing and dispatch.
A typical float glass plant will manufacture 5000 tonnes of
glass per week.

Float glass for the construction industry is made within the

thickness range 225 mm.
Many surface modified glasses are produced, by
incorporating metal ions into the glass within the float
process, or under vacuum or by spraying the surface with
metal oxides or silicon.
Body-tinted glass, which is of uniform colour, is
manufactured by blending additional metal oxides into the
standard melt.
The use of all-electric melting processes offers higher quality
control and less environmental pollution than previously
produced from earlier oil- or gas-fired furnaces.

Glass may be cast and pressed into shape for glass blocks
and extruded sections.
Profile trough sections in clear or coloured 6 or 7mm cast
glass are manufactured in sizes ranging from 232 to 498mm
wide, 41 and 60mm deep and up to 7 m long, with or without
stainless steel longitudinal wires.
The system can be used horizontally or vertically, as single or
double glazing, and as a roofing system spanning up to 3 m.
Blue tinted versions are available for solar control or
aesthetic reasons.
The double-glazed system produces a sound reduction and
heat insulation

Glass may be cast and pressed into shape for glass blocks
and extruded sections.
Profile trough sections in clear or coloured 6 or 7mm cast
glass are manufactured in sizes ranging from 232 to 498mm
wide, 41 and 60mm deep and up to 7 m long, with or without
stainless steel longitudinal wires.
The system can be used horizontally or vertically, as single or
double glazing, and as a roofing system spanning up to 3 m.
Blue tinted versions are available for solar control or
aesthetic reasons.
The double-glazed system produces a sound reduction and
heat insulation

Glass blocks for non-load-bearing walls and partitions are

manufactured by casting two half-blocks at 1050oC, joining
them together at 800oC, followed by annealing at 560oC.
The standard blocks are 115, 190, 240 and 300mm square
with thicknesses of 80 and 100 mm, although rectangular
and circular blocks are also available. Walls may be curved.
The variety of patterns, offering differing degrees of privacy.
For exterior and fire-retarding applications natural or
coloured mortar (2 parts Portland cement, 1 part lime, 8 parts
sand) is used for the jointing.
Walls may be straight or curved; in the latter case, the
minimum radius varies according to the block size and
manufacturers specification.

Glass blocks for non-load-bearing walls and partitions are

manufactured by casting two half-blocks at 1050oC, joining
them together at 800oC, followed by annealing at 560oC.
The standard blocks are 115, 190, 240 and 300mm square
with thicknesses of 80 and 100 mm, although rectangular
and circular blocks are also available. Walls may be curved.
The variety of patterns, offering differing degrees of privacy.
For exterior and fire-retarding applications natural or
coloured mortar (2 parts Portland cement, 1 part lime, 8 parts
sand) is used for the jointing.
Walls may be straight or curved; in the latter case, the
minimum radius varies according to the block size and
manufacturers specification.

Vandal- and bullet-proof blocks are available for situations

requiring higher security.
For interior use, blocks may be laid with sealant rather than
mortar. Glass blocks are now available in preformed panels
for speedier installation.

Vandal- and bullet-proof blocks are available for situations

requiring higher security.
For interior use, blocks may be laid with sealant rather than
mortar. Glass blocks are now available in preformed panels
for speedier installation.

Glass pavers

Cellular or foamed glass

Self-cleaning glass

Decorative coloured glass

Georgian wired glass

Toughened glass

Heat-strengthened glass

Laminated glass

Fire-resistant glass

Energy conservation through double or triple glazing