Raw Materials & Cullet recycling
Efficient glass melting, high-quality glass
production and cost-effective operations are primarily determined by the
glass batch composition. Often overlooked, even small changes in the batch
can yield technical and operational advantages as well as significant cost
savings.
The importance of cullet in glass production
For insulation wool, container glass, and float
glass production, cullet is one of the most crucial raw materials. Its
benefits include:
- Improved melting process: a 10% increase in cullet can reduce energy
consumption by about 2.8% - 3.0%.
- Cost Savings: cullet replaces primary raw materials, lowering operating
costs.
- Environmental benefits: reduced CO₂ emissions and waste disposal
charges.
However, cullet comes with the risk of contamination. Contaminated cullet
can lead to glass defects, breakage, and decreased overall quality.
Therefore, stringent cullet quality control procedures and sampling plans
are essential both at the cullet treatment plant and the glass plant.
Cullet quality Control and risk management
To ensure cullet quality, understanding the
probability of contamination is crucial. For example, if the level of
ceramics, stones, and porcelain (CSP) pollution in a cullet lot is twice
the maximum acceptable level, what is the likelihood that your quality
control procedure will mistakenly accept this non-conforming lot? Using
our in-house statistical calculation programs, we provide detailed answers
to such questions and precisely calculate how to optimize your procedures
to align with your quality objectives. For those familiar with Six Sigma
quality objectives, achieving a 95% reliable (≈2σ) cullet quality control
is essential. Our calculations reveal that the probabilities of quality
control errors are often higher than acceptable, posing significant risks
to both producers and consumers.
Our services
- Cullet quality assessments: we evaluate and improve your cullet quality
control procedures according to your quality objectives, ensuring a fair,
transparent, and statistically relevant process.
- Statistical analysis: we provide detailed assessments of producer's and
consumer's risk levels and optimize these according to your quality
standards.
- Quality specifications: we develop detailed quality specifications and
corresponding quality control procedures for various glass productions
(e.g., glass wool, colored glass).
- Independent inspections: we conduct independent inspections and
detailed quality control of cullet lots, ensuring compliance with
requested n-sigma quality levels.
Expertise in Raw Materials and Glass Technology
- Raw material valuation: assessing the value
and suitability of raw materials for specific glass productions.
- New raw material studies: evaluating the
advantages and disadvantages of introducing specific raw materials or
compounds into the melting process, including impacts on glass quality and
characteristics.
- Quality specifications: developing
mineralogical and chemical composition, granulometry, and other quality
specifications for raw materials.
- Independent quality control: Conducting grain
size, chemical and mineralogical analyses of raw materials.
- Consultancy and assistance: improving various
steps of the glass recycling process and enhancing cullet quality,
including glass collection bin design improvements and cullet treatment
process optimizations.
Additional Services
Expert Witness and Consultancy: providing expert
advice and testimony on raw material or glass recycling issues, quality
failures, and production losses related to raw materials and cullet
quality.
Interested in enhancing your cullet quality procedure or assessing your
raw material suitability? Contact us today for expert consultancy and
detailed assessments tailored to your glass production needs.
Projects e.g.
- Assessment of value of raw materials for specific glass productions.
- Glass technology studies on new raw materials introduction:
- Study of the glass products quality differences and/or changes in
chemical and physical characteristics of the produced glass.
- Elaboration of quality specifications of raw materials: mineralogical
and chemical composition, granulometry, ....
- Independent quality control of raw materials and cullet
- Elaboration of detailed cullet quality specifications and
corresponding cullet quality control procedures.
- Consultancy and assistance to improve different steps of the glass
recycling process.
- Consultancy or expert witness on raw materials or glass recycling
problems, quality failure and/or glass production losses related to raw
materials and/or cullet quality.
- ...
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