About Glass and Glass Recycle

To make glass bottles

1. The process begins by melting glass in a furnace which melts cullet (crushed, recycled glass), sand, soda ash, limestone, and other raw materials in a temperature range between 2,300° and 2,800°.
2. A Refiner distributes the molten glass to the hearth, which makes the temperature of the molten glass uniform.
3. The molten glass is sheared and cut into uniform gobs.
4. A distribution system sends the gobs to an Individual Section Forming Machine (IS) that forms the molten gobs into the mold shape. The glass temperature drops in the IS to below 2,100° F.
5. Glass bottles or glass jars leave the IS and are cooled rapidly by a cooling plate to a temperature level below 900° F.
6. The glass bottles or glass jars have now passed from liquid to solid form.
7. The bottles and jars are placed in an annealing lehr, where their temperature is raised.
8. Close to the melting point and then gradually lowered again. The reheating and slow cooling eliminates the stress in the bottles or jars and makes them stronger and shock resistant.
9. A Cold Spray is applied to the exterior coating of the bottles to increase line mobility, reduce abrasions and to maintain the inherent strength of the glass bottles and glass jars.

Glass recycling process

There are two different types of glasrecycling process, the so called:

1. open-loop recycle:
   the processed waste glass bottles culets that were crushed and/or pulverized are used again to make glass bottles out of the culets.
2. close-loop recycle:
   here the processed waste glass bottles that were crushed and/or pulverized are being used as material to be used as they are. The full recycle process from glass bottles to glass bottles will not take place.