9-2 INSIGHTS INTO THE GLASS INDUSTRY: ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL MINERAL IMPURITIES FROM FINAL GLASS PRODUCTS BY RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY

Session: Early Career Investigators in Mineralogy and Crystallography

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Glass is one of the highly sustainable materials due to its perfectly infinite recyclability and natural composition. As a result of these versatile and sustainable properties, the demand for glass in the market is increasing, prompting glass manufacturing companies to boost their production. However, a major challenge for the glass industry is accurately quantifying and identifying the impurities in the final glass bottles. The mineral impurities encountered in the final finish of glass bottles, can compromise the quality of glass. However, the operator needs to identify these impurities quickly and correctly. These mineral impurities are challenging to analyse using optical microscopy and often lead to incorrect identification due to the varied optical properties, rendering it inaccessible to accurately ascertain their identity. Therefore, Raman spectroscopy is one of the most multifaceted and user-friendly techniques, acting as a pivotal addition for the analysis of impurities from the final product in the glass industry. This study provides insight to the collected mineral impurities in glass encountered in the final finish of glass bottles from the industry. The analysis reveals that the identification made using optical microscopy is incorrect in approximately 65% of the cases. Using optical microscopy, baddeleyite, corundum, and cristobalite was often confused based on their optical properties, which vary in appearance; however, the Raman vibrational modes provide a clear picture. The analysis also shows that the frequently occurring impurities are baddeleyite, corundum, cristobalite, along with cassiterite, cryolite, wollastonite, and molybdenite, depending on the raw material origin. This investigation improves the capability of the operator to distinguish all possible inclusions, encountered in these glasses along with more accuracy and efficiency. Consequently, this technique is especially valuable for identifying mineral impurities commonly found in the glass industry.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-6698

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