The glass used in vehicle windows and windshields is carefully designed. It must be transparent and strong enough to withstand high-speed winds, resist impacts from debris and provide structural support during collisions. Automotive glass is challenging to make and as a result, challenging to recycle. But researchers are now finding innovative ways to reuse the material, according to a cover story in Chemical & Engineering News, an independent news outlet of the American Chemical Society.
Cars and trucks encounter a variety of weather and traffic conditions, so scientists and engineers give vehicle glass specific properties by fine-tuning the material's composition and manufacturing process, writes Senior Correspondent Mitch Jacoby. Adjusting the formulation or adding a metal film coating controls tint and color. During manufacturing, glassmakers carefully temper the material, so that if broken, the glass shatters into small, rounded chunks instead of dangerous, sharp shards. Laminated windshields are made of two layers of plate glass bonded with an interlayer film, typically polyvinyl butyral (PVB). The result is a tough, transparent material that resists shattering.
The same properties and manufacturing procedures that make windshields tough also make them difficult to recycle. Most container glass can be recycled repeatedly with no loss in quality, but broken windshields are often buried in landfills. However, some companies are developing new approaches to separating the materials in windshields, crushing the glass into small, recyclable pieces and purifying the PVB for reuse in adhesives and other industrial products. Experts predict that automotive glass manufacturing will continue to grow as more cars are produced each year, sparking a greater interest in innovating ways to recycle the useful materials, while keeping broken windshields out of landfills.
The article is freely availble here: https://cenm.ag/auto-glass.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world's scientific knowledge. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
