Effect of Low-Carbon Glass Batch Formulations on Glass Melting Process and CO2 Emissions

doi:10.16552/j.cnki.issn1001-1625.2025.1124

Abstract

Abstract:

The glass melting process is characterized by high energy consumption and significant carbon emissions， mainly resulting from the decomposition of carbonates in raw materials and the combustion of fuels. To explore the feasibility of carbon reduction from the raw material perspective， four glass batch formulations with a fixed target oxide composition were designed in this paper， including a conventional batch， two low-carbon batches without carbonates， and a batch containing 50% （mass fraction） cullet. Thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimetry analysis combined with high-temperature melting experiments were conducted to investigate reaction heat， melting behavior， and CO₂ emissions. The results show that the greatest synergistic benefit of energy saving and carbon reduction achieves when calcium silicate is used to replace calcium carbonate in traditional raw materials， in conjunction with NaOH as an efficient fluxing agent， reducing the theoretical total heat consumption by about 21.1% and the total CO₂ emissions by 65.4% compared with the conventional batch. The incorporation of 50% cullet reduced the melting temperature by 50 ℃ compared with the conventional batch and achieved a 37.1% reduction in CO₂ emissions， though its potential is limited by residual carbonates. In contrast， replacing carbonates with silicates without the assistance of efficient fluxing agents result in a 34.7% increase in energy consumption due to the elevated melting temperature. This study demonstrates that replacing carbonates with silicates and employing NaOH as an efficient fluxing agent constitutes an effective source-side decarbonization pathway for the glass industry. By clarifying the melting temperature and energy consumption levels of low-carbon raw material systems， this work provides theoretical guidance for optimizing raw material formulations design and supports the development of low-carbon glass production processes.

Key words: glass melting, carbon emission, low-carbon material, heat consumption, cullet

CLC Number:

TQ171

LIU Chenyu, ZHANG Wenlu, LI Congyun, ZENG Jianhua, LI Luyao, HAN Jianjun, WANG Jing. Effect of Low-Carbon Glass Batch Formulations on Glass Melting Process and CO₂ Emissions[J]. BULLETIN OF THE CHINESE CERAMIC SOCIETY, 2026, 45(3): 1083-1093.

Figures/Tables 12

Table 1 Target oxide composition of glass

Oxide component	SiO₂	CaO	Al₂O₃	Na₂O	Li₂O
Mass fraction/%	73.9	7.6	2.6	15.8	0.2

Table 2 Mass fraction of raw material components in four batch formulations

Formulation No.	Mass/g	Mass fraction/%
Formulation No.	Mass/g	Na（AlSi₃O₈）	LiAl（Si₂O₆）	SiO₂	CaCO₃	CaSiO₃	Na₂CO₃	Li₂CO₃	Na₂SiO₃	NaOH	Cullet
Ⅰ	116.6	11.5	—	55.7	11.6	—	20.8	0.4	—	—	—
Ⅱ	104.2	10.0	2.0	55.0	—	15.0	—	—	—	18.0	—
Ⅲ	100.0	10.4	2.1	43.3	—	15.6	—	—	28.6	—	—
Ⅳ	107.5	5.7	—	27.8	5.8	—	10.5	0.2	—	—	50.0

Table 3 Experimental temperatures set of samples for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	Predicted melting temperature range/℃	Experimental set temperature/℃
Ⅰ	1 200~1 250	1 200， 1 225， 1 250
Ⅱ	1 200~1 250	1 200， 1 225， 1 250
Ⅲ	1 400~1 500	1 425， 1 450， 1 475
Ⅳ	1 150~1 200	1 175， 1 200， 1 225

Fig.1 TG-DSC curves of samples for four batch formulations

Table 4 Key peaks and peak areas derived from TG-DSC curves of samples for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	Peak	Peak temperature/℃	Onset temperature/℃	End temperature/℃	Peak area/（J·g^-1）
Ⅰ	a	132.3	112.5	147.0	-13.8
	b	573.8	569.2	578.6	-4.6
	c	685.9	618.1	710.7	-431.0
	d	815.9	806.5	828.6	-58.0
	e	844.6	838.9	850.9	-13.9
Ⅱ	a	92.8	40.7	136.7	-261.9
	b	268.8	254.7	283.5	-7.9
	c	424.7	390.1	440.2	-16.8
	d	573.5	569.2	579.3	-4.2
	e	914.9	898.9	936.3	15.9
Ⅲ	a	78.3	40.2	137.9	-189.4
	b	573.0	569.2	578.1	-4.4
	c	848.7	797.6	917.9	-68.8
	d	982.0	943.0	992.5	-41.9
	e	1 057.6	1 045.2	1 113.2	-66.9
Ⅳ	a	133.4	105.0	145.1	-17.1
	b	663.2	617.2	684.5	-105.9
	c	818.3	804.1	851.9	-233.6
	d	1 257.8	1 249.7	1 267.9	-15.8

Table 5 Reaction heat and initial liquid phase formation temperature of samples for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	Endothermic peak area/（J·g^-1）	Exothermic peak area/（J·g^-1）	$Q r x n$ /（J·g^-1）	$T L$ /℃
Ⅰ	521.3	0	521.3	850
Ⅱ	290.8	15.9	274.9	900
Ⅲ	371.4	0	371.4	1 000
Ⅳ	372.4	0	372.4	850

Table 5 Reaction heat and initial liquid phase formation temperature of samples for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	Endothermic peak area/（J·g^-1）	Exothermic peak area/（J·g^-1）	$Q r x n$ /（J·g^-1）	$T L$ /℃
Ⅰ	521.3	0	521.3	850
Ⅱ	290.8	15.9	274.9	900
Ⅲ	371.4	0	371.4	1 000
Ⅳ	372.4	0	372.4	850

Fig.2 Glass samples obtained from four batch formulations at three experimental temperatures

Fig.3 Glass sample obtained from formulation No.II at 1 500 ℃

Table 6 Theoretical total heat consumption of glass production process for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	$Q r x n$ /（J·g^-1）	$Q s o l i d$ /（J·g^-1）	$Q l i q u i d$ （J·g^-1）	$Q a l l$ /（J·g^-1）
Ⅰ	521.3	1 106.2	633.5	2 261.0
Ⅱ	274.9	1 048.5	460.7	1 784.1
Ⅲ	371.4	1 121.3	620.6	2 113.3
Ⅳ	372.4	1 019.9	509.9	1 902.2

Table 6 Theoretical total heat consumption of glass production process for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	$Q r x n$ /（J·g^-1）	$Q s o l i d$ /（J·g^-1）	$Q l i q u i d$ （J·g^-1）	$Q a l l$ /（J·g^-1）
Ⅰ	521.3	1 106.2	633.5	2 261.0
Ⅱ	274.9	1 048.5	460.7	1 784.1
Ⅲ	371.4	1 121.3	620.6	2 113.3
Ⅳ	372.4	1 019.9	509.9	1 902.2

Table 7 Carbon emission values produced by carbonate decomposition of four batch formulations

Formulation No.	Component	M/g	MF/%	EF/g	F/%	$E d e c o m p$ /g
Ⅰ	CaCO₃	13.5	99	44/100	100	5.9
	Na₂CO₃	24.3	99	44/106	100	10.0
	Li₂CO₃	0.4	99	44/74	100	0.2
	Total	—	—	—	—	16.1
Ⅱ	—	—	—	—	—	0
Ⅲ	—	—	—	—	—	0
Ⅳ	CaCO₃	6.2	99	44/100	100	2.7
	Na₂CO₃	11.2	99	44/106	100	4.6
	Li₂CO₃	0.2	99	44/74	100	0.1
	Total	—	—	—	—	7.4

Table 7 Carbon emission values produced by carbonate decomposition of four batch formulations

Formulation No.	Component	M/g	MF/%	EF/g	F/%	$E d e c o m p$ /g
Ⅰ	CaCO₃	13.5	99	44/100	100	5.9
	Na₂CO₃	24.3	99	44/106	100	10.0
	Li₂CO₃	0.4	99	44/74	100	0.2
	Total	—	—	—	—	16.1
Ⅱ	—	—	—	—	—	0
Ⅲ	—	—	—	—	—	0
Ⅳ	CaCO₃	6.2	99	44/100	100	2.7
	Na₂CO₃	11.2	99	44/106	100	4.6
	Li₂CO₃	0.2	99	44/74	100	0.1
	Total	—	—	—	—	7.4

Table 8 Carbon emission values produced by fuel combustion

Formulation No.	CC/（g·J^-1）	OF/%	EF $f$ /（g·J^-1）	AD/J	$E c o m b$ /g
Ⅰ	15.3×10^-6	99	55.5×10^-6	226 103.9	12.5
Ⅱ				178 406.3	9.9
Ⅲ				211 325.9	11.7
Ⅳ				190 216.0	10.6

Table 8 Carbon emission values produced by fuel combustion

Formulation No.	CC/（g·J^-1）	OF/%	EF $f$ /（g·J^-1）	AD/J	$E c o m b$ /g
Ⅰ	15.3×10^-6	99	55.5×10^-6	226 103.9	12.5
Ⅱ				178 406.3	9.9
Ⅲ				211 325.9	11.7
Ⅳ				190 216.0	10.6

Table 9 Total carbon emission amount and differences in glass production process for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	$E d e c o m p$ /g	$E c o m b$ /g	$E t o t a l$ /g	Reduction vs. No. I/%
Ⅰ	16.1	12.5	28.6	0
Ⅱ	0	9.9	9.9	65.4
Ⅲ	0	11.7	11.7	59.1
Ⅳ	7.4	10.6	18.0	37.1

Table 9 Total carbon emission amount and differences in glass production process for four batch formulations

Formulation No.	$E d e c o m p$ /g	$E c o m b$ /g	$E t o t a l$ /g	Reduction vs. No. I/%
Ⅰ	16.1	12.5	28.6	0
Ⅱ	0	9.9	9.9	65.4
Ⅲ	0	11.7	11.7	59.1
Ⅳ	7.4	10.6	18.0	37.1

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Effect of Low-Carbon Glass Batch Formulations on Glass Melting Process and CO₂ Emissions

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