LionGlass is 10 times shatterproof compared to ordinary glass. (Photo: Crast.net)
JAKARTA – Researchers from Penn State University discovered a shatterproof and energy efficient glass formula. They are now applying for a patent for this innovative invention, naming it LionGlass. This name is inspired by the campus mascot.
The research team has reported that the new glass consumes about 30% less energy than traditional glass production. This glass is also claimed to only release half the carbon pollution that contributes to global warming.
LionGlass is thought to be 10 times shatterproof compared to ordinary glass. Although the limit of its strength cannot yet be known, because the test cannot measure it.
“We continue to add weight to LionGlass until we reach the maximum load that the device can produce,” said team member Nick Clark, quoted by Crast.net, Wednesday (20/9/2023).
The researchers’ secret lies in a gas code that has trapped the heat released by glass production. Although glass production accounts for only 0.3% of all the heat-trapping carbon released worldwide, the amount amounts to about 95 million tons annually, according to a paper in the Journal of Industrial Ecology.
The Environmental Protection Agency says this amount is equivalent to the heat-trapping pollution in more than 19 million gas-powered vehicles driven in a year. Whereas glass conventionally applies extreme heat to a mixture of three materials, namely quartz sand, soda ash and limestone.
According to Glass International, the melting temperature of ordinary glass exceeds 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. Heating these materials is responsible for most of the energy use and pollution of the process, although the chemical reactions involved can also cause pollution.
This LionGlass has a different set of input materials, with a melting temperature as low as 720 degrees Fahrenheit. This can reduce energy consumption by about a third. The raw material can also have small amounts of carbon.
2023-09-20 05:25:11
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