Glass environmental impact

In the past decades, polymer materials have been continuously replacing more traditional materials such as paper, metal, glass, stone, wood, natural fibres and natural rubber in the fields of clothing industry, E E components, automotive materials, aeronautics, leisure, food packaging, sports goods, etc. Without the existence of suitable polymer materials progress in many of these areas would have been limited. Polymer materials are appreciated for their chemical, physical and economical qualities including low production cost, safety aspects and low environmental impact (cf. life-cycle analysis). 

In this study the environmental impacts are calculated for the use of 1 m2 cushion vinyl floor covering, with a lifetime of 15 years (in LCA terms called the functional unit). Figure 1 shows the process flowchart for the production, use and waste disposal of a cushion vinyl floor covering. Cushioned flooring is produced by spread coating. The glass fibre is used as a substrate. Several layers, each with its... 

Kopperman HL, Keuhl DW, Glass GE. 1978. Chlorinated compounds found in waste treatment effluents and their capacity to bioaccumulate. In Jolley RL, ed. Water chlorination Environmental impact and health effects. Volume 1. Aim Arbor, MI Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Inc., 311-328. 

Process design the CER does include examples of products that offer enhanced enviromental protection (e.g. Intercept insulating glass), and the use of processes resulting in reduced environmental impact (e.g. an oxygen-fed furnace at Fresno). 

Here, we can see the limitations of this criterion, which corresponds to the environmental impact expressed in relation to the mass of material, whereas the environmental impact should be expressed in relation to the functional unit determined by the lifecycle assessment (LCA) - namely the amount of liquid conditioned [ASH 09], By using plastic, we are able to condition the same amount of liquid with a mass of material up to 10 times less than glass [POT 98]. This property considerably reduces CO2 emissions during transport of the hquids. 

The application of water glass sand as a binder has a low environmental impact, compared to the application of organic binders. This technique allows the (partial) regeneration of the water glass bonded sand and thus reduces the need for used sand disposal and primary raw material... 

The study showed that the total energy consumption and the total emissions would be lower for the plastic bag than for the glass bottle. Transports constitutes a large part of the environmental impact the greater environmental impact associated with the glass bottle is thus a consequence of its higher weight. 

It should be noted, however, that the thermal and mechanical properties of vegetable fiber reinforced polymer composites are notoriously lower than those of similar composites reinforced with synthetic fibers (e.g., carbon, glass, aramid) [1, 2,12]. The above-mentioned techniques, i.e., fiber drying and surface treatment or the addition of a compatibilizer, are mostly not enough to adjust the properties of vegetable fiber reinforced polymers to the desired level. Moreover, even though these treatments enhance adhesion, there is some controversy in the literature about their effect on the mechanical properties of the fiber itself and even when a more pronoxmced gain is noticed after treatment, the improvement for the composite is often within the scatter of the results. In addition, the cost and environmental impact of some of these treatments, especially of those more elaborated, often prevent their industrial scale applications. 

Trials are therefore an essential precursor to selection of the cleaning method. Dry blasting with fine glass beads produces a polished surface with minimal environmental impact. However, care needs to be taken with injection gates, vacuum ports and sprues, since they can become easily blocked or not be cleaned at all ... 

Environmental impact data for some materials of different densities including glass fibers, natural fibers, polymers, and composites are compiled from Refs [26-28] and are listed in Table 7.7. It is dear that the type of the polymer matrix would be the controlling factor for the environmental impact of composites based on either natural fibers or glass fibers. Data from Ref. [26] suggest that pallets made of natural fiber/PP are environmentally superior to similar pallets made from glass fiber/PP. However,... 

---