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Glass

Kay Tam Professor Raquel R. Pinderhughes Urban Studies Program Race, Poverty and the Environmental San Francisco State University Spring 2003

Introduction
This presentation focuses on glass. It is designed to interpret the potential impacts of the processes associated with glass. It takes you through the cradle to grave lifecycle of glass, paying particular attention to the social, environmental and public health impacts of these processes.

Presentation organization
1) We start by looking at the natural resources for making glass. 2) We then go to the glass making processes and its utilization. 3) This is followed by the disposal of glass waste. 4) I will analyze the social, environmental and health impacts associated with each processes throughout my presentation. 5) Lastly, I will talk about the importance of environmental justice in the life cycle of glass and discuss with you how can we address the problems.

Now, we start by looking at the natural resources for making glass.


Distribution of natural resources Formation Purposes for utilization Extraction process Environmental and Social effects of extraction process

Natural Resources
Silica sand 72% Soda Ash 17% Lime 5%
Percentage of Ingredients in Glass

17%
72%
5% 6%
silica sand soda ash lime other ingredients

Silica Sand

Silica Sand
Three of most common rock forming minerals on earth Chemically named: quartz sand / rock crystal Properties:
Extremely heat durable Chemical stack resistance

Formation of Silica Sand


Naturally:
Mechanical & chemical weathering of quartzbearing igneous & metamorphic rocks

Chemically weathering:
Less stable minerals
break down to become silica sand

More stable minerals


release to environment
Carry by wind / wave Sort by wave & stream action to form pure silica sand

Location & Integration of Silica Sand


It is found below thin layers of overburden & soil as unconsolidated deposits It is abundant resource on earth crusts (44%) and occur throughout the world. Best known place in U.S.:
NE of town of Hudson Bay along the Red Deer River

World resources of Silica Sand


Silica sand resources is abundant on the world. Its extraction is limited by
geographic distribution quality requirements for some uses environmental restrictions

Extraction of theses resources is dependent on whether it is economic and are controlled by the location of population centers

Fig. 1
http://minerals.er.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silica/780397.pdf

Purposes for the Utilize of Silica Sand


History:
Glass making & metallurgical activities few thousands years BC ago Key raw material in ceramics, foundry & glass industrial revolution

Today:
Glass making, foundry casting, ceramics, filtration, specialist building applications, leisure ( e.g. golf course), filters in numerous products, plastics, the manufacture of chemicals, metal & refractory, as addictives in horticultural & agricultural products & simulating oil production

Purposes for the Utilize of Silica Sand Cont


Important for todays information technology:
Raw material for silicon chips Plastics of computer mouses

Which communities depend on silica sand?


Every communities depend upon it for different purposes Especially important for developing & developed countries:
For further technological improvement & development

Extraction of Silicon Sand


1. Stripping of overburden (topsoil & vegetation) by bulldozers & scraper 2. Wet separation by washing the sand, passing through screens to remove roots & other organic matter 3. Gravity separation to separate silica sand from regular sand 4. Finished silica sand is transported by trucks to plants for processing 5. Oversized materials & residual clay are returned to mined pits

Soda Ash

Soda Ash
Anhydrous sodium carbonate Texture: soft Color: grayish & white Appearance: lump / powder in nature

Formation of Soda Ash


Naturally:
Erosion of igneous rock form sodium deposits Transport by waters as runoffs & collect in basins When sodium comes in contact w/ CO2, precipitates out sodium carbonate

Location & Integration of Soda Ash


Integrated as sodium rich waters (brines) / extensive beds of trona interbedded w/ sodium minerals Large soda ash deposits: U.S, Mexico, Canada, Kenya, Botswana, Uganda, Peru, Germany, India, Egypt, S. Africa & Turkey Worlds largest trona deposit: Green River Basin of Wyoming estimate to have 47 billion tons of soda ash

U.S. soda ash deposits


Owens Lake & Searles Lake
Estimates to have 815 million of soda ash

Worlds largest trona deposit

Fig.2
www.ansac.com/100_our_story/ 103_supply.asp

Trona Deposits of California

Fig.3

Owens Lake
Fig.4

Trona mine at Searles Lake

Purposes for the Utilize of Soda Ash


History:
Early Egypt: make glass & soap Early Roman: make glass, bread & pharmaceuticals (medicine) purpose to cure choric & skin rashes

Purposes for the Utilize of Soda Ash Cont


Important merchandise for U.S.:
Glass manufacture (49%) Chemical production (27%) Mineral processing in mining Pulp & Paper manufacturing Sodium compounds manufacturing Soap & detergents (11%) Water treatment (2%) Textile processing Glass fiber manufacture Cleaning preparations Petroleum refining Metallurgical refining Removal of sulfur from smokestack emissions (3%) Distributors (5%) Metal refining

Export of Soda Ash of American


According to the U.S Geological Survey, Americas soda Ash production is approximately 11.5 million tons/ year, of which 4.5 million tons are exported

Asia

Fig. 5
www.isonex.com/glass_article_5-97.pdf

Extraction of Soda Ash


Quarrying of trona bed that contain sodium Human 1st recorded extraction of soda ash ocurred during discovery of Wyoming trona deposit Could be manufactured synthetically through Solvary process by using salt, ammonia & limestone

The Solvay process for the manufacture of Soda Ash (NaHCO3).

Fig.6
cwx.prenhall.com/petrucci/medialib/ media_portfolio/22.html

Lime

Lime
Include hydrated lime & quicklime Only quicklime can use to make glass

Location & Integration of Lime


Underneath the topsoil , ach, & siltstone Associated in:
Limestone Marine organisms on seabed e.g. seashells

Location of rich Limestone deposit in the world:


North & South Islands of New Zealand

www.med.govt.nz/crown_minerals/ minerals/gnsmaps

Export of Lime
56 % of lime in U.S. is produced at companies in Alabama, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania (about 11.5 millions tons annually Other nations producing lime for export: Canada, Mexico, China, France, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Formation of Lime
Marine organisms dissolve CO2 & extract Calcium from seawater to from calcium carbonate Buried under sediments of seabed after death Limestone formed under heat & pressure on the remains of marine organisms

limestone

Purposes for the Utilize of Lime


Historical Use: Ancient Egyptian civilization used lime to make plaster and mortar. Nowadays: Use extensively for: glass making, the pulp & paper industry & steel mills Other uses: municipal & industrial water / wastewater treatment, as an addictive for road stabilization & construction projects In U.S., more than 90 % of lime production is for chemical and industrial uses

Extraction of Lime
Quarry of limestone at trona bed Then, transported to crush plants by trucks / rail Undergo Calcination process:
heating limestone or chalk (Ca3CO2) in kiln till 900 degree celsius CO2 is emitted in this process and calcium oxide (lime) is produced.
Processed Lime

Initial extraction process

Blocks Ready to Saw

Chopped into Blocks

Transport to processing factories by truck

Calcination Process

Effects pose by the Extraction of Mineral Sites for making glass


Location of mineral sites: mostly located in developing /undeveloped countries near poor communities Results in social & environmental impacts

Environmental Impacts
Extraction may remain large amount of rubbish on the extracted sites, causing serious environmental pollution and degradation
Fig, 9 Fig. 8

Environmental impacts
Nordik Mine Site in 1995
Fig. 10

Water Contamination:
Blasting & digging during extraction process produce wastes & easily get into the water as runoff In waste disposal activities, systems direct waste into rivers & tributaries Inadequate rehabilitation of disturbed areas remain wastes behind the sites
Photo taken by Kira Henschel at Wisconsin mining site at May, 1995

Nordik Mine Drainage Downstream from Tailings in 1995

Contaminated water of mining site being pumped to a Lake

Environmental impacts cont:


Soil disturbance:
stripping of the overburden will loosen the soil & cause soil erosion loss of water in soil through evaporation

Loss of nutrient & minerals in soil:


Wet separation process in the manufacturing process of silica sand will wash away minerals and nutrients in soil, that is important for vegetation growth, e.g. lack of magnesium for plant in soil will result in chronic

Environment disruption resulted from mineral extraction process


Mineral & sand mining occurred on land has cleared pasture

Fig.11
www.cablesands.com.au/cswa/ company-profile.asp

Social Impacts from extraction process:


Contamination of ground water for nearby communities:
Runoffs from extraction sites contaminate the water & may transport to nearby communities Dinking water & agricultural resources is polluted

Disease:
Communities may get diseases through consuming the contaminated water / seafood New diseases may be introduced to communities through mine workers from communities far away

Social Impacts from extraction process cont


Fodder, fuel wood and glazing communities:
These businesses being affected due to environmental pollution e.g. water & soil

Agricultural communities:
Water for irrigation is being contaminated, loss of water resources for drainage Plants & crops die and cattle may get disease

Local communities and villages:


Loss in food security for self-supply communities

Disruption of local economics system:


Communities nearby cannot depend on their land for production for export and economics benefits e.g. case of limestone mining in Uttaranchal Contamination sites requires large capital for rehabilitation May require communities living around the extraction sites to pay for rehabilitation Taxpayers may also need to pay for part of the rehabilitation program of disturbed sites

Transportation of natural resources for glass manufacturing plant:


Development of transportation systems, building of roads and extension of transportation network Allow natural resources to transport to plants further away from sites than in the past Places nearby: trucks or railways Places far away: ship Benefit: Help developing the transportation in some area No significant side effects pose to the environment & communities

Distribution of minerals to the locations


Most of the removed ore are transported away from their mine and distributed to their processing plants by trucks.

After discussing the effects of extraction process for making glass, we will talk about the Manufacturing Process of Glass

Glass making historical development Todays glass making process Impacts of glass manufacturing process

Development of Glass Making


First automated bottle machine was created in 1905 Nowadays, most of the glass containers are manufactured by technological machines at large, automated factories & control by computers
cheaper and better in quality
A Float glass Plant

Historical Glass Manufacturing process:


Historical method: heating and blowing shape the glass products by hand requires high skills & is time consuming
therefore using glass is considered as luxury in our old world

Todays Glass Manufacturing Process:


1. Silica sand, limestone, soda ash and cullet (recycled glass or broken glass) are keep dry and cool in a batcher house in silos or compartments Mixing and weighting into proper proportion Send to furnaces in hoppers
operated by natural gas heat the mixture at 13001600 degrees Celsius into soften or molten state

2. 3.

Fig.12
www.glassforever.co.uk/howisglassmade/

4. 5.

Molding --- molten glass flows to forming machine


to mold into desire shapes

Annealing lehrs --- reheating the glass in an oven


to ensure even cooling of glass for strengthening of the products

6.
7.

Cooling process --- Cool for 30 min to an hour for


safe to handle. Glass products are then decorated, inspected again and finally packaged and shipped to our customers.
glass furnace cooling systems

Effects from glass manufacturing process


Workers:
Dangerous & harmful to workers if breakage occurs while glass holds heated or corrosive, can result in serious injuries Glass making process occurs at high temperature Glass can broke easily under pressure, impact or thermal shock Prevention: wear protective clothing and gloves to prevent those injuries

Environmental impact
Environmental degradation: Air pollution:
raw materials used for glass making decompose at furnaces produce large volume of gas such as carbon dioxide combustion of gas for energy production release large amount of pollutant gases, such as sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen

Green house effect:


green house gases release from the plants increase global temperature and can form acid rain

Environmental Impact
Aquatic Life
Hot water is released during glass making process increase water temperature and dissolve oxygen in water change aquatic habitat and threaten aquatic life

Social Impact
Human Health
Breathing in air pollutants release by the glass manufacturing plant can result in serious health impact E.g. respiratory or lung diseases

Economy
Affect fishing and recreational businesses due to changes in aquatic habitat

Then, we will now go to the Utilization of Glass

History of glass How is the utilization of glass importance for communities? Global marketing and consumption status of glass The impacts of glass products

History of Human Using Glass:


People have used glass dating back to 5000 B.C Ancient Egypt: earliest use of glass, for royalty and priest as luxuries Usually use as containers or for decoration purposes in human history

Utilization of Glass is important for Human Development:


Important for historical and modern human development:
Prism and lenses: to study light, important to further induce science theories. E.g. Issac Newton used glass prism and lenses to explain the color spectrum of light in 1672 Magnifying glass: for astronomy study, without glass, we are not able to observe stars and planets in space clearly Glasses: make lenses in spectacles that helped people to overcome sight defect Main components in many new and advance technology devices: major components of most modern communications systems, fiber optics systems, is also depend on the transmission of light through glass filaments

Different type of glass:


practical glass industrial glass inspiration glass glass of science and medicine

Examples of todays glass products:


Containers (jars and
bottles) Flat glass (windows, vehicle glazing, mirrors, etc.) Lighting glass (fluorescent tubes, light bulbs, etc.) Tableware (drinking glasses, bowls, lead crystal, etc.)

Laboratory equipments

(test tubes, cylinders, measuring flasks, etc.) TV tubes and screens Decorative glass Fiberglass Optical glass Vacuum flasks

Distribution process of glass products


Glass product is distributed to different consumers hand through trading:
by commercial businesses according to the demands of people all over the world

Consumption of Glass
Three largest consumers:
1. glass packaging (43%) 2. domestic commodities 3. construction industry

Fig. 13

National Glass Usage


http://www.bisnis.doc.gov/bisnis/country/000727glass_samara.htm

Export & Import of Glass


Largest Importer of past decades: Europe and Australia Today largest Importer : U.S. China and Indonesia has increased their import of glass dramatically

Glass Industries
The World Glass Industry has a gross production value totaling $82.3 billion

Fig. 14
www.icem.org/events/ bled/matdocen.htm

Glass Consumption in Europe


Europe is one of the large importer of glass. Through observing the consumption pattern of glass in different countries of Europe, we can get an image of how large is the human consumption of glass is:
Average glass consumption in kilo/annum 1990-1995/capita in different countries

Fig. 15

waste.eionet.eu.int/activities/0000219.html

When considering the whole EU, projections suggest that glass consumption will increase between 24 and 53% up to the year 2010, using the year 1995 as a base year (European Topic Centre on Waste, 1998).

Consumption of glass in Europe cont


European Topic Center of 1998 suggested that the average increase in glass consumption for the EU and Norway during 1990 to 1996 has been increased by 13.6% It is predicted that the average increase in glass consumption for the EU and Norway during 1990 to 1996 has been increased by 13.6% We can see that the demand of glass in our society never decreases and the consumption of glass increases every year

Impacts result in consumption process of glass


Characteristics of glass:
Non-biodegradable (remains in our environment and do not decompose easily by itself ) Durable & long lasting

Therefore, do not have significant environmental & social impact during consuming process But could result in serious impact after disposal

Fig. 16
waste.eionet.eu.int/activities/0000219.html

While recycling has increased by almost 50% from 5 million to 7,4 million tonnes per year, the amount of waste glass for disposal has only decreased by 12 % (6,7 million to 5,9 million tones) due to the simultaneous increase in waste glass.

Finally, we will discuss the Disposal of Glass

Glass Waste
Most of glass waste is generated from glass packaging Glass waste generated from packing is among the top forth in the world.

Fig. 17

Waste (mPEMwdk2000 per kg of packaging


http://www.mst.dk/project/NyViden/2000/08030000.htm

How is glass waste treated?


Landfill Recycle Vitrification

Landfill
If people dump useless glass into the garbage and mix it with other rubbish, it will be treated as regular waste Regular waste will then dump into waste dumping site or use for landfill Glass waste will finally break down and decay into sand form naturally under erosion or weathering and once again return to our ecosystem.

Effects result from landfill


Environmental impact:
Raise of sea level
drown lowland areas

Leachate Landfill gas formation

Example: Landfill at Seoul


The Sudokwon landfill site at Seoul (S. Korea) covers 20,749,000 square meters
Construction of the Sudokwon Landfill at Seoul

Large area of sea is filled by land


Fig. 18
smg.metro.seoul.kr:9000/ waste/part4.html

Statistic of Sudokwon landfill


Leachate:
2,697m3/day(before soil covering) 866m3/day(after soil covering)

Landfill gas:
167m3/minute (in 2001)

Fig. 19
smg.metro.seoul.kr:9000/ waste/part4.html

Social impact from Landfill of glass waste


Huge amount of glass waste produce by human increases the need of land to get rid of the use up precious landfill space, decreasing possible areas that can be used for landfills of other waste, increasing the need to establish new expensive landfills Leachates & gas releases from the landfill site degrade communities living condition & harmful to human health. Taxpayers are responsible for the final costs of landfill
Seoul City invested 37.3 billion and central government 15 billion in their landfill project.

Migration of population from lowland areas due to raise of sea level

Recycling of Glass
Recycle of glass is mostly used for packaging Recycle process

Myths of Recycling Glass


Refillable bottles require more energy to make as they are about 50% heavier than non-refillable bottles to prevent breakage, and to transport them over long distances to sparsely located processing facilities. Since the raw materials of glass are abundant and cheap, recycling glass only consumes and wastes the more valuable non-renewable fossil fuels (Warmer Bulletin November, 1993) It takes more energy to collect and recycle glass into another bottle than to make one from raw materials. However, the energy requirement to produce a refillable bottle will decrease with the number of returnable trips, and an eight-trip bottle can reduce the energy requirement by about two-thirds compared to a non-returnable bottle (Porteous, 1977)

Effects of recycling glass


Environmental impact: release from the recycling plant Air pollution: air pollutants may Social impact: location of most recycling plants are built within lowincome neighborhoods because of cheap labor and less strict regulation Health impact: may affect respiratory system if breath in pollutants
Case: Local residents at Mercedes Arumbula claimed that the neighborhood and kids have developed asthma once the plant was built in their community

Virtification
Definition: a new technology
has been discovered to use recycle glass for radioactive waste management

Process:
melt glass together with radioactive waste in barrels or some other container glass will then bind up with radioactive contamination into a huge glass block radioactive waste is bond by the glass and become immobilized keep radioactive waste from interacting with water, stop spreading the waste

Fig. 20
www.vitrification.com/ vitrification.htm

Good & Bad of Virtification


Benefit of virtication:
Prevent radioactive waste pollution Minimize the amount of glass waste produced Increase the efficiency of glass use (to stabilize hazardous waste) High volume reduction of waste Landfill space can be saved
Volume percent of vitrified product compared to the original waste volume

Fig. 21

Negative impacts of vitrification:


virtrified glass will finally decay after years and radioactive materials will have chance to get into our environment and cause serious problem High cost:
vitrification costs may range from $80 to $165 per ton of soil processed for a facility processing 100 tons per day.

So, why is the life cycle of glass important for environmental justice?

Environmental Justice
Through studying life cycle of glass can help to raise the social awareness of the importance of environmental justice: Social & Environmental impact result from:
Extraction of raw material for glass manufacturing Glass manufacturing process Glass consumption process Disposal of glass waste

How are communities affected by these impacts?


Why are this happening? How are they being affected? Who are being affected?

Disproportional distribution between marginalize population in our society


Color, race & social class

What is our priority?


Our good life & terrible situation experienced by disadvantage communities

Disproportional distribution between marginalize population

Why are there disproportional distribution?


environmental and social decisions are based on unequal consideration among communities that result in certain communities experiencing more serious environmental and social problems

How are communities being affected?


Different communities may experience disproportional distribution of consumption pattern, environmental pollution and inequalities legistration

Who are making benefit?


Most of the glass consumers are the middle or high class of the society Big money enterprises such as industries, large corporations and government are gaining economics benefit through trading of glass

Who are facing the problem?


Most of the people living at the affected communities are less educated and always alienate from political power because of their own abilities (such as language or dont know where to appeal for it), and also some social and economic reasons Communities usually experience less strict legislations and sometimes may experience unequal legal More likely locate near colored races & low-income class, far less to be seen in rich or highly educated communities

How to address the problem?


Big money enterprises and power authorities: Incorporate environmental justice into decision-making process Correct the attitudes of the big money enterprises and power authorities:
Every community has the right to enjoy and live in a safe and enjoyable environment Should respect the human right of disadvantage communities, should not gain advantages over the weak ones

Encourage forces help the disadvantage communities to solve and minimize the social and environmental problems

How to address the problem cont:


Government:
legal legislations are needed to protect the weak ones Legislation should be made fairly that all race, class and communities are considered at the same level in the legislation under the principle of environmental justice in order to protect the right of every race and community Develop infrastructure to ensure community can have safe place for the increasing colonial activity E.g. Infrastructure that have sufficient drainage & sanitary system

Consumers:
Control their materialistic desire & be more considerate for other communities who are facing the problems, think in a more globally way Cut down unnecessary consumption:
save raw materials and lands for future & next generations, decrease environmental pollution and social impact

Global Change
The whole world need to be changed ! Cost benefit analysis need to be replaced by cultural precautionary principle
Shift in the way that we make decisions (e.g. when deciding where to place the waste site) Take every communities into consideration when making decisions Consider if the situation is safe for every community in decision-making process

Change in the way that individual consider as good life


Colonialism is unacceptable Consider good life globally, but not individual good life

References
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Bolen, W. P. (1997, February). Sand and Gravel. U.S. Geological Survey. Mineral Commodity Summaries. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from http://minerals.er.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silica/780397.pdf ANSAC. (2002).California Soda Ash Deposits. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from www.ansac.com/100_our_story/ 103_supply.asp Philips, T. Bishopwebworks. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ lms/owenslake.htm Keith, John. Mineral Resource in Dessert. 10/29/97. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from pubs.usgs.gov/gip/ deserts/minerals/ Aitala, R. & Aitala, M. (1997, June).Soda Ash in the USA. Glass International. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from www.isonex.com/glass_article_5-97.pdf Petruccl, R. H. (2002). The Solvay process for the manufacture of NaHCO3. A Pearson Company. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from cwx.prenhall.com/petrucci/medialib/ media_portfolio/22.html Economic Development. (2001, Aug 21). New Zealand aggregate sources. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from www.med.govt.nz/crown_minerals/ minerals/gnsmaps Henschel, Kira & Alsom, Rio. (May, 1995). Mining Impact Coalition of Wisconsin Inc. Retrieved 05/19/2003, from www.miningimpacts.net/ micpic3.html Ibt Ibt Cable Sands & RZM. www.cablesands.com.au/cswa/ company-profile.asp RockWare Glass. How is Glass Made? www.glassforever.co.uk/howisglassmade/ Merkuova, E. (2000). National Glass Usage. Administration of Samara Region investment promotion group. http://www.bisnis.doc.gov/bisnis/country/000727glass_samara.htm Bled, S. (2001, June 20-22). International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers Union. www.icem.org/events/ bled/matdocen.htm Brodersen, J. & Jacobsen, H. (2003, March 9). European Topic Center on Waste and Material Flows. waste.eionet.eu.int/activities/0000219.html Ibt http://www.mst.dk/project/NyViden/2000/08030000.htm The citizens committee for green Seoul. Construction of the Sudokwon Landfill. smg.metro.seoul.kr:9000/ waste/part4.html Ibt Vitrification International Technologies, Inc. (2002, March, 3).Schematic of waste vitrification transformations. www.vitrification.com/ vitrification.htm Ibt

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