 
Saint-Gobain Officials Say Manufacturing
Research in Its Early Stages
April 24, 2012
by Sahely Mukerji, smukerji@glass.com
Jean-Marc Flesselles, department director and project manager of
the Glass Melting Department at Saint-Gobain in France, says that
the research
in glass manufacturing with X-ray microtomography is only in
its infant stages.
"The work
represents a significant scientific discovery,"
Flesselles says. "In particular, it teaches us that reactions
do take place in the solid phase at a much lower temperature than
was previously assumed. That means we have to reconsider the way
we understand the melting processes at play in industrial furnaces."
The group of scientists who conducted the research in France claimed
they might have discovered a way to produce high-quality glass at
lower temperatures. The group included scientists from Saint-Gobain.
"However, there are differences between the simple model glass
used in this experiment and real commercial glasses, that most probably
translate into differences into their melting behavior," Flesselles
says. "A direct transposition is obviously not possible and
it also does not address the technical issues related to an industrial
production process."
Better fundamental understanding will help produce high-quality
glass at a lower temperature, which in turn would have an influence
in terms of gas emissions from glass furnaces, Flesselles says.
"But this is not in any foreseeable term: we just are at the
beginning of a long-term research study with many stages before
success," he concludes.
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