Many exquisite glass products have been unearthed in the Western Regions of ancient China, dating back about 2,000 years, and the oldest glass products in the world are 4,000 years old. According to archaeologists, the glass bottle is the best preserved artefact in the world, and it does not corrode easily. Chemists say that glass is the twin sister of sand, and as long as the sand is on the earth, the glass is on the earth.
No matter can corrode a glass bottle, it does not mean that the glass bottle is invincible in nature. Although it cannot be destroyed chemically, it can be physically “destroyed”. The wind and water of nature are its biggest nemesis.
In Fort Bragg, California, United States, there is a colorful beach. When you walk in, you can see that it is composed of countless colorful balls. These pellets are not rocks in nature, but glass bottles that people discard. In the 1950s, it was used as a garbage disposal plant for discarded glass bottles, and then the disposal plant closed, leaving tens of thousands of glass bottles left behind, just after 60 years, they were polished by the ocean waters of the Pacific Ocean smooth and round.
In another 100 years or so, the colorful glass sand beach will disappear, scientists say. Because the sea water and the sea breeze rub the surface of the glass, over time, the glass is scraped off in the form of particles, and then brought into the sea by the sea water, and finally sinks to the bottom of the sea.
The dazzling beach brings us not only visual enjoyment, but also leads to thinking about how to recycle glass products.
In order to prevent glass waste from polluting the environment, we generally take recycling methods. Like recycled scrap iron, recycled glass is put back into the furnace to be melted again. Since glass is a mixture and has no fixed melting point, the furnace is set to different temperature gradients, and each section will melt glass of different compositions and separate them. On the way, unwanted impurities can also be removed by adding other chemicals.
The recycling of glass products in my country started late, and the utilization rate is about 13%, lagging behind developed countries in Europe and the United States. The relevant industries in the above-mentioned countries have become mature, and the recycling technology and standards are worthy of reference and learning in my country.
Post time: May-12-2022