Abstract

Conversion of Waste Glasses into Sodium Silicate Solutions

Author(s): M. Keawthun, S. Krachodnok and A. Chaisena

In this study, hydrothermal and fusion methods used to prepare sodium silicate solution from waste glasses. Three different color of waste glasses (white, green and brown), the waste products of municipal and industry are rich in amorphous silica was used to produce sodium silicate solution. The best condition for sodium silicate solution production was reacted waste bottle glass reaction with 90 wt. % NaOH at 650oC for 60 min. The chemical compositions of liquid products were analyzed by standard TIS 433-1996 method. The results indicated that under favorable conditions, liquid sodium silicate with having Na2O/SiO2 molar ratio of about 1 : 5 can be produced by this method. The silicate solution contains 0.01-0.05 wt./v% of iron and 0.00-0.01 wt./v% of sulfate as impurity. The process established in the present study was found to have a potential applicability as a recycling process of waste glasses.