The characteristics of LionGlass, ten times more resistant glass, respond to requests from various sectors from bottles to window frames
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University led by Professor John Mauro have created a glass ten times more resistant than classic glass. The real innovation would be in the energy saving obtained thanks to the use of innovative materials by not using sodium carbonate or limestone for its processing, both materials release a considerable quantity of carbon dioxide when heated together with the quartz sand and the use of high temperatures. The new glass would be made thanks to production temperatures lower than the 300 – 400 degrees which are usual today. The new materials used to create this super glass called LionGlass have not yet been disclosed, the team has recently started the paperwork for the patent application. The creation process was developed to be adopted by existing glass production plants. The great resistance of this glass is the result of the chemical composition used and not an addition of post-production processes.
The features of LionGlass respond to requests from different sectors from bottles to fixtures. Double or triple glass windows could take advantage of this new technology by using much thinner sheets making the final product lighter and more resistant. The demand for new materials comes from solar panel manufacturers who are looking for resistant and lightweight glass. At the moment the only major obstacle for this glass seems to be high temperatures, the researchers themselves do not consider it suitable for use on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The technological glass sector, for its part, is implementing research to reduce the production of CO2. Last November, the Corning company, former employer of Professor Mauro, released the Victus 2 Gorilla Glass certified product deriving from recycled glass onto the market.
