Greener Glass

SaMI’s blast furnace development with Ciner Glass shows promising results for glass industry.

Across the university sector in Wales, we are excited at Ciner Glass’ plans to build a glass bottle manufacturing facility in Blaenau Gwent. The project promises to support both the local and national economy, bringing employment and supply chain opportunities for years to come.

Manufacturing industry vital in regional economy

With a proud industrial heritage, manufacturing plays a vital part in supporting the regional economy in South Wales, but we need to ensure we are taking every step that we can to reduce the level of emissions in industry.

As Ciner Glass joins the industrial landscape in South Wales, we were keen to explore opportunities with the company. They share our ambition around decarbonisation. We knew we could help the company achieve this by supporting with product and process development.

Steel expertise supporting glass research

We have been in conversation with Ciner Glass over the past year on how we can support them with product and process development and decarbonisation.

We are focused on researching sustainable solutions for the steel industry to help contribute towards a circular economy. This includes using waste material of recycled products that already exist within the supply chain.

We were therefore keen to develop this research with Ciner Glass.

Energy saving and environmental benefits

We made a £30,000 investment as part of our research, purchasing a furnace which is capable of high temperature melting of glass and materials such as Calumite – a waste product from heavy steel industry which can offer energy saving and environmental benefits to glass producers.

SaMI has melted this material in the new furnace with very encouraging results in terms of producing a glass from a waste industrial product.

We aim to expand this research with the support of Ciner Glass to optimise the way in which these products are produced to develop a quality glass whilst supporting the circular economy.

Future partnership looking at sustainable methods

We are committed to supporting Ciner Glass and hope to cultivate and develop our collaboration in the years ahead, ensuring that once built, the plant continues to adopt the latest technologies to produce a high-quality product through sustainable methods.

With a focus on resource efficiency and closing the loop wherever possible, we can simultaneously help the steel industry minimise its impact on natural resources, conserve energy, decrease waste generation and thereby reduce its overall environmental impact.

Collaborating with industry for a greener future

Collaborative efforts among local stakeholders within industry and supply chains are vital for establishing a robust circular economy framework.

We believe that through collaboration, adopting innovative technologies, optimising processes, and prioritising circularity, we can pave the way for a greener future.

Contributor Dr Barrie Goode

September 2023