Preparation blue glasses from scraps of soft drink bottle

Abstract

This research aims to develop blue glass from soda bottle waste using microwave technology. The elemental composition of the soda bottle waste was analyzed using an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer. The analysis revealed a high SiO2 content in the soda bottle waste. Based on this data, a glass formulation was designed using soda bottle waste as a component. The glass was then melted using a microwave furnace, and its properties were analyzed. It was found that the glass samples without CuO oxide addition were transparent and colorless. When CuO oxide was added, the glass exhibited a light blue color, which became more intense with increasing CuO oxide concentration. Both the density and refractive index values tended to increase with higher CuO oxide concentrations, while the molar volume showed a decreasing trend inversely proportional to the CuO concentration. In terms of light absorption in the wavelength range of 200–1,100 nanometers, a peak was observed at approximately 791 nanometers. This peak is attributed to energy absorption in the transition from the 2Eg  2Tg states, corresponding to green-to-red light absorption. This phenomenon results in the blue color of the glass as observed.