Glass and Glass Fibre

Glass in its various forms represents the largest single outlet for boron products. Boron is a powerful flux (reducing melting point, viscosity, thermal expanding coefficient; and increasing breakage index, transparency and brightness, and heat resistance), but also confers high chemical resistance for glasses in general.

In both insulation fibre glass (IFG) and reinforcement fibre glass (RFG), boron improves the fluxing capabilities of the batch, reduces glass batch melting temperatures and increases the fiberising efficiency by lowering the viscosity. It controls the relationship between temperature, viscosity and surface tension to create optimal glass fiberisation. Boron also reduces the tendency of crystallisation and increases the strength of the fibres and resistance against moisture.

For IFG, another important role of boron is to impart decompressibility. When the finished product is transported, it is firmly compacted into bales in order to minimize freight cost. When it is used for construction industry, main application area for IFG, it must be decompressed in order to provide the good air pockets/layers essential for insulation. Specifically in IFG, incorporation of boron reduces viscosity of the melt and thereby assists fiberisation as well as inhibiting the leaching of fluxes.